Selling University Reform: The University of Melbourne and the Press

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potts, Anthony

2012-01-01

Since the advent of the "Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings" and the "Academic Rankings of World Universities" by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, some Australian universities have become especially concerned with being ranked among the 100 leading universities. The University of Melbourne, Australia's…

The enabling institutional context for integrated water management: lessons from Melbourne.

PubMed

Ferguson, Briony C; Brown, Rebekah R; Frantzeskaki, Niki; de Haan, Fjalar J; Deletic, Ana

2013-12-15

There is widespread international acceptance that climate change, demographic shifts and resource limitations impact on the performance of water servicing in cities. In response to these challenges, many scholars propose that a fundamental move away from traditional centralised infrastructure towards more integrated water management is required. However, there is limited practical or scholarly understanding of how to enable this change in practice and few modern cities have done so successfully. This paper addresses this gap by analysing empirical evidence of Melbourne's recent experience in shifting towards a hybrid of centralised and decentralised infrastructure to draw lessons about the institutional context that enabled this shift. The research was based on a qualitative single-case study, involving interviews and envisioning workshops with urban water practitioners who have been directly involved in Melbourne's water system changes. It was found that significant changes occurred in the cultural-cognitive, normative and regulative dimensions of Melbourne's water system. These included a shift in cultural beliefs for the water profession, new knowledge through evidence and learning, additional water servicing goals and priorities, political leadership, community pressure, better coordinated governance arrangements and strong market mechanisms. The paper synthesises lessons from the case study that, with further development, could form the basis of prescriptive guidance for enabling the shift to new modes of water servicing to support more liveable, sustainable and resilient outcomes for future cities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The availability of snack food displays that may trigger impulse purchases in Melbourne supermarkets.

PubMed

Thornton, Lukar E; Cameron, Adrian J; McNaughton, Sarah A; Worsley, Anthony; Crawford, David A

2012-03-15

Supermarkets play a major role in influencing the food purchasing behaviours of most households. Snack food exposures within these stores may contribute to higher levels of consumption and ultimately to increasing levels of obesity, particularly within socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We aimed to examine the availability of snack food displays at checkouts, end-of-aisle displays and island displays in major supermarket chains in the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Melbourne. Within-store audits of 35 Melbourne supermarkets. Supermarkets were sampled from the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs within 30 km of the Melbourne CBD. We measured the availability of crisps, chocolate, confectionery, and soft drinks (diet and regular) at the checkouts, in end-of-aisle displays, and in island bin displays. Snack food displays were most prominent at checkouts with only five stores not having snack foods at 100% of their checkouts. Snack foods were also present at a number of end-of-aisle displays (at both the front (median 38%) and back (median 33%) of store), and in island bin displays (median number of island displays: 7; median total circumference of island displays: 19.4 metres). Chocolate items were the most common snack food item on display. There was no difference in the availability of these snack food displays by neighbourhood disadvantage. As a result of the high availability of snack food displays, exposure to snack foods is almost unavoidable in Melbourne supermarkets, regardless of levels of neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Results of this study could promote awareness of the prominence of unhealthy food items in chain-brand supermarkets outlets.

Socioeconomic differences in outdoor food advertising at public transit stops across Melbourne suburbs.

PubMed

Settle, Philippa J; Cameron, Adrian J; Thornton, Lukar E

2014-10-01

To assess and compare the number and type of outdoor food advertisements at public transit stops within suburbs of varying levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. An observational audit tool was developed and implemented to assess the number and type of food advertisements at public transit stops within Melbourne, Victoria. A total of 20 Melbourne neighbourhoods (suburbs) from across the least and the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were selected. All public transit stops, including train stations and bus and tram stops with a shelter were audited.  A similar proportion of transit stops in the least and most-disadvantaged suburbs displayed food advertisements (total n=203). However, some differences in the type of advertisements across suburbs were noted with advertisements for fast food restaurants, flavoured milk and fruit juice more common in the most-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all p<0.05) and advertisements for diet soft drink, tea, coffee and convenience stores more common in the least-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all p<0.05). This exploration of outdoor food advertising at Melbourne transit stops found 30% displayed food advertisements, with those in more disadvantaged suburbs more frequently promoting chain-brand fast food and less frequently promoting diet varieties of soft drinks. These findings may help raise awareness of unhealthy environmental exposures. © 2014 Public Health Association of Australia.

Translation, reliability, and clinical utility of the Melbourne Assessment 2.

PubMed

Gerber, Corinna N; Plebani, Anael; Labruyère, Rob

2017-10-12

The aims were to (i) provide a German translation of the Melbourne Assessment 2 (MA2), a quantitative test to measure unilateral upper limb function in children with neurological disabilities and (ii) to evaluate its reliability and aspects of clinical utility. After its translation into German and approval of the back translation by the original authors, the MA2 was performed and videotaped twice with 30 children with neuromotor disorders. For each participant, two raters scored the video of the first test for inter-rater reliability. To determine test-retest reliability, one rater additionally scored the video of the second test while the other rater repeated the scoring of the first video to evaluate intra-rater reliability. Time needed for rater training, test administration, and scoring was recorded. The four subscale scores showed excellent intra-, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.90-1.00 (95%-confidence intervals 0.78-1.00). Score items revealed substantial to almost perfect intra-rater reliability (weighted kappa k w  = 0.66-1.00) for the more affected side. Score item inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the same extremity were, with one exception, moderate to almost perfect (k w  = 0.42-0.97; k w  = 0.40-0.89). Furthermore, the MA2 was feasible and acceptable for patients and clinicians. The MA2 showed excellent subscale and moderate to almost perfect score item reliability. Implications for Rehabilitation There is a lack of high-quality studies about psychometric properties of upper limb measurement tools in the neuropediatric population. The Melbourne Assessment 2 is a promising tool for reliable measurement of unilateral upper limb movement quality in the neuropediatric population. The Melbourne Assessment 2 is acceptable and practicable to therapists and patients for routine use in clinical care.

The availability of snack food displays that may trigger impulse purchases in Melbourne supermarkets

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Supermarkets play a major role in influencing the food purchasing behaviours of most households. Snack food exposures within these stores may contribute to higher levels of consumption and ultimately to increasing levels of obesity, particularly within socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We aimed to examine the availability of snack food displays at checkouts, end-of-aisle displays and island displays in major supermarket chains in the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Melbourne. Methods Within-store audits of 35 Melbourne supermarkets. Supermarkets were sampled from the least and most socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs within 30 km of the Melbourne CBD. We measured the availability of crisps, chocolate, confectionery, and soft drinks (diet and regular) at the checkouts, in end-of-aisle displays, and in island bin displays. Results Snack food displays were most prominent at checkouts with only five stores not having snack foods at 100% of their checkouts. Snack foods were also present at a number of end-of-aisle displays (at both the front (median 38%) and back (median 33%) of store), and in island bin displays (median number of island displays: 7; median total circumference of island displays: 19.4 metres). Chocolate items were the most common snack food item on display. There was no difference in the availability of these snack food displays by neighbourhood disadvantage. Conclusions As a result of the high availability of snack food displays, exposure to snack foods is almost unavoidable in Melbourne supermarkets, regardless of levels of neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Results of this study could promote awareness of the prominence of unhealthy food items in chain-brand supermarkets outlets. PMID:22420759

Clinical application of the Melbourne risk prediction tool in a high-risk upper abdominal surgical population: an observational cohort study.

PubMed

Parry, S; Denehy, L; Berney, S; Browning, L

2014-03-01

(1) To determine the ability of the Melbourne risk prediction tool to predict a pulmonary complication as defined by the Melbourne Group Scale in a medically defined high-risk upper abdominal surgery population during the postoperative period; (2) to identify the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications; and (3) to examine the risk factors for postoperative pulmonary complications in this high-risk population. Observational cohort study. Tertiary Australian referral centre. 50 individuals who underwent medically defined high-risk upper abdominal surgery. Presence of postoperative pulmonary complications was screened daily for seven days using the Melbourne Group Scale (Version 2). Postoperative pulmonary risk prediction was calculated according to the Melbourne risk prediction tool. (1) Melbourne risk prediction tool; and (2) the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. Sixty-six percent (33/50) underwent hepatobiliary or upper gastrointestinal surgery. Mean (SD) anaesthetic duration was 377.8 (165.5) minutes. The risk prediction tool classified 84% (42/50) as high risk. Overall postoperative pulmonary complication incidence was 42% (21/50). The tool was 91% sensitive and 21% specific with a 50% chance of correct classification. This is the first study to externally validate the Melbourne risk prediction tool in an independent medically defined high-risk population. There was a higher incidence of pulmonary complications postoperatively observed compared to that previously reported. Results demonstrated poor validity of the tool in a population already defined medically as high risk and when applied postoperatively. This observational study has identified several important points to consider in future trials. Copyright © 2013 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pancreatic trauma: Universities of Melbourne HPB Group.

PubMed

Fleming, W R; Collier, N A; Banting, S W

1999-05-01

Pancreatic trauma is uncommon, but carries high morbidity and mortality rates, especially when diagnosis is delayed or inappropriate surgery is attempted. Although the retroperitoneal position of the pancreas confers it some immunity to injury, the force required to do so often results in severe associated injuries to other organs, which may be life threatening. Diagnosis may be difficult and surgery can be a considerable technical challenge. All patients with pancreatic trauma who attended one of three Melbourne teaching hospitals from 1977 to 1998 were identified. Injuries were graded and the method of diagnosis and treatment studied. The incidence and causation of postoperative morbidity and mortality was identified. Thirty-eight patients (26 men and 12 women) were studied. Blunt trauma was responsible in 30 patients, stab wounds in five, gunshot wounds in two and iatrogenic injury in one. Injuries to other organs occurred in 30 patients. Surgical procedures were undertaken in 34 patients, resulting in the death of five and complications in 25. Complications and death are related to the associated injuries, as much as to the pancreatic injury itself. In this study, we review the experience of the management of pancreatic trauma in three large teaching hospitals in Melbourne over a 21-year period, and suggest a strategy for dealing with these difficult patients. Adherence to the basic concepts of control of bleeding from associated vascular injury, minimization of contamination, accurate pancreatic assessment, judicious resection and adequate drainage can diminish the risk. By approaching the problem in a systematic way and adopting a generally conservative management plan, complications and deaths can be minimized in these complex cases.

Mothers' perceptions of Melbourne InFANT Program: informing future practice.

PubMed

Lunn, Priscilla L; Roberts, Sanae; Spence, Alison; Hesketh, Kylie D; Campbell, Karen J

2016-09-01

Intervention programs to prevent childhood obesity are more likely to be successful when mothers are involved and engaged. Yet programs that involve mothers do not often employ process evaluation to identify aspects of the intervention that participants enjoyed or viewed as useful. The aims of this study were to describe how participants of the Melbourne InFANT Program-an early childhood obesity prevention intervention-engaged in the program and perceived its usefulness. Process evaluation data were collected at multiple time points during and after the intervention, using mixed methods drawing upon both quantitative and qualitative data. Results from short surveys (n = 271) and interview transcripts (n = 26) revealed that the Melbourne InFANT Program was perceived as useful and relevant by most (82-93%) participants. The formats through which the knowledge and skills were delivered were considered concise and effective, and aspects considered particularly useful included group sessions and advice on practical strategies to minimize stress around mealtimes. Findings from this study are important to inform future practice and the development of interventions which are well received by participants. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mobile telephone use among Melbourne drivers: a preventable exposure to injury risk.

PubMed

Taylor, David McD; Bennett, Dianne M; Carter, Michael; Garewal, Devinder

2003-08-04

To determine the rate of handheld mobile telephone use among motor vehicle drivers. Observational study of motor vehicle drivers at three times (10: 00-11: 00; 14: 00-15: 00; 17: 00-18: 00) on three consecutive Fridays in October 2002 at 12 highway sites in metropolitan Melbourne. Rates of mobile phone use overall and by sex and age group, highway site (major metropolitan road, central business district, freeway exit ramp) and time of day (morning, afternoon, evening). 315 of 17 023 drivers were observed using mobile phones (18.5 users/1000 drivers; 95% CI, 16.5-20.6). Men had a slightly higher rate of use (19.0; 95% CI, 16.5-21.6) than women (17.5; 95% CI, 14.1-20.9), but the difference was not significant. Older drivers (50 years or more) had a significantly lower rate (4.8; 95% CI, 2.5-7.0) than middle-aged (21.9; 95% CI, 18.8-25.1) or young drivers (23.2; 95% CI, 18.9-27.5). Central business district drivers had a slightly, but not significantly, higher rate (20.5; 95% CI, 16.8-24.3) compared with those on major metropolitan roads (16.7; 95% CI, 13.3-20.2) or freeway exit ramps (18.2; 95% CI, 14.8-21.6). The rate of mobile phone use was significantly higher in the evening (23.5; 95% CI, 19.8-27.3) compared with the morning (16.0; 95% CI, 12.6-19.4) and afternoon (15.2; 95% CI, 11.9-18.4). Mobile phone use is common among Melbourne metropolitan drivers despite restrictive legislation. This issue needs to be further addressed by Victoria Police and public health and education agencies. Similar research is indicated to determine the extent of mobile phone use in other states.

ACER and University of Melbourne Music Evaluation Kit. Handbook and Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryce, Jennifer

The Melbourne Music Evaluation Kit (MEK) was designed to aid teachers of first-year secondary-school music classes to select appropriate curriculum materials related to the music backgrounds of class members, as indicated by scores on the kit. Tests included in the kit are criterion- referenced and are used as a diagnostic tool to measure…

From Humanity to Utility: Melbourne University and Public Examinations 1856-1964.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musgrave, P. W.

The interaction of a university and the society is described in a case study of the system of public examinations of Melbourne University in Victoria (Australia). The initial desire to guarantee the academic standards of college entrants grew into a system that also provided school leaving certificates for those not entering the university. Over a…

A new `bio-comfort' perspective for Melbourne based on heat stress, air pollution and pollen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, Stephanie J.; Pezza, Alexandre B.; Barras, Vaughan; Bye, John

2014-03-01

Humans are at risk from exposure to extremes in their environment, yet there is no consistent way to fully quantify and understand the risk when considering more than just meteorological variables. An outdoor `bio-comfort' threshold is defined for Melbourne, Australia using a combination of heat stress, air particulate concentration and grass pollen count, where comfortable conditions imply an ideal range of temperature, humidity and wind speed, acceptable levels of air particulates and a low pollen count. This is a new approach to defining the comfort of human populations. While other works have looked into the separate impacts of different variables, this is the first time that a unified bio-comfort threshold is suggested. Composite maps of surface pressure are used to illustrate the genesis and evolution of the atmospheric structures conducive to an uncomfortable day. When there is an uncomfortable day due to heat stress conditions in Melbourne, there is a high pressure anomaly to the east bringing warm air from the northern interior of Australia. This anomaly is part of a slow moving blocking high originating over the Indian Ocean. Uncomfortable days due to high particulate levels have an approaching cold front. However, for air particulate cases during the cold season there are stable atmospheric conditions enhanced by a blocking high emanating from Australia and linking with the Antarctic continent. Finally, when grass pollen levels are high, there are northerly winds carrying the pollen from rural grass lands to Melbourne, due to a stationary trough of low pressure inland. Analysis into days with multiple types of stress revealed that the atmospheric signals associated with each type of discomfort are present regardless of whether the day is uncomfortable due to one or multiple variables. Therefore, these bio-comfort results are significant because they offer a degree of predictability for future uncomfortable days in Melbourne.

A new 'bio-comfort' perspective for Melbourne based on heat stress, air pollution and pollen.

PubMed

Jacobs, Stephanie J; Pezza, Alexandre B; Barras, Vaughan; Bye, John

2014-03-01

Humans are at risk from exposure to extremes in their environment, yet there is no consistent way to fully quantify and understand the risk when considering more than just meteorological variables. An outdoor 'bio-comfort' threshold is defined for Melbourne, Australia using a combination of heat stress, air particulate concentration and grass pollen count, where comfortable conditions imply an ideal range of temperature, humidity and wind speed, acceptable levels of air particulates and a low pollen count. This is a new approach to defining the comfort of human populations. While other works have looked into the separate impacts of different variables, this is the first time that a unified bio-comfort threshold is suggested. Composite maps of surface pressure are used to illustrate the genesis and evolution of the atmospheric structures conducive to an uncomfortable day. When there is an uncomfortable day due to heat stress conditions in Melbourne, there is a high pressure anomaly to the east bringing warm air from the northern interior of Australia. This anomaly is part of a slow moving blocking high originating over the Indian Ocean. Uncomfortable days due to high particulate levels have an approaching cold front. However, for air particulate cases during the cold season there are stable atmospheric conditions enhanced by a blocking high emanating from Australia and linking with the Antarctic continent. Finally, when grass pollen levels are high, there are northerly winds carrying the pollen from rural grass lands to Melbourne, due to a stationary trough of low pressure inland. Analysis into days with multiple types of stress revealed that the atmospheric signals associated with each type of discomfort are present regardless of whether the day is uncomfortable due to one or multiple variables. Therefore, these bio-comfort results are significant because they offer a degree of predictability for future uncomfortable days in Melbourne.

Bus network redesign for inner southeast suburbs of Melbourne, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandangwati, S. T.; Milyanab, N. A.

2017-06-01

Public transport is the most effective mode of transport in the era of climate change and oil depletion. It can address climate change issues by reducing urban greenhouse gas emission and oil consumption while at the same time improving mobility. However, many public transport networks are not effective and instead create high operating costs with low frequencies and occupancy. Melbourne is one example of a metropolitan area that faces this problem. Even though the city has well-integrated train and tram networks, Melbourne’s bus network still needs to be improved. This study used network planning approach to redesign the bus network in the City of Glen Eira, a Local Government Area (LGA) in the southeastern part of Metropolitan Melbourne. The study area is the area between Gardenvale North and Oakleigh Station, as well as between Caulfield and Patterson Stations. This area needs network improvement mainly because of the meandering bus routes that run within it. This study aims to provide recommendations for improving the performance of bus services by reducing meandering routes, improving transfer point design and implementing coordinated timetables. The recommendations were formulated based on a ‘ready-made’ concept to increase bus occupancy. This approach can be implemented in other cities with similar problems and characteristics including those in Indonesia.

Effect of long-term acclimatization on summer thermal comfort in outdoor spaces: a comparative study between Melbourne and Hong Kong.

PubMed

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Lau, Kevin Ka-Lun

2018-04-12

The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is an index for assessing outdoor thermal environment which aims to be applicable universally to different climates. However, the scale of UTCI thermal stress classification can be interpreted depending on the context. Previous studies validated the UTCI in individual cities, but comparative studies between different cities are scarce. This study examines the differences in thermal perception and clothing choices between residents from two climate zones over similar UTCI ranges in summer. We compared summer thermal comfort survey data from Melbourne (n = 2162, January-February 2014) and Hong Kong (n = 414, July-August 2007). We calculated the UTCI from outdoor weather station data and used t tests to compare the differences in thermal sensation and clothing between Hong Kong and Melbourne residents. When the UTCI was between 23.0 and 45.9 °C, Melbourne residents wore significantly more clothing (0.1 clo) than Hong Kong residents. Hong Kong residents reported neutral to warm sensation at a higher UTCI range compared with the dynamic thermal sensation (DTS) model. Moreover, Melbourne residents reported warm and hot sensation at a higher UTCI range than the DTS model. Respondents in Melbourne also exhibited different responses to the mean radiant temperature under shaded and sunny conditions, while such a trend was not observed in Hong Kong. It would be advisable to define different thermal sensation thresholds for the UTCI scale according to different climate zones for better prediction of the outdoor thermal comfort of different urban populations.

Effect of long-term acclimatization on summer thermal comfort in outdoor spaces: a comparative study between Melbourne and Hong Kong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Lau, Kevin Ka-Lun

2018-04-01

The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is an index for assessing outdoor thermal environment which aims to be applicable universally to different climates. However, the scale of UTCI thermal stress classification can be interpreted depending on the context. Previous studies validated the UTCI in individual cities, but comparative studies between different cities are scarce. This study examines the differences in thermal perception and clothing choices between residents from two climate zones over similar UTCI ranges in summer. We compared summer thermal comfort survey data from Melbourne (n = 2162, January-February 2014) and Hong Kong (n = 414, July-August 2007). We calculated the UTCI from outdoor weather station data and used t tests to compare the differences in thermal sensation and clothing between Hong Kong and Melbourne residents. When the UTCI was between 23.0 and 45.9 °C, Melbourne residents wore significantly more clothing (0.1 clo) than Hong Kong residents. Hong Kong residents reported neutral to warm sensation at a higher UTCI range compared with the dynamic thermal sensation (DTS) model. Moreover, Melbourne residents reported warm and hot sensation at a higher UTCI range than the DTS model. Respondents in Melbourne also exhibited different responses to the mean radiant temperature under shaded and sunny conditions, while such a trend was not observed in Hong Kong. It would be advisable to define different thermal sensation thresholds for the UTCI scale according to different climate zones for better prediction of the outdoor thermal comfort of different urban populations.

Study on the Validity and Reliability of Melbourne Decision Making Scale in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çolakkadioglu, Oguzhan; Deniz, M. Engin

2015-01-01

This study is to analyze the validity and reliability of Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ). The sample consisted of 650 university students. The structural validity of the MDMQ, as well as correlations among its sub-scales, measure-bound validity, internal consistency, item total correlations and test-retest reliability coefficients…

Reliability of the Melbourne assessment of unilateral upper limb function.

PubMed

Randall, M; Carlin, J B; Chondros, P; Reddihough, D

2001-11-01

This study examines the reliability of the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function: a quantitative test of quality of movement in children with neurological impairment. The assessment was administered to 20 children aged from 5 to 16 years (mean age 9 years 10 months, SD 2 years 10 months) who had various types and degrees of cerebral palsy (CP). The performances of the 20 children during assessment were videotaped for subsequent scoring by 15 occupational therapists. Scores were analyzed for internal consistency of test items, inter- and intrarater reliability of scorings of the same videotapes, and test-retest reliability using repeat videotaping. Results revealed very high internal consistency of test items (alpha=0.96), moderate to high agreement both within and between raters for all test items (intraclass correlations of at least 0.7) apart from item 16 (hand to mouth and down), and high interrater reliability (0.95) and intrarater reliability (0.97) for total test scores. Test-retest results revealed moderate to high intrarater reliability for item totals (mean of 0.83 and 0.79) for each rater and high reliability for test totals (0.98 and 0.97). These findings indicate that the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function is a reliable tool for measuring the quality of unilateral upper-limb movement in children with CP.

Seasonal precipitation forecasting for the Melbourne region using a Self-Organizing Maps approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pidoto, Ross; Wallner, Markus; Haberlandt, Uwe

2017-04-01

The Melbourne region experiences highly variable inter-annual rainfall. For close to a decade during the 2000s, below average rainfall seriously affected the environment, water supplies and agriculture. A seasonal rainfall forecasting model for the Melbourne region based on the novel approach of a Self-Organizing Map has been developed and tested for its prediction performance. Predictor variables at varying lead times were first assessed for inclusion within the model by calculating their importance via Random Forests. Predictor variables tested include the climate indices SOI, DMI and N3.4, in addition to gridded global sea surface temperature data. Five forecasting models were developed: an annual model and four seasonal models, each individually optimized for performance through Pearson's correlation r and the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency. The annual model showed a prediction performance of r = 0.54 and NSE = 0.14. The best seasonal model was for spring, with r = 0.61 and NSE = 0.31. Autumn was the worst performing seasonal model. The sea surface temperature data contributed fewer predictor variables compared to climate indices. Most predictor variables were supplied at a minimum lead, however some predictors were found at lead times of up to a year.

Retrospective forecasting of the 2010-2014 Melbourne influenza seasons using multiple surveillance systems.

PubMed

Moss, R; Zarebski, A; Dawson, P; McCAW, J M

2017-01-01

Accurate forecasting of seasonal influenza epidemics is of great concern to healthcare providers in temperate climates, since these epidemics vary substantially in their size, timing and duration from year to year, making it a challenge to deliver timely and proportionate responses. Previous studies have shown that Bayesian estimation techniques can accurately predict when an influenza epidemic will peak many weeks in advance, and we have previously tailored these methods for metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) and Google Flu Trends data. Here we extend these methods to clinical observation and laboratory-confirmation data for Melbourne, on the grounds that these data sources provide more accurate characterizations of influenza activity. We show that from each of these data sources we can accurately predict the timing of the epidemic peak 4-6 weeks in advance. We also show that making simultaneous use of multiple surveillance systems to improve forecast skill remains a fundamental challenge. Disparate systems provide complementary characterizations of disease activity, which may or may not be comparable, and it is unclear how a 'ground truth' for evaluating forecasts against these multiple characterizations might be defined. These findings are a significant step towards making optimal use of routine surveillance data for outbreak forecasting.

Measuring food access in Melbourne: access to healthy and fast foods by car, bus and foot in an urban municipality in Melbourne.

PubMed

Burns, C M; Inglis, A D

2007-12-01

Access to healthy food can be an important determinant of a healthy diet. This paper describes the assessment of access to healthy and unhealthy foods using a GIS accessibility programme in a large outer municipality of Melbourne. Access to a major supermarket was used as a proxy for access to a healthy diet and fast food outlet as proxy for access to unhealthy food. Our results indicated that most (>80%) residents lived within an 8-10 min car journey of a major supermarket i.e. have good access to a healthy diet. However, more advantaged areas had closer access to supermarkets, conversely less advantaged areas had closer access to fast food outlets. These findings have application for urban planners, public health practitioners and policy makers.

Engaging Staff Communities in a Knowledge Transfer Strategy: A Case Study at the University of Melbourne

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwill, Robyn J.

2012-01-01

Within the framework of the strategic journey undertaken between 2005 and 2010, this paper seeks to examine how the University of Melbourne sought to differentiate itself through the introduction and reconceptualisation of a "third stream" of academic work. Specifically, this paper seeks to investigate, through qualitative methods, how…

Seasonal asthma in Melbourne, Australia, and some observations on the occurrence of thunderstorm asthma and its predictability

PubMed Central

Sutherland, Michael F.; Johnston, Fay H.; Lampugnani, Edwin R.; McCarthy, Michael A.; Jacobs, Stephanie J.; Pezza, Alexandre B.; Newbigin, Edward J.

2018-01-01

We examine the seasonality of asthma-related hospital admissions in Melbourne, Australia, in particular the contribution and predictability of episodic thunderstorm asthma. Using a time-series ecological approach based on asthma admissions to Melbourne metropolitan hospitals, we identified seasonal peaks in asthma admissions that were centred in late February, June and mid-November. These peaks were most likely due to the return to school, winter viral infections and seasonal allergies, respectively. We performed non-linear statistical regression to predict daily admission rates as functions of the seasonal cycle, weather conditions, reported thunderstorms, pollen counts and air quality. Important predictor variables were the seasonal cycle and mean relative humidity in the preceding two weeks, with higher humidity associated with higher asthma admissions. Although various attempts were made to model asthma admissions, none of the models explained substantially more variation above that associated with the annual cycle. We also identified a list of high asthma admissions days (HAADs). Most HAADs fell in the late-February return-to-school peak and the November allergy peak, with the latter containing the greatest number of daily admissions. Many HAADs in the spring allergy peak may represent episodes of thunderstorm asthma, as they were associated with rainfall, thunderstorms, high ambient grass pollen levels and high humidity, a finding that suggests thunderstorm asthma is a recurrent phenomenon in Melbourne that occurs roughly once per five years. The rarity of thunderstorm asthma events makes prediction challenging, underscoring the importance of maintaining high standards of asthma management, both for patients and health professionals, especially during late spring and early summer. PMID:29649224

Forecasting influenza outbreak dynamics in Melbourne from Internet search query surveillance data.

PubMed

Moss, Robert; Zarebski, Alexander; Dawson, Peter; McCaw, James M

2016-07-01

Accurate forecasting of seasonal influenza epidemics is of great concern to healthcare providers in temperate climates, as these epidemics vary substantially in their size, timing and duration from year to year, making it a challenge to deliver timely and proportionate responses. Previous studies have shown that Bayesian estimation techniques can accurately predict when an influenza epidemic will peak many weeks in advance, using existing surveillance data, but these methods must be tailored both to the target population and to the surveillance system. Our aim was to evaluate whether forecasts of similar accuracy could be obtained for metropolitan Melbourne (Australia). We used the bootstrap particle filter and a mechanistic infection model to generate epidemic forecasts for metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) from weekly Internet search query surveillance data reported by Google Flu Trends for 2006-14. Optimal observation models were selected from hundreds of candidates using a novel approach that treats forecasts akin to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We show that the timing of the epidemic peak can be accurately predicted 4-6 weeks in advance, but that the magnitude of the epidemic peak and the overall burden are much harder to predict. We then discuss how the infection and observation models and the filtering process may be refined to improve forecast robustness, thereby improving the utility of these methods for healthcare decision support. © 2016 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patterns of weak, near-surface winds at Melbourne, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapp, R. G.

1985-12-01

Up to 30 months of near-surface anemograph records have been examined from 13 locations in and near Melbourne, Australia, to determine the wind patterns which existed during prolonged periods of light winds (at least 3 hours at 2 m s-1 or less). A coherent katabatic wind system was found to develop in at least part of the monitored region on approximately 30% of nights. The flow broadly followed the slope of the basin surrounding the city, with a strong flow down the main river valley, and was partly reinforced by a land breeze in bayside areas. Other valleys also acted as channels for these winds. The general tendency of these katabatic winds was to converge towards the central business district and the northern part of Port Phillip Bay adjacent to the city centre. Where winds from different directions interacted, one of the winds dominated or successive replacement occurred causing the wind direction to vary considerably during a period. There were indications that in the presence of low-level stability with a synoptic gradient wind between east and north, the gradient flow may be deflected around the major topographic barrier to the northeast of the city. The existence of such a situation would have major implications in terms of air quality due to the possibility of pollutants being recirculated in conditions when vertical diffusion was very limited.

International Students from Melbourne Describing Their Cross-Cultural Transitions Experiences: Culture Shock, Social Interaction, and Friendship Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belford, Nish

2017-01-01

Drawing from a study that explored how international students experience cross-cultural transitions after living and studying in Melbourne for a few years, this paper, in particular, examines the participants' experiences with culture shock, social interaction, and friendship development. The findings include narratives of their personal stories…

What keeps Melbourne GPs satisfied in their jobs?

PubMed

Walker, Kate Anne; Pirotta, Marie

2007-10-01

Workforce shortages make it important to promote job satisfaction and career longevity in general practitioners. We aimed to investigate strategies that maintain and improve Melbourne (Victoria) GP job satisfaction. A postal survey of a random selection of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vocationally recognised GPs (N=860). Open ended answers were coded according to themes and compared between genders. Thirty-eight percent of surveyed GPs responded. The mean satisfaction score was 50 out of 70 (SD 9). Women GPs were more satisfied than men with life-work balance (p<0.01). Most frequently nominated themes for satisfaction were job variety, longitudinal patient relationships, belief in the value of the work and intellectual stimulation. Strategies to improve GP satisfaction were increased pay, reduced paperwork, and improved administrative systems. General practitioners were satisfied with their jobs due to the intrinsic qualities of their work and workplace. Decreasing the administrative burden, increasing remuneration and improving practice supports may improve metropolitan GP job satisfaction.

Exploring beliefs of the four major ethnic groups in Melbourne regarding healthcare and treatment.

PubMed

Leong, Kai'En; Weiland, Tracey J; Dent, Andrew W

2010-11-01

To explore and compare beliefs about healthcare and treatment of four ethnic groups attending a Melbourne emergency department (ED), and the corresponding perceptions held by emergency clinicians. Prospective survey of ED doctors and patients from Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. Vietnamese patients were least likely to believe their ethnic group received the best available care but less likely to believe in the existence of ethnic healthcare disparities. They were most likely to have an ethnically concordant GP and preferred most strongly to raise sensitive issues with an ethnically concordant doctor. Anglo-Saxon patients placed less importance on family support and older Anglo-Saxons were less likely than other groups to turn to God for comfort. Doctors perceived the existence of ethnic healthcare disparity, which was not perceived by the ethnic groups themselves. They underestimated the extent of patient-perceived disease control, external supports for coping, or use of complementary practitioners. Doctors overestimated patient perceived importance of doctor-patient ethnic concordance for Anglo-Saxons but underestimated the importance this has for Vietnamese patients. They also underestimated importance of clinician-demonstrated cultural understanding. Beliefs about healthcare and treatment differ across the four major ethnic groups attending a Melbourne ED. Doctors' misperceptions of patients' beliefs suggest that cultural competence amongst ED doctors could be improved.

Late Hebrew Immersion at Mt. Scopus College, Melbourne: Towards Complete Hebrew Fluency for Jewish Day School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorch, S. C.; And Others

1992-01-01

This paper describes and evaluates a Hebrew immersion program for Jewish day school students at Mt. Scopus College in Melbourne, Australia. Specific sections address the following: (1) the first year; (2) the second year; (3) designing the evaluation of the program; (4) results of the evaluation (including academic outcomes, student and parent…

Domestic residence to multi-storey building. The lived experience of hospital grounds in Melbourne before World War II.

PubMed

Bourke, Anne

2012-09-01

Hospital grounds in Melbourne, Australia, before World War I resembled imposing residential sites with grand mansions surrounded by shrubberies, circular drives and tennis courts. By World War II hospitals had become multi-storey buildings surrounded by car parks and grass. Although there have been numerous studies that link the changing built environment of hospitals to social, medical and architectural narratives, there has been little emphasis on the impact of these changes on the experience of the hospital as a place, and its identity as an institution. The broader meanings for staff and patients are not explored. This paper then investigates the outdoor grounds of hospitals as places before World War II in Melbourne, Australia. This analysis illuminates a hitherto neglected aspect of hospital history that not only enriches an understanding of this period but provides insights into the role of outdoor grounds that has implications for twenty-first century hospitals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cardiovascular Nursing: From Florence to Melbourne.

PubMed

Thompson, David R

2016-08-01

This paper, based on the 2015 CSANZ Cardiovascular Nursing Lecture, takes its title from the invitation to give this lecture in Melbourne being received when the author was visiting Florence, after whom Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, is named. Her work has indirectly shaped and influenced cardiovascular nursing, which has developed over the past 50 years. Despite its relatively short history, cardiovascular nursing has made a major contribution to improving the cardiovascular health and well-being of patients and families through health promotion, risk reduction and disease prevention. Examples include cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention and chronic heart failure disease management. Challenges, however, remain, including nurses practising to the full extent of their education and training, working as full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesigning healthcare, ensuring better data collection and being more active in advocacy and policy initiatives. Cardiovascular nursing has a strong record of innovation but should always remember that it is there to serve the public and, bearing in mind the risk of potential harm versus benefit, be mindful of Florence Nightingale's wise counsel, "First, do no harm". Copyright © 2016 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Breastfeeding practices of ethnic Indian immigrant women in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Maharaj, Natasha; Bandyopadhyay, Mridula

2013-12-18

The health benefits of breastfeeding are well documented in public health and medical literature worldwide. Despite this, global rates of breastfeeding steadily decline during the first couple of months postpartum. Although immigrant women have higher initiation rates and a longer duration of breastfeeding overall, breastfeeding practices are compromised because of a myriad of socioeconomic and cultural factors, including the acculturation process. The objective of this study was to show how acculturation and cultural identity influenced breastfeeding practices among Indian immigrants in Melbourne, Australia. Twelve case studies were employed to gather narratives of women's lived experiences. Ethnographic field research methods were used to collect data, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, case studies, and life histories. This provided in-depth information from women on various aspects of the immigrant experience of motherhood, including infant care and feeding. Participants were opportunistically recruited from Indian obstetricians and gynaecologists. Women identifying as ethnic Indian and in their third trimester of pregnancy were recruited. Interviews were conducted in women's homes in metropolitan Melbourne over a 12 month period between 2004 and 2005. Data were coded and analysed thematically. All women identified as ethnic Indian and initiated breastfeeding in accordance with their cultural identity. Social support and cultural connectivity impacted positively on duration of breastfeeding. However, acculturation (adopting Australian cultural values and gender norms, including returning to paid employment) negatively influenced breastfeeding duration. In addition, the high reliance of recent immigrants on the advice of healthcare professionals who gave inconsistent advice negatively affected exclusive breastfeeding. For ethnic Indian immigrant women breastfeeding practice is closely linked to acculturation and identity construction

Ruth Flockart and Dr Wood: A Crucial Relationship in the Development of Melbourne Methodist Ladies' College Music Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins, Louise

2011-01-01

This paper explores the notion that particular working relationships within school music programs can have a significant affect on the program's development and progress. To explore this notion the research focussed on the working relationship of a music teacher at Melbourne Methodist Ladies' College (MLC), Ruth Flockart (1891-1985) and the…

Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid training with members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne, Australia

PubMed Central

Minas, Harry; Colucci, Erminia; Jorm, Anthony F

2009-01-01

Background The aim of this project was to investigate in members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne the impact of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training on attitudes to people with mental illness and on knowledge about mental disorders. Our hypotheses were that at the end of the training participants would have increased knowledge of mental disorders and their treatments, and decreased negative attitudes towards people with mental disorders. Methods Respondents were 114 participants in two-day MHFA training workshops for the Vietnamese community in Melbourne conducted by two qualified MHFA trainers. Participants completed the research questionnaire prior to the commencement of the training (pre-test) and at its completion (post-test). The questionnaires assessed negative attitudes towards people with mental illness (as described in four vignettes), ability to recognise the mental disorders described in the vignettes, and knowledge about how to assist someone with one of these disorders. Responses to open-ended questions were content analysed and coded. To evaluate the effect of the training, answers to the structured questions and to the coded open-ended questions given at pre- and post-test were compared using McNemar tests for dichotomous values and Wilcoxon tests for other scores. Results Between pre- and post-test there was significant improvement in recognition of mental disorders; more targeted and appropriate mental health first aid responses, and reduction in inappropriate first aid responses; and negative attitudes to the people described in the vignettes declined significantly on many items of the stigma scale. Conclusion A two-day, MHFA training course for general members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne demonstrated significant reductions in stigmatising attitudes, improved knowledge of mental disorders and improved knowledge about appropriate forms of assistance to give to people in the community with mental disorder. There is sufficient

"Why Has It Only become an Issue Now?": Young Drug Users' Perceptions of Drug Driving in Melbourne, Victoria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Laura Ann; Wilson, Dean

2010-01-01

Preliminary research into drug-user perceptions of drug driving was undertaken with a sample group of drug users aged 18 to 24 from Melbourne, Victoria. Eleven males and nine females participated in semi-structured interviews and completed self-report surveys. Participants discussed their drug driving and their perceptions of the likelihood of…

The Early Years: Embracing the Challenges. 1997 Early Years of Schooling Conference Proceedings (Melbourne, Australia, July 20-21, 1997).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Victoria Education Dept. (Australia).

These conference proceedings comprise 19 papers and the plenary session presented at the Early Years Schooling Conference held in Melbourne, Australia. The plenary session was "A Developmental Approach to Teaching Young Children" conducted by Lilian Katz. The keynote addresses and breakout sessions were: (1) "Developmental Learning:…

Innovative urban forestry governance in Melbourne?: Investigating "green placemaking" as a nature-based solution.

PubMed

Gulsrud, Natalie Marie; Hertzog, Kelly; Shears, Ian

2018-02-01

A nature-based approach to climate resilience aims to challenge and re-frame conventional environmental management methods by refocusing solutions from technological strategies to socio-ecological principles such as human well-being and community-based governance models, thereby improving and legitimizing the delivery of ecosystem services (ES). There are, however, many challenges to applying a socio-ecological agenda to urban climate resilience and thereby re-framing ES delivery as community and people focused, a knowledge gap extensively outlined in the environmental governance literature. In this paper, we aim to contribute to this re-assesment of urban environmental governance by examining the City of Melbourne's approach to urban re-naturing governance from a place-based perspective. Here we focus on the city's internationally-acclaimed urban forest strategy (UFS), investigating how and to which extent the governance arrangements embedded within the UFS draw strength from diverse perspectives and allow for institutional arrangements that support "situated" reflexive decision making and co-creation. We find that Melbourne's UFS governance process fosters green placemaking by re-focusing climate adaptation solutions from technological strategies to situated socio-ecological principles such as human well-being and community-based decision making. In this sense, this case provides valuable insight for the broader UGI governance field regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with a socio-cultural approach to urban re-naturing and ES delivery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shade Sails and Passive Recreation in Public Parks of Melbourne and Denver: A Randomized Intervention.

PubMed

Buller, David B; English, Dallas R; Buller, Mary Klein; Simmons, Jody; Chamberlain, James A; Wakefield, Melanie; Dobbinson, Suzanne

2017-12-01

To test whether shade sails will increase the use of passive recreation areas (PRAs). We conducted a stratified randomized pretest-posttest controlled design study in Melbourne, Australia, and Denver, Colorado, in 2010 to 2014. We randomized a sample of 144 public parks with 2 PRAs in full sun in a 1:3 ratio to treatment or control. Shade sails were built at 1 PRA per treatment park. The outcome was any use of the study PRA (n = 576 pretest and n = 576 posttest observations; 100% follow-up). Compared with control PRAs (adjusted probability of use: pretest = 0.14, posttest = 0.17), use of treatment PRAs (pretest = 0.10, posttest = 0.32) was higher at posttest (odds ratio [OR] = 3.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.71, 8.94). Shade increased use of PRAs in Denver (control: pretest = 0.18, posttest = 0.19; treatment: pretest = 0.16, posttest = 0.47) more than Melbourne (control: pretest = 0.11, posttest = 0.14; shaded: pretest = 0.06, posttest = 0.19; OR = 2.98; 95% CI = 1.09, 8.14). Public investment in shade is warranted for skin cancer prevention and may be especially useful in the United States. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02971709.

Examining the nutritional quality of food and beverage consumed at Melbourne aquatic and recreation centres.

PubMed

Boelsen-Robinson, Tara; Chung, Alexandra; Khalil, Marianne; Wong, Evelyn; Kurzeme, Ariana; Peeters, Anna

2017-04-01

Examine the nutritional quality of food and beverages consumed across a sample of community aquatic and recreation centres in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Interviewer-administered surveys of randomly selected patrons attending four aquatic and recreation centres were conducted to ascertain food and beverage items consumed over two data collection periods (May-June 2014, January-February 2015). We selected centres in and around metropolitan Melbourne with a sit-down cafeteria and children's swimming classes. We classified items by government nutrient profiling guidelines; 'green' (best choice), 'amber' (choose carefully) or 'red' (limit). A total of 2,326 surveys were conducted (response rate 63%). Thirty-five per cent of surveyed patrons consumed food or beverages while at the centre; 54% of patrons purchased from the café and 61% brought items to the centre. More than half the food consumed from the café was 'red', increasing to 92% for children. One in five children visiting the centre consumed a 'red' item bought from the centre café. The nutritional quality of food and beverages consumed at recreation centres was generally poor, with the on-site cafés providing the majority of discretionary items consumed. Implications for public health: Community aquatic and recreation centres provide an opportunity to promote healthy eating by increasing the provision of healthy options and limiting discretionary food and drink items. © 2017 The Authors.

Shade Sails and Passive Recreation in Public Parks of Melbourne and Denver: A Randomized Intervention

PubMed Central

English, Dallas R.; Buller, Mary Klein; Simmons, Jody; Chamberlain, James A.; Wakefield, Melanie; Dobbinson, Suzanne

2017-01-01

Objectives. To test whether shade sails will increase the use of passive recreation areas (PRAs). Methods. We conducted a stratified randomized pretest–posttest controlled design study in Melbourne, Australia, and Denver, Colorado, in 2010 to 2014. We randomized a sample of 144 public parks with 2 PRAs in full sun in a 1:3 ratio to treatment or control. Shade sails were built at 1 PRA per treatment park. The outcome was any use of the study PRA (n = 576 pretest and n = 576 posttest observations; 100% follow-up). Results. Compared with control PRAs (adjusted probability of use: pretest = 0.14, posttest = 0.17), use of treatment PRAs (pretest = 0.10, posttest = 0.32) was higher at posttest (odds ratio [OR] = 3.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.71, 8.94). Shade increased use of PRAs in Denver (control: pretest = 0.18, posttest = 0.19; treatment: pretest = 0.16, posttest = 0.47) more than Melbourne (control: pretest = 0.11, posttest = 0.14; shaded: pretest = 0.06, posttest = 0.19; OR = 2.98; 95% CI = 1.09, 8.14). Conclusions. Public investment in shade is warranted for skin cancer prevention and may be especially useful in the United States. Trial Registration. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02971709. PMID:29048958

Personality as a risk factor in large bowel cancer: data from the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study.

PubMed

Kune, G A; Kune, S; Watson, L F; Bahnson, C B

1991-02-01

In a case control study which formed one arm of a large, population-based investigation of colorectal cancer incidence, aetiology and survival. 'The Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study', among others, 22 psychosocially orientated questions were asked by personal interview of 637 histologically confirmed new cases of colorectal cancer and 714 age/sex frequency matched community controls, from Melbourne (population 2.81 million). Self-reported childhood or adult life 'unhappiness' was statistically significantly more common among the cancer cases, while 'unhappiness with retirement' was similarly distributed among cases and controls. Questions which were formulated to test a particular personality profile as a cancer risk, and which included the elements of denial and repression of anger and of other negative emotions, a commitment to prevailing social norms resulting in the external appearance of a 'nice' or 'good' person, a suppression of reactions which may offend others and the avoidance of conflict, showed a statistically significant discrimination between cases and controls. The risk of colorectal cancer with respect to this model was independent of the previously found risk factors of diet, beer intake, and family history of colorectal cancer, and was also independent of other potential confounding factors of socioeconomic level, marital status, religion and country of birth. Although the results must be interpreted with caution, the data are consistent with the hypothesis that this personality type may play a role in the clinical expression of colorectal cancer and merits further study.

Peer support groups, mobile phones and refugee women in Melbourne.

PubMed

Liamputtong, Pranee; Koh, Lee; Wollersheim, Dennis; Walker, Rae

2016-09-01

In this article, we discuss qualitative findings basing on the experiences of refugee women living in Melbourne, Australia, who participated in a peer support training programme and received a free mobile phone. We pay attention to social support as a health enhancing strategy and empowerment that occurred among the participants. Participation in peer support groups and access to a mobile phone were beneficial for the women. Peer support functioned as social support among group members. The programme allowed the women to be connected to their families and the wider communities and assisted them to access health care and other settlement aspects with greater ease. It also increased personal empowerment among the women. Our programme shows that by tapping on community resources to ameliorate personal or resettlement issues, the burden on service providers can be reduced. Our findings also offer a model for future research and programmes regarding refugee people elsewhere. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Health seeking narratives of unwell Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Melbourne Australia.

PubMed

Samuel, Sophia; Advocat, Jenny; Russell, Grant

2018-03-01

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are among the largest group of refugees to resettle in Australia in the last decade. The aim of this study is to characterise the narratives of health-seeking among unwell Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Drawing on a qualitative, phenomenological perspective, we conducted in-depth interviews in Tamil and English with 12 participants who identified as being unwell for 6 months or more. Findings revealed three narratives of health-seeking: the search for the 'good life' that was lost or never experienced, seeking help from familiar channels in an unfamiliar context, and the desire for financial and occupational independence. These three narratives are undergirded by the metanarrative of a hope-filled recovery. These narratives of Tamil refugees' lived experience provide new insights into clinical care and health service delivery.

Assessment of soil metal concentrations in residential and community vegetable gardens in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Laidlaw, Mark A S; Alankarage, Dileepa H; Reichman, Suzie M; Taylor, Mark Patrick; Ball, Andrew S

2018-05-01

Gardening and urban food production is an increasingly popular activity, which can improve physical and mental health and provide low cost nutritious food. However, the legacy of contamination from industrial and diffuse sources may have rendered surface soils in some urban gardens to have metals value in excess of recommended guidelines for agricultural production. The objective of this study was to establish the presence and spatial extent of soil metal contamination in Melbourne's residential and inner city community gardens. A secondary objective was to assess whether soil lead (Pb) concentrations in residential vegetable gardens were associated with the age of the home or the presence or absence of paint. The results indicate that most samples in residential and community gardens were generally below the Australian residential guidelines for all tested metals except Pb. Mean soil Pb concentrations exceeded the Australian HIL-A residential guideline of 300 mg/kg in 8% of 13 community garden beds and 21% of the 136 residential vegetable gardens assessed. Mean and median soil Pb concentrations for residential vegetable gardens was 204 mg/kg and 104 mg/kg (range <4-3341 mg/kg), respectively. Mean and median soil Pb concentration for community vegetable garden beds was 102 mg/kg and 38 mg/kg (range = 17-578 mg/kg), respectively. Soil Pb concentrations were higher in homes with painted exteriors (p = 0.004); generally increased with age of the home (p = 0.000); and were higher beneath the household dripline than in vegetable garden beds (p = 0.040). In certain circumstances, the data indicates that elevated soil Pb concentrations could present a potential health hazard in a portion of inner-city residential vegetable gardens in Melbourne. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parents׳ experiences of raising pre-school aged children in an outer-Melbourne growth corridor.

PubMed

Andrews, Fiona Jane; Rich, Stephanie; Stockdale, Rebecca; Shelley, Julia

2014-05-01

There is growing concern about the outer-suburbs in Australia as healthy places to raise children. This paper aimed to explore this from the perspectives of parents raising preschool-age children in an outer-Melbourne municipality. Findings showed that parents were positive about the natural environment as well as the provision of recreation areas and generally felt their neighbourhoods were a safe place for raising children. However, car-dependency, housing estate design and limited local job opportunities all appeared to contribute to social isolation amongst families. Using the Environments for Health Framework, this paper makes suggestions to improve liveability for families in this municipality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors controlling volatile organic compounds in dwellings in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Cheng, M; Galbally, I E; Molloy, S B; Selleck, P W; Keywood, M D; Lawson, S J; Powell, J C; Gillett, R W; Dunne, E

2016-04-01

This study characterized indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and investigated the effects of the dwelling characteristics, building materials, occupant activities, and environmental conditions on indoor VOC concentrations in 40 dwellings located in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008 and 2009. A total of 97 VOCs were identified. Nine VOCs, n-butane, 2-methylbutane, toluene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, d-limonene, ethanol, 2-propanol, and acetic acid, accounted for 68% of the sum of all VOCs. The median indoor concentrations of all VOCs were greater than those measured outdoors. The occupant density was positively associated with indoor VOC concentrations via occupant activities, including respiration and combustion. Terpenes were associated with the use of household cleaning and laundry products. A petroleum-like indoor VOC signature of alkanes and aromatics was associated with the proximity of major roads. The indoor VOC concentrations were negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with ventilation. Levels of VOCs in these Australian dwellings were lower than those from previous studies in North America and Europe, probably due to a combination of an ongoing temporal decrease in indoor VOC concentrations and the leakier nature of Australian dwellings. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fertility and work-force participation: The experience of Melbourne Wives.

PubMed

Ware, H

1976-11-01

Summary Current and retrospective data on the fertility control, work-force participation intentions and practice of Melbourne wives are combined in an examination of the causal link between work-force participation and reduced family size. Stress is laid on the analysis of the interaction between work-force participation and fertility over time, taking into account the proportion of married life spent in the work-force, rather than relying exclusively on a measure of current participation, the only option available in the analysis of census-type data. The wide range of information available makes it possible to study the effects of work-force participation on wives of unimpaired fertility, as well as the different consequences of planned and unplanned participation, and of working in a variety of occupations and for a number of distinct reasons. Examination of the future fertility intentions and current contraceptive practice of the younger wives shows that working wives are not, in these respects, markedly different from their house-wife peers. Overall, the balance of the evidence indicates that in the majority of cases fertility influences work-force participation rather than the converse.

Forest Fire Smoke Exposures and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Melbourne, Australia: A Case-Crossover Study.

PubMed

Dennekamp, Martine; Straney, Lahn D; Erbas, Bircan; Abramson, Michael J; Keywood, Melita; Smith, Karen; Sim, Malcolm R; Glass, Deborah C; Del Monaco, Anthony; Haikerwal, Anjali; Tonkin, Andrew M

2015-10-01

Millions of people can potentially be exposed to smoke from forest fires, making this an important public health problem in many countries. In this study we aimed to measure the association between out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and forest fire smoke exposures in a large city during a severe forest fire season, and estimate the number of excess OHCAs due to the fire smoke. We investigated the association between particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants and OHCA using a case-crossover study of adults (≥ 35 years of age) in Melbourne, Australia. Conditional logistic regression models were used to derive estimates of the percent change in the rate of OHCA associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure. From July 2006 through June 2007, OHCA data were collected from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry. Hourly air pollution concentrations and meteorological data were obtained from a central monitoring site. There were 2,046 OHCAs with presumed cardiac etiology during our study period. Among men during the fire season, greater increases in OHCA were observed with IQR increases in the 48-hr lagged PM with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) (8.05%; 95% CI: 2.30, 14.13%; IQR = 6.1 μg/m(3)) or ≤ 10 μm (PM10) (11.1%; 95% CI: 1.55, 21.48%; IQR = 13.7 μg/m(3)) and carbon monoxide (35.7%; 95% CI: 8.98, 68.92%; IQR = 0.3 ppm). There was no significant association between the rate of OHCA and air pollutants among women. One hundred seventy-four "fire-hours" (i.e., hours in which Melbourne's air quality was affected by forest fire smoke) were identified during 12 days of the 2006/2007 fire season, and 23.9 (95% CI: 3.1, 40.2) excess OHCAs were estimated to occur due to elevations in PM2.5 during these fire-hours. This study found an association between exposure to forest fire smoke and an increase in the rate of OHCA. These findings have implications for public health messages to raise community awareness and for planning of emergency

Breast pump use amongst mothers of healthy term infants in Melbourne, Australia: A prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Johns, Helene M; Amir, Lisa H; McLachlan, Helen L; Forster, Della A

2016-02-01

this paper describes the use of breast pumps amongst a group of mothers of healthy term infants in Melbourne, Australia, between birth and six months post partum. a prospective cohort study; data were collected using structured questionnaires. 1003 postpartum women who had given birth to healthy infants at term were recruited from three Melbourne maternity hospitals between July 2009 and April 2011. Data were collected by face-to-face interview at recruitment and by telephone interview three and six months later. at recruitment (24 to 48 hours post partum), 60% (605/1003) of women already had a breast pump. At two weeks post partum expressing was common; 62% (290/466) of women had expressed by this time, with 40% (186/466) doing so several times a day. By six months post partum 83% (754/911) of the women had a breast pump and 40% (288/715) were expressing, although most just occasionally. The most common reasons for any expressing in the first six months were 'to be able to go out and leave the baby' (35%; 268/772); milk supply 'not enough'(27%; 207/772); and having 'too much' milk (19%; 147/772). The increasing popularity of expressing breast milk to feed infants is not driven by women returning to the workforce, as only 10% of women (80/772) expressed because they had returned to paid employment. health professionals should be aware that in some settings breast pump use is common in the first six months, and this is not always related to maternal workforce participation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variation in outcomes of the Melbourne Infant, Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program according to maternal education and age.

PubMed

Cameron, Adrian J; Ball, Kylie; Hesketh, Kylie D; McNaughton, Sarah A; Salmon, Jo; Crawford, David A; Lioret, Sandrine; Campbell, Karen J

2014-01-01

To assess the effectiveness of the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program according to maternal education and age. A cluster-randomised controlled trial involving 542 mother/infant pairs from 62 existing first-time parent groups was conducted in 2008 in Melbourne, Australia. The intervention involved 6 × 2-hour dietitian-delivered sessions, DVD and written resources from infant age 4-15 months. Outcomes included infant diet (3 × 24 h diet recalls), physical activity (accelerometry), television viewing and body mass index. We tested for moderation by maternal education (with/without a University degree) and age (< 32 and ≥ 32 years). The trial was registered with the ISRCTN Register (identifier 81847050). Interaction effects with the treatment arm were observed for maternal education and age. The intervention effects on vegetable (positive effect) and sweet snack consumption (negative effect) were greater in children with higher educated mothers while intervention effects on water consumption (positive effect) were greater in infants with lower educated mothers. The intervention was also more effective in increasing both vegetable and water consumption in infants with mothers aged < 32 years. Child obesity prevention interventions may be differentially effective according to maternal education and age. Evidence of differential effects is important for informing more sensitively targeted/tailored approaches. © 2013.

Herbicides and trace metals in urban waters in Melbourne, Australia (2011-12): concentrations and potential impact.

PubMed

Allinson, Mayumi; Zhang, Pei; Bui, AnhDuyen; Myers, Jackie H; Pettigrove, Vincent; Rose, Gavin; Salzman, Scott A; Walters, Robert; Allinson, Graeme

2017-03-01

Urban stormwater samples were collected from five aquatic systems in Melbourne, Australia, on six occasions between October 2011 and March 2012 and tested for 30 herbicides and 14 trace metals. Nineteen different herbicides were observed in one or more water samples from the five sites; chemicals observed at more than 40% of sites were simazine (100%), MCPA (83%), diuron (63%) and atrazine (53%). Using the toxicity unit (TU) concept to assess potential risk to aquatic ecosystems, none of the detected herbicides were considered to pose an individual, group or collective short-term risk to fish or zooplankton in the waters studied. However, 13 herbicides had TU values suggesting they might have posed an individual risk to primary producers at the time of sampling. Water quality guideline levels were exceeded on many occasions for Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn. Similarly, RQ med and RQ max exceeded 1 for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn. Almost all the metals screened exceeded a log 10 TU of -3 for every trophic level, suggesting that there may have been some impact on aquatic organisms in the studied waterbodies. Our data indicate that Melbourne's urban aquatic environments may be being impacted by approved domestic, industrial and sporting application of herbicides and that stormwater quality needs to be carefully assessed prior to reuse. Further research is required to understand the performance of different urban stormwater wetland designs in removing pesticides and trace metals. Applying the precautionary principle to herbicide regulation is important to ensure there is more research and assessment of the long-term 'performance' standard of all herbicides and throughout their 'life cycle'. Implementing such an approach will also ensure government, regulators, decision makers, researchers, policy makers and industry have the best possible information available to improve the management of chemicals, from manufacture to use.

Report on the comparison of the scan strategies employed by the Patrick Air Force Base WSR-74C/McGill radar and the NWS Melbourne WSR-88D radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Gregory; Evans, Randolph; Manobianco, John; Schumann, Robin; Wheeler, Mark; Yersavich, Ann

1994-01-01

The objective of this investigation is to determine whether the current standard WSR-88D radar (NEXRAD) scan strategies permit the use of the Melbourne WSR-88D to perform the essential functions now performed by the Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) WSR-74C/McGill radar for evaluating shuttle weather flight rules (FR) and launch commit criteria (LCC). To meet this objective, the investigation compared the beam coverage patterns of the WSR-74C/McGill radar located at PAFB and the WSR-88D radar located at the Melbourne National Weather Service (NWS) Office over the area of concern for weather FR and LCC evaluations. The analysis focused on beam coverage within four vertical 74 km radius cylinders (1 to 4 km above ground level (AGL), 4 to 8 km AGL, 8 to 12 km AGL, and 1 to 12 km AGL) centered on Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A. The PAFB WSR-74C/McGill radar is approximately 17 km north-northeast of the Melbourne WSR-88D radar. The beam coverage of the WSR-88D using VCP 11 located at the Melbourne NWS Office is comparable (difference in percent of the atmosphere sampled between the two radars is 10 percent or less) within the area of concern to the beam coverage of the WSR-74C/McGill radar located at PAFB. Both radars provide good beam coverage over much of the atmospheric region of concern. In addition, both radars provide poor beam coverage (coverage less than 50 percent) over limited regions near the radars due to the radars' cone of silence and gaps in coverage within the higher elevation scans. Based on scan strategy alone, the WSR-88D radar could be used to perform the essential functions now performed by the PAFB WSR-74C/McGill radar for evaluating shuttle weather FR and LCC. Other radar characteristics may, however, affect the decision as to which radar to use in a given case.

The Melbourne Family Support Program: evidence-based strategies that prepare family caregivers for supporting palliative care patients.

PubMed

Hudson, Peter; Aranda, Sanchia

2014-09-01

A key component of palliative care is support for family caregivers. Although some family caregivers identify positive aspects, the impact is typically burdensome; they are prone to physical and psychological morbidity, financial disadvantage and social isolation. Outcomes of systematic reviews have highlighted the importance of investment in family caregiver intervention research. To provide an overview of the development, evaluation and outcomes arising from of a programme of research (The Melbourne Family Support Program (FSP)), which focused on reducing the psychosocial burden of family caregivers. Developmental work involved a systematic literature review; focus groups with family caregivers and health professionals; and identification of a conceptual framework. Following a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT), a programme of psychoeducational intervention studies was developed and tested; one via RCT, the others via prepost test. Four psychoeducational interventions, incorporating one-to-one and group format delivery, conducted in both the home and inpatient hospital/hospice were evaluated. Statistically significant outcomes included improvements in family caregivers' preparedness, competence, positive emotions, more favourable levels of psychological wellbeing and a reduction in unmet needs. Internationally endorsed guidelines for the psychosocial support of family caregivers were produced and several resources were constructed. Fifteen publications in international peer-reviewed journals have arisen from this programme. The interventions and resources from the Melbourne FSP provide several evidenced-based and clinically relevant approaches that focus on reducing the psychosocial burden of the caregiving role. In several instances, however, more rigorous methodological testing is advocated. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Two consecutive thunderstorm associated epidemics of asthma in the city of Melbourne. The possible role of rye grass pollen.

PubMed

Bellomo, R; Gigliotti, P; Treloar, A; Holmes, P; Suphioglu, C; Singh, M B; Knox, B

1992-06-15

To document the clinical impact and identify the meteorological and environmental circumstances surrounding two epidemics of asthma exacerbations associated with thunderstorms in the city of Melbourne and to find a possible aetiology for these events. Collection of meteorological and environmental data from the Victorian Bureau of Meteorology and the Environment Protection Authority; collection of clinical data from metropolitan emergency departments and the Victorian Ambulance Service; and study of a cohort of affected patients with asthma and a control group of asthmatics who were not affected by the storms. Tertiary institution. Twelve storm-affected patients with asthma and 16 asthmatics not affected by the storms. Administration of a questionnaire, medical interview, pulmonary function tests and skin prick tests with common allergens. Both epidemics caused a major increase in the number of hospital attendances and admissions because of asthma exacerbation (five to ten fold rise). These events could not be related to atmospheric pollution or specific meteorological features of the storms. Patients affected by the second storm were significantly more likely to suffer from hay fever (P less than 0.05), rye grass pollen allergy (P less than 0.05) and allergy to rainfall released rye grass starch granules (P less than 0.025). Late spring thunderstorms in the city of Melbourne can trigger epidemics of asthma attacks. The seasonal nature of the phenomenon and the pattern of allergic responses found in affected patients suggest a possible aetiological role for rye grass pollen.

Mothers' health and babies' weights: the biology of poverty at the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital, 1857-83.

PubMed

Mccalman, Janet; Morley, Ruth

2003-04-01

Birth weight remains a major focus of medical research into the relationship between pre-natal growth and life course health, and historians have used mean birth weight to assess women's standard of living. However, there are intrinsic difficulties in inferring maternal health and nutritional status from birth weight, and some of the known data sets produce puzzling results. One rich data set comes from the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital, 1857-83, and the article discusses the complex institutional, social, and economic causes that may underlie its apparently counter-intuitive anthropometric results. This data set reveals the biological effects differential social conditions can inflict, even within an otherwise affluent society.

3D calculation of Tucson-Melbourne 3NF effect in triton binding energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hadizadeh, M. R.; Tomio, L.; Bayegan, S.

2010-08-04

As an application of the new realistic three-dimensional (3D) formalism reported recently for three-nucleon (3N) bound states, an attempt is made to study the effect of three-nucleon forces (3NFs) in triton binding energy in a non partial wave (PW) approach. The spin-isospin dependent 3N Faddeev integral equations with the inclusion of 3NFs, which are formulated as function of vector Jacobi momenta, specifically the magnitudes of the momenta and the angle between them, are solved with Bonn-B and Tucson-Melbourne NN and 3N forces in operator forms which can be incorporated in our 3D formalism. The comparison with numerical results in both,more » novel 3D and standard PW schemes, shows that non PW calculations avoid the very involved angular momentum algebra occurring for the permutations and transformations and it is more efficient and less cumbersome for considering the 3NF.« less

A tale of two cities: a review of homicide in Melbourne and Glasgow in 2005.

PubMed

Lynch, Matthew; Black, Marjorie

2008-01-01

The Departments of Forensic Medicine and Science at the University of Glasgow and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Melbourne are academic university-based forensic medicine units providing a medico-legal death investigation service to the Strathclyde region of Scotland and the State of Victoria, Australia, respectively. We reviewed and compared homicides in the two jurisdictions for the year 2005. Whilst gross numbers were comparable, the homicide rate per capita was significantly higher in Glasgow. Death due to stabbing comprised a greater proportion of homicides in Glasgow, reflective of a well recognised social epidemic of knife-related trauma amongst young males. Blunt force trauma was the most prevalent cause of homicidal injury in the Australian cases. The cities shared a low incidence of firearm- related homicide, reflective of strict legislative initiatives.

The impact of sustained hot weather on risk of acute work-related injury in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

McInnes, Judith Anne; MacFarlane, Ewan M; Sim, Malcolm R; Smith, Peter

2018-02-01

It has been reported that weather-related high ambient temperature is associated with an increased risk of work-related injury. Understanding this relationship is important because work-related injuries are a major public health problem, and because projected climate changes will potentially expose workers to hot days, including consecutive hot days, more often. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of exposure to sustained periods of hot weather on work-related injury risk for workers in Melbourne, Australia. A time-stratified case crossover study design was utilised to examine the association between two and three consecutive days and two and three consecutive nights of hot weather and the risk of work-related injury, using definitions of hot weather ranging from the 60th to the 95th percentile of daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the Melbourne metropolitan area, 2002-2012. Workers' compensation claim data was used to identify cases of acute work-related injury. Overall, two and three consecutive days of hot weather were associated with an increased risk of injury, with this effect becoming apparent at a daily maximum temperature of 27.6 °C (70th percentile). Three consecutive days of high but not extreme temperatures were associated with the strongest effect, with a 15% increased risk of injury (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.30) observed when daily maximum temperature was ≥33.3 °C (90th percentile) for three consecutive days, compared to when it was not. At a threshold of 35.5 °C (95th percentile), there was no significant association between temperature and injury for either two or three consecutive days of heat. These findings suggest that warnings to minimise harm to workers from hot weather should be given, and prevention protocol initiated, when consecutive warm days of temperatures lower than extreme heat temperatures are forecast, and well before the upper ranges of ambient daytime temperatures are reached.

Mediators of improved child diet quality following a health promotion intervention: the Melbourne InFANT Program.

PubMed

Spence, Alison C; Campbell, Karen J; Crawford, David A; McNaughton, Sarah A; Hesketh, Kylie D

2014-11-04

Young children's diets are currently suboptimal. Given that mothers have a critical influence on children' diets, they are typically a target of interventions to improve early childhood nutrition. Understanding the maternal factors which mediate an intervention's effect on young children's diets is important, but has not been well investigated. This research aimed to test whether maternal feeding knowledge, maternal feeding practices, maternal self-efficacy, and maternal dietary intakes acted as mediators of the effect of an intervention to improve child diet quality. The Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program was a cluster-randomized controlled trial, conducted from 2008-2010. This novel, low-dose, health promotion intervention was delivered quarterly over 15 months and involved educational activities, promotion of peer discussion, a DVD and written materials. Post-intervention, when children were approximately 18 months of age, child diets were assessed using multiple 24-hour recalls and a purpose-developed index of diet quality, the Obesity Protective Dietary Index. Maternal mediators were assessed using a combination of previously validated and purpose-deigned tools. Mediation analysis was conducted using the test of joint significance and difference of coefficients methods. Across 62 parents' groups in Melbourne, Australia, 542 parents were recruited. Post- intervention, higher maternal feeding knowledge and lower use of foods as rewards was found to mediate the direct intervention effect on child diet quality. While other aspects of maternal feeding practices, self-efficacy and dietary intakes did not act as mediators, they were associated with child diet quality. Mediation analysis of this novel health promotion intervention showed the importance of maternal feeding knowledge and use of foods as rewards in impacting child diet quality. The other maternal factors assessed were appropriate targets but further research on how to

The impact of sustained hot weather on risk of acute work-related injury in Melbourne, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McInnes, Judith Anne; MacFarlane, Ewan M.; Sim, Malcolm R.; Smith, Peter

2018-02-01

It has been reported that weather-related high ambient temperature is associated with an increased risk of work-related injury. Understanding this relationship is important because work-related injuries are a major public health problem, and because projected climate changes will potentially expose workers to hot days, including consecutive hot days, more often. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of exposure to sustained periods of hot weather on work-related injury risk for workers in Melbourne, Australia. A time-stratified case crossover study design was utilised to examine the association between two and three consecutive days and two and three consecutive nights of hot weather and the risk of work-related injury, using definitions of hot weather ranging from the 60th to the 95th percentile of daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the Melbourne metropolitan area, 2002-2012. Workers' compensation claim data was used to identify cases of acute work-related injury. Overall, two and three consecutive days of hot weather were associated with an increased risk of injury, with this effect becoming apparent at a daily maximum temperature of 27.6 °C (70th percentile). Three consecutive days of high but not extreme temperatures were associated with the strongest effect, with a 15% increased risk of injury (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.30) observed when daily maximum temperature was ≥33.3 °C (90th percentile) for three consecutive days, compared to when it was not. At a threshold of 35.5 °C (95th percentile), there was no significant association between temperature and injury for either two or three consecutive days of heat. These findings suggest that warnings to minimise harm to workers from hot weather should be given, and prevention protocol initiated, when consecutive warm days of temperatures lower than extreme heat temperatures are forecast, and well before the upper ranges of ambient daytime temperatures are reached.

The characteristics of acute non-fatal medication-related events attended by ambulance services in the Melbourne Metropolitan Area 1998-2002.

PubMed

Hutton, Jennie; Dent, Andrew; Buykx, Penny; Burgess, Stephen; Flander, Louisa; Dietze, Paul

2010-01-01

To describe the characteristics of non-fatal medication-related ambulance attendances in Melbourne. A retrospective analysis of 16 705 patient care records completed by ambulance paramedics in Melbourne where medications had a causal role in the attendance. A single medication only was implicated in 11 765 cases (70% of the total). Of these, 85% involved one of six types of medication: benzodiazepines (52%), paracetamol (15%), selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (6.5%), combination paracetamol and opioids (4%), phenothiazines (3.4%) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) (3.7%). Cases involving benzodiazepines were significantly (P < 0.001) older (Average = 37 years) than those involving paracetamol (Average = 30 years). Thirty-four per cent of cases involved concurrent alcohol use, and this varied according to drug type (paracetamol 26%, benzodiazepines 40%, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors 35%, paracetamol and opioids 35%). An abnormal Glasgow Coma Scale score was found in 19% of cases, again varying according to drug type (paracetamol 10%, TCA 39%, benzodiazepines 21%, paracetamol and opioids 17%, phenothiazines 15%). Ten per cent of cases were not transported to hospital ranging from 3% for TCA to 13% for benzodiazepines. The majority of non-fatal medication events attended by ambulance paramedics involve one of six substances. Benzodiazepines were most commonly implicated and, as management may require only simple supportive treatment, significant numbers are not transported to hospital. The unique clinical population is identified in this study and the ongoing medical and psychiatric treatment of these patients not transported to hospital in the study period needs to be considered.

Acceptability of general practice services for Afghan refugees in south-eastern Melbourne.

PubMed

Manchikanti, Prashanti; Cheng, I-Hao; Advocat, Jenny; Russell, Grant

2017-04-01

Over 750000 refugees have resettled in Australia since 1945. Despite complex health needs related to prior traumatic experiences and the challenges of resettlement in a foreign country, refugees experience poor access to primary care. Health and settlement service providers describe numerous cultural, communication, financial and health literacy barriers. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of general practitioner (GP) services and understand what aspects of acceptability are relevant for Afghan refugees in south-eastern Melbourne. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two Afghan community leaders and 16 Dari- or English-speaking Afghan refugees who accessed GP services. Two distinct narratives emerged - those of recently arrived refugees and established refugees (living in Australia for 3 years or longer). Transecting these narratives, participants indicated the importance of: (1) a preference for detailed clinical assessments, diagnostic investigations and the provision of prescriptions at the first consultation; (2) 'refugee-friendly' staff; and (3) integrated, 'one-stop-shop' GP clinic features. The value of acceptable personal characteristics evolved over time - GP acceptability was less a consideration for recently arrived, compared with more, established refugees. The findings reinforce the importance of tailoring healthcare delivery to the evolving needs and healthcare expectations of newly arrived and established refugees respectively.

Infant feeding intentions among first time pregnant women in urban Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

York, Elissa; Hoban, Elizabeth

2013-07-01

to identify first time pregnant women's infant feeding intentions for the first 2 years of life. a qualitative phenomenological approach was used, with semi-structured interviews as the primary method of data collection. two of Eastern Health's antenatal clinics in the outer east region of Melbourne, Australia. seven first time pregnant women from an Eastern Health antenatal clinic. women's infant feeding intention for the first 2 years of life. all the participants intend to breast feed their infant for around 6 months. Women rely heavily on information about infant feeding options from friends, books and the internet, as the information provided by health professionals was found to be inadequate, acquired late in the pregnancy and difficult to access. the information women receive from midwives at antenatal appointments and parenting classes about infant feeding options is inadequate, as women are not satisfied with the timing, amount and usefulness of the information they receive. in order to see an increase in the rate of breast feeding it is imperative to create supportive environments for women to breast feed, and for midwives and health professionals to provide information and continued support for women in both the pre- and postnatal period. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Musculoskeletal injuries in the ultramarathon: the 1990 Westfield Sydney to Melbourne run.

PubMed Central

Fallon, K E

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To document the injuries sustained by participants in a 1005 km ultramarathon. METHODS: Clinical notes were reviewed on entrants in the 1005 km Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon. An injury was recorded following self referral by a participant or if the history obtained from the runner or his support crew indicated the likelihood of a significant injury which could have an impact upon performance. RESULTS: 64 injuries were found in 32 runners. The knee (31.3%) and ankle (28.1%) regions were most commonly injured. The most common single diagnosis was retropatellar pain syndrome, and Achilles tendinitis and medial tibial stress syndrome were the next most common injuries. Peritendinitis/tendinitis of the tendons passing under the extensor retinaculum at the ankle, an injury infrequently reported in other sports, was common (19% of all injuries). CONCLUSIONS: The injuries were typically associated with running but 12 (19% of the total) involved the tendons of the muscles of the anterior compartment of the lower leg, and in almost every case the major site of inflammation was at the extensor retinaculum at the anterior aspect of the ankle. This injury appears to be relatively specific to the ultramarathon-"ultramarathoner's ankle". Images p321-a PMID:9015594

Intergenerational differences in acculturation experiences, food beliefs and perceived health risks among refugees from the Horn of Africa in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Wilson, Alyce; Renzaho, Andre

2015-01-01

To investigate the differences in acculturation experiences between parent and adolescent refugees from the Horn of Africa in Melbourne, Australia and to explore food beliefs and perceived health risks from an intergenerational perspective. Qualitative cross-sectional study involving a combination of semi-structured one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions. North-West suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali and Sudanese refugees. Using a purposeful sampling technique, twelve semi-structured face-to-face interviews (nine adults and three adolescents) and four in-depth focus groups (two with adolescents each containing six participants and two with adults one containing six participants and the other ten participants) were carried out. Thus overall data were obtained on fifteen adolescents and twenty-five parents. Qualitative analysis identified differences between parents and adolescents in relation to lifestyle, diet and physical activity. Views regarding health consequences of their changed diets also differed. Parental feeding practices encompassed a variety of methods and were enforced in an attempt by parents to control their children's dietary behaviours and prevent their drift away from traditional eating habits. These findings call for more research to contextualise dietary acculturation among refugee youth and the impact of migration on parenting styles and feeding practices in communities from the Horn of Africa. Preventive health programmes with Horn of Africa refugees need to acknowledge the effect of acculturation on diet and physical activity levels and a socio-cultural framework needs to be developed with respect to the importance and influence of the family environment.

Summer heat: a cross-sectional analysis of seasonal differences in sexual behaviour and sexually transmissible diseases in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Cornelisse, Vincent J; Chow, Eric P F; Chen, Marcus Y; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Fairley, Christopher K

2016-06-01

To date, no study has correlated seasonal differences in sexual behaviour with the seasonal differences in sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and no seasonal study of STIs has been conducted in the southern hemisphere. Our study aimed to describe seasonal differences in sexual behaviour and correlate this with seasonal differences in STI diagnoses in Melbourne, Australia. This was a cross-sectional study of individuals attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre over a 9-year period from 2006 to 2014. We conducted separate analyses for men who have sex with men (MSM) and men who have sex with women (MSW), and women. Seasonal patterns of sexual behaviour and STI positivity were examined within each group. All groups reported a higher number of partners over the preceding three months for consultations in summer compared with winter (MSM mean 5.48 vs 5.03; MSW mean 2.46 vs 2.31; women mean 1.83 vs 1.72). Urethral gonorrhoea diagnoses among MSM were higher in summer compared with winter (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.46). Similarly, non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) diagnoses among MSW were the highest in summer (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.20), but there was no seasonal difference in NGU diagnoses when we adjusted for partner numbers. In women, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) diagnoses peaked in autumn, when rates were higher than in winter (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.55). Our results describe a peak in sexual partner number and STI diagnoses during consultations in summer in men and a rise in PID in autumn in women. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne - what does e-publication mean for you?

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Changes to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature are decided on every 6 years at Nomenclature Sections associated with International Botanical Congresses (IBC). The XVIII IBC was held in Melbourne, Australia; the Nomenclature Section met on 18-22 July 2011 and its decisions were accepted by the Congress at its plenary session on 30 July. Several important changes were made to the Code as a result of this meeting that will affect publication of new names. Two of these changes will come into effect on 1 January 2012, some months before the Melbourne Code is published. Electronic material published online in Portable Document Format (PDF) with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) or an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) will constitute effective publication, and the requirement for a Latin description or diagnosis for names of new taxa will be changed to a requirement for a description or diagnosis in either Latin or English. In addition, effective from 1 January 2013, new names of organisms treated as fungi must, in order to be validly published, include in the protologue (everything associated with a name at its valid publication) the citation of an identifier issued by a recognized repository (such as MycoBank). Draft text of the new articles dealing with electronic publication is provided and best practice is outlined. To encourage dissemination of the changes made to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, this article will be published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Brittonia, Cladistics, MycoKeys, Mycotaxon, New Phytologist, North American Fungi, Novon, Opuscula Philolichenum, PhytoKeys, Phytoneuron, Phytotaxa, Plant Diversity and Resources, Systematic Botany and Taxon. PMID:21917189

Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne - what does e-publication mean for you?

PubMed Central

Knapp, Sandra; McNeill, John; Turland, Nicholas J.

2011-01-01

Abstract Changes to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature are decided on every 6 years at Nomenclature Sections associated with International Botanical Congresses (IBC). The XVIII IBC was held in Melbourne, Australia; the Nomenclature Section met on 18-22 July 2011 and its decisions were accepted by the Congress at its plenary session on 30 July. Several important changes were made to the Code as a result of this meeting that will affect publication of new names. Two of these changes will come into effect on 1 January 2012, some months before the Melbourne Code is published. Electronic material published online in Portable Document Format (PDF) with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) or an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) will constitute effective publication, and the requirement for a Latin description or diagnosis for names of new taxa will be changed to a requirement for a description or diagnosis in either Latin or English. In addition, effective from 1 January 2013, new names of organisms treated as fungi must, in order to be validly published, include in the protologue (everything associated with a name at its valid publication) the citation of an identifier issued by a recognized repository (such as MycoBank). Draft text of the new articles dealing with electronic publication is provided and best practice is outlined. To encourage dissemination of the changes made to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, this article will be published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Brittonia, Cladistics, MycoKeys, Mycotaxon, New Phytologist, North American Fungi, Novon, Opuscula Philolichenum, PhytoKeys, Phytoneuron, Phytotaxa, Plant Diversity and Resources, Systematic Botany and Taxon. PMID:22287918

Accessing maternal and child health services in Melbourne, Australia: reflections from refugee families and service providers.

PubMed

Riggs, Elisha; Davis, Elise; Gibbs, Lisa; Block, Karen; Szwarc, Jo; Casey, Sue; Duell-Piening, Philippa; Waters, Elizabeth

2012-05-15

Often new arrivals from refugee backgrounds have experienced poor health and limited access to healthcare services. The maternal and child health (MCH) service in Victoria, Australia, is a joint local and state government operated, cost-free service available to all mothers of children aged 0-6 years. Although well-child healthcare visits are useful in identifying health issues early, there has been limited investigation in the use of these services for families from refugee backgrounds. This study aims to explore experiences of using MCH services, from the perspective of families from refugee backgrounds and service providers. We used a qualitative study design informed by the socioecological model of health and a cultural competence approach. Two geographical areas of Melbourne were selected to invite participants. Seven focus groups were conducted with 87 mothers from Karen, Iraqi, Assyrian Chaldean, Lebanese, South Sudanese and Bhutanese backgrounds, who had lived an average of 4.7 years in Australia (range one month-18 years). Participants had a total of 249 children, of these 150 were born in Australia. Four focus groups and five interviews were conducted with MCH nurses, other healthcare providers and bicultural workers. Four themes were identified: facilitating access to MCH services; promoting continued engagement with the MCH service; language challenges; and what is working well and could be done better. Several processes were identified that facilitated initial access to the MCH service but there were implications for continued use of the service. The MCH service was not formally notified of new parents arriving with young children. Pre-arranged group appointments by MCH nurses for parents who attended playgroups worked well to increase ongoing service engagement. Barriers for parents in using MCH services included access to transportation, lack of confidence in speaking English and making phone bookings. Service users and providers reported that

Accessing maternal and child health services in Melbourne, Australia: Reflections from refugee families and service providers

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Often new arrivals from refugee backgrounds have experienced poor health and limited access to healthcare services. The maternal and child health (MCH) service in Victoria, Australia, is a joint local and state government operated, cost-free service available to all mothers of children aged 0–6 years. Although well-child healthcare visits are useful in identifying health issues early, there has been limited investigation in the use of these services for families from refugee backgrounds. This study aims to explore experiences of using MCH services, from the perspective of families from refugee backgrounds and service providers. Methods We used a qualitative study design informed by the socioecological model of health and a cultural competence approach. Two geographical areas of Melbourne were selected to invite participants. Seven focus groups were conducted with 87 mothers from Karen, Iraqi, Assyrian Chaldean, Lebanese, South Sudanese and Bhutanese backgrounds, who had lived an average of 4.7 years in Australia (range one month-18 years). Participants had a total of 249 children, of these 150 were born in Australia. Four focus groups and five interviews were conducted with MCH nurses, other healthcare providers and bicultural workers. Results Four themes were identified: facilitating access to MCH services; promoting continued engagement with the MCH service; language challenges; and what is working well and could be done better. Several processes were identified that facilitated initial access to the MCH service but there were implications for continued use of the service. The MCH service was not formally notified of new parents arriving with young children. Pre-arranged group appointments by MCH nurses for parents who attended playgroups worked well to increase ongoing service engagement. Barriers for parents in using MCH services included access to transportation, lack of confidence in speaking English and making phone bookings. Service users

Emergency demand, repeat and frequent presentations by older patients in metropolitan Melbourne: A retrospective cohort study using routinely collected hospital data.

PubMed

Lowthian, Judy; Turner, Lyle; Joe, Angela; Pearce, Christopher; Brijnath, Bianca; Browning, Colette; Shearer, Marianne; Mazza, Danielle

2018-01-18

To describe patterns for potentially avoidable general practice (PAGP)-type and non-PAGP-type ED presentations by older patients during 2008 and 2012. Retrospective analysis of ED presentations by patients ≥70 years for 2008 and 2012. Metropolitan Melbourne public hospital data were obtained from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset. Outcomes were characteristics of PAGP-type and non-PAGP-type presentations as defined by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; numbers and rates per 1000 population ≥70 years of repeat (×2-3/year) and frequent (≥ ×4/year) PAGP-type and non-PAGP-type presentations. The older metropolitan Melbourne population increased by 10.3% between 2008 and 2012, whereas the number of ED presentations increased by 12.7%. The volume of PAGP-type presentations decreased by 2.6%, with declining rates per 1000 population ≥70 years of repeat (7.2-6.2) and frequent (0.7-0.4) presentation. In contrast, the volume of non-PAGP-type presentations grew by 15.4%, with increasing repeat (57.6-60.7) and frequent (13.1-14.2) presentation rates per 1000 population ≥70 years. The majority (39%) of non-PAGP-type presentations by frequent ED attenders were due to cardiovascular or respiratory problems. The rate of repeat and frequent PAGP-type presentations by older people decreased in 2012 compared with 2008, suggesting that initiatives implemented to reduce avoidable presentations may have had an effect. However, an increase in the rate of frequent non-PAGP-type presentations, predominately for acute exacerbation of cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, has important implications for planning future healthcare delivery; hence, the importance of initiatives such as the Health Care Home. © 2018 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

The use of alprazolam by people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Horyniak, Danielle; Reddel, Siobhan; Quinn, Brendan; Dietze, Paul

2012-06-01

In Australia, people who inject drugs (PWID) commonly report the use of benzodiazepines (BZDs). This paper explores the emerging use of alprazolam among PWID in Melbourne, Australia. This study reports on 3 years of data collected through the Victorian Illicit Drug Reporting System (2008-2010). Structured interviews were conducted with 451 PWID and analysed using odds ratios and χ(2)-tests for trends over time. While the proportion of PWID reporting recent BZD use remained stable over time, the proportion reporting alprazolam to be their most commonly used BZD fluctuated, peaking in 2009. Alprazolam users were significantly more likely to report using illicit BZDs and to report recent BZD injection compared with users of other BZDs. Alprazolam use was associated with the sale of drugs for cash, but not with other criminal activities. The fluctuations in alprazolam use over time may be reflective of medical practitioners ceasing to prescribe alprazolam in response to reports of associated harms; however, this may in turn be driving the illicit alprazolam market. While the data do not indicate a clear association between alprazolam use and harms, considering the potential severity of associated harms and the association between alprazolam use and anterograde amnesia, patterns of alprazolam use among PWID should be closely monitored. Potential changes to prescribing practice should consider unintended consequences, such as replacement with other BZD types, or illicitly obtained BZDs. © 2011 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

The contribution of smoking to socioeconomic differentials in mortality: results from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, Australia

PubMed Central

Siahpush, Mohammad; English, Dallas; Powles, John

2006-01-01

Objective To assess the contribution of smoking to the inverse association of mortality with years of formal education in men in Australia. Design Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study that included 17 049 men in Melbourne recruited from 1990 to 1994, most of whom were aged between 40 and 69 years at baseline. The outcome measured was all‐cause mortality. The contribution of smoking to socioeconomic status differentials was estimated by including smoking as a variable in a Cox's proportional hazards model that also included education and other potential confounding variables. Results In men, the association between education and mortality was attenuated after adjustment for smoking, and the aetiological fraction for low levels of education was reduced from 16.5% to 10.6%. Conclusions In men, smoking contributes substantially to socioeconomic differentials in mortality. Effective policies and interventions that target smoking among socially disadvantaged groups may substantially reduce socioeconomic differentials in health. PMID:17108305

A comparative, epidemiological study of acute renal colic presentations to emergency departments in Doha, Qatar, and Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Pathan, Sameer A; Mitra, Biswadev; Bhutta, Zain A; Qureshi, Isma; Spencer, Elle; Hameed, Asmaa A; Nadeem, Sana; Tahir, Ramsha; Anjum, Shahzad; Cameron, Peter A

2018-01-03

This study aimed to compare the epidemiology, clinical presentations, management, and outcomes of renal colic presentations in two major academic centers from geographically diverse populations: Qatar (a country in the Afro-Asian stone belt) and South-Eastern Australia (not within a stone belt). We undertook a retrospective cohort study of patients with renal colic who presented to the Hamad General Hospital Emergency Department (HGH-ED), Qatar, and The Alfred ED, Melbourne, Australia, during a period of 1 year from August 1, 2012, to July 31, 2013. Cases were identified using ICD-9-CM codes, and an electronic template was used to record the data on predefined clinical variables. A total of 12,223 from the HGH-ED and 384 from The Alfred ED were identified as renal colic presentations during the study period. The rate of renal colic presentations at the HGH-ED was 27.9 per 1000 ED visits compared to 6.7 per 1000 ED visits at The Alfred ED. Patients presenting to the HGH-ED were significantly younger [34.9 years (29.0-43.4) than The Alfred ED [48 years (37-60); P < 0.001]. The median stone size was larger in the HGH-ED group [6 (4-8) mm] versus The Alfred ED group [4 (3-6) mm, P < 0.001]. The intervention rate in the stone-positive population was significantly higher in the HGH-ED group as opposed to The Alfred ED group (38.7 versus 11.9%, P < 0.001). At the time of discharge, The Alfred ED group received fewer analgesic prescriptions (55.8 versus 83.5%, P < 0.001) and more tamsulosin prescriptions (25.3 versus 11.7%, P < 0.001). Renal colic presentations to the HGH-ED, Qatar, were younger, with larger stone size mostly located in the lower ureter, compared to The Alfred ED, Melbourne, Australia. The findings suggest that the benefits of treatment including medical expulsion therapy will vary between the two populations. Differences in epidemiology and patient mix should be considered while tailoring strategies for effective management of patients

Mental health claims management and return to work: qualitative insights from Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Brijnath, Bianca; Mazza, Danielle; Singh, Nabita; Kosny, Agnieszka; Ruseckaite, Rasa; Collie, Alex

2014-12-01

Mental health conditions (MHC) are an increasing reason for claiming injury compensation in Australia; however little is known about how these claims are managed by different gatekeepers to injury entitlements. This study, drawing on the views of four stakeholders-general practitioners (GPs), injured persons, employers and compensation agents, aims to describe current management of MHC claims and to identify the current barriers to return to work (RTW) for injured persons with a MHC claim and/or mental illness. Ninety-three in-depth interviews were undertaken with GPs, compensation agents, employers and injured persons. Data were collected in Melbourne, Australia. Thematic techniques were used to analyse data. MHC claims were complex to manage because of initial assessment and diagnostic difficulties related to the invisibility of the injury, conflicting medical opinions and the stigma associated with making a MHC claim. Mental illness also developed as a secondary issue in the recovery process. These factors made MHC difficult to manage and impeded timely RTW. It is necessary to undertake further research (e.g. guideline development) to improve current practice in order to enable those with MHC claims to make a timely RTW. Further education and training interventions (e.g. on diagnosis and management of MHC) are also needed to enable GPs, employers and compensation agents to better assess and manage MHC claims.

An evaluation of the performance of a WRF multi-physics ensemble for heatwave events over the city of Melbourne in southeast Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imran, H. M.; Kala, J.; Ng, A. W. M.; Muthukumaran, S.

2018-04-01

Appropriate choice of physics options among many physics parameterizations is important when using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The responses of different physics parameterizations of the WRF model may vary due to geographical locations, the application of interest, and the temporal and spatial scales being investigated. Several studies have evaluated the performance of the WRF model in simulating the mean climate and extreme rainfall events for various regions in Australia. However, no study has explicitly evaluated the sensitivity of the WRF model in simulating heatwaves. Therefore, this study evaluates the performance of a WRF multi-physics ensemble that comprises 27 model configurations for a series of heatwave events in Melbourne, Australia. Unlike most previous studies, we not only evaluate temperature, but also wind speed and relative humidity, which are key factors influencing heatwave dynamics. No specific ensemble member for all events explicitly showed the best performance, for all the variables, considering all evaluation metrics. This study also found that the choice of planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme had largest influence, the radiation scheme had moderate influence, and the microphysics scheme had the least influence on temperature simulations. The PBL and microphysics schemes were found to be more sensitive than the radiation scheme for wind speed and relative humidity. Additionally, the study tested the role of Urban Canopy Model (UCM) and three Land Surface Models (LSMs). Although the UCM did not play significant role, the Noah-LSM showed better performance than the CLM4 and NOAH-MP LSMs in simulating the heatwave events. The study finally identifies an optimal configuration of WRF that will be a useful modelling tool for further investigations of heatwaves in Melbourne. Although our results are invariably region-specific, our results will be useful to WRF users investigating heatwave dynamics elsewhere.

Alcohol intoxication in the context of major public holidays, sporting and social events: a time-series analysis in Melbourne, Australia, 2000-2009.

PubMed

Lloyd, Belinda; Matthews, Sharon; Livingston, Michael; Jayasekara, Harindra; Smith, Karen

2013-04-01

To assess the relationship between ambulance attendances, emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions for acute alcohol intoxication and the timing of public holidays, sporting and social events. Time-series analysis was used to explore trends in intoxication in the context of major events. Population of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 2000 and 2009. All patients attended by ambulance, presenting to hospital EDs, or admitted to hospital who were classified as acutely alcohol intoxicated. Analysis of daily numbers of presentations for acute alcohol intoxication associated with major events were undertaken, including lead and lag effects. Analyses controlled for day of week and month of year to address temporal and seasonal variations. Alcohol intoxication presentations were significantly elevated the day before all public holidays, with intoxication cases on the day of public holidays only higher on New Year's Day (ambulance 6.57, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.4-9.74; ED 3.34, 95% CI: 1.28-5.4) and ANZAC Day (ambulance 3.71, 95% CI: 0.68-6.75). The Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final (ED 2.37, 95% CI: 0.55-4.19), Commonwealth Games (ED 2.45, 95% CI: 0.6-4.3) and Melbourne Cup Day (ambulance 6.14, 95% CI: 2.42-9.85) represented the sporting events with significant elevations in acute intoxication requiring medical attention. The last working day before Christmas was the only social event where a significant increase in acute intoxication occurred (ambulance 8.98, 95% CI: 6.8-11.15). Acute alcohol intoxication cases requiring ambulance, emergency department and hospital in-patient treatment increase substantially on the day preceding public holidays and other major social events. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Are youth mentoring programs good value-for-money? An evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Melbourne Program.

PubMed

Moodie, Marjory L; Fisher, Jane

2009-01-30

The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program matches vulnerable young people with a trained, supervised adult volunteer as mentor. The young people are typically seriously disadvantaged, with multiple psychosocial problems. Threshold analysis was undertaken to determine whether investment in the program was a worthwhile use of limited public funds. The potential cost savings were based on US estimates of life-time costs associated with high-risk youth who drop out-of-school and become adult criminals. The intervention was modelled for children aged 10-14 years residing in Melbourne in 2004. If the program serviced 2,208 of the most vulnerable young people, it would cost AUD 39.5 M. Assuming 50% were high-risk, the associated costs of their adult criminality would be AUD 3.3 billion. To break even, the program would need to avert high-risk behaviours in only 1.3% (14/1,104) of participants. This indicative evaluation suggests that the BBBS program represents excellent 'value for money'.

Short-term changes in thermal perception associated with heatwave conditions in Melbourne, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Gallant, Ailie J. E.; Tapper, Nigel J.

2018-05-01

Variations in human thermal perception have been described on timescales from minutes to seasons. However, the effect of weather-related thermal extremes on inter-daily changes to outdoor thermal perception has not been well characterised. This study used human thermal comfort data from an outdoor botanic garden in sub-urban Melbourne, Australia as a case study. We examined inter-daily variations in local visitors' thermal perception before (11-12 January 2014) and after (18-19 January 2014) a severe heatwave from 14 to 17 January 2014, when daily maximum temperature exceeded 41 °C for 4 consecutive days. We compared thermal comfort survey results (pre-heatwave: n = 342, post-heatwave: n = 294) with air temperature and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) measurements. Even though the days preceding and following the heatwave had a similar range in temperature (19-25 °C) and UTCI (26-32 °C), the visitors felt cooler in the days following the heatwave (i.e. lower thermal sensation votes). In the 2 days following the heatwave, visitors also wore less clothing compared with before the heatwave. Our results show that the thermal perception of visitors changed significantly following their exposure to the heatwave, even after controlling for changes in clothing choices and the ages of survey participants. Psychological adaptation to heat (such as thermal history and expectation) might be one of the possible explanations for this inter-daily variability of local visitors' thermal perception.

Children's Television Behaviour: Its Antecedents and Relationship to School Performance. A Study of the Television Viewing Behaviour of Children in Grade 6 of State Primary Schools in the Metropolitan Area of Melbourne. Occasional Paper No. 14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharman, Kevin James

A study was conducted to describe the television viewing habits of grade 6 children in primary schools within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia; to examine the nature of the relationships between factors found to be relevant in explaining television behavior; and to examine the relationship between television behavior and school…

Developing risk-based screening guidelines for dioxin management at a Melbourne sewage treatment plant.

PubMed

Gorman, J; Mival, K; Wright, J; Howell, M

2003-01-01

Dioxin is a generic term used to refer to the congeners of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The principal source of dioxin production is generally thought to be from unintended by-products of waste incineration, but dioxins are also naturally formed from volcanic activity and forest fires (WHO, 1998). Estimates of dioxin emissions in Australia suggest that approximately 75% of the total PCDD and PCDF emissions derive from prescribed burning and wild bushfires. Currently, no screening guidelines for dioxins within soils are available in Australia. This paper presents the general approach and results of a human health risk-based assessment performed by URS Australia in 2001 to develop site specific reference criteria for remediation of a former sewage plant in Melbourne. Risk-based soil remediation concentrations for dioxins at the sewage treatment plant site were developed using tolerable daily intake values of 4, 2 and 1 pg/kg/day. The potentially significant exposure pathways and processes for exposure to dioxins were identified and risk-based soil concentrations derived in accordance with the general method framework presented in the National Environmental Protection Measure (Assessment of Site Contamination). The derived dioxin reference criteria were used to develop an effective risk management program focussed on those conditions that present the greatest contribution to overall risk to human health.

Gender differences in mental health literacy among Chinese-speaking Australians in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Wong, Daniel Fu Keung; Lam, Angus Yuk Kit; Poon, Ada; Chow, Amy Yin Man

2012-03-01

This study attempted to understand gender differences in knowledge of mental illness, preference for professional help, and medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background. This study adopted a cluster convenience sampling method in which subjects were taken from the four major areas in cosmopolitan Melbourne where most Chinese people are living. A total of 200 Chinese-speaking Australians participated in the study. They were presented with two vignettes describing an individual with acute depression or acute schizophrenia and then questions were asked to assess their understanding of the conditions, preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods. More female than male respondents could correctly identify the conditions in the two vignettes. Female participants also perceived medications to be relatively more harmful than their male counterparts. In contrast, there were significantly more males than females who adhered to traditional views on the causation of mental illness; had significantly higher percentages of endorsement of 'deal with it alone'; believed 'traditional Chinese medical doctor' and 'Chinese herbal medicines' to be helpful to the person in the schizophrenia vignette; and significantly endorsed 'psychiatric ward', 'electro-convulsive treatment', 'changing fungshui' and 'traditional Chinese worship' to be helpful for the persons in both vignettes. A combination of factors, which included age, duration of migration and traditional Chinese cultural values, were put forward to explain the above differences. Campaigns to improve the mental health literacy of Chinese-speaking Australians must take into account the gender differences between male and female Chinese-speaking Australians so that culturally relevant and gender-specific education programmes can be developed.

Risk profile of young people admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Borschmann, Rohan; Stark, Patrick; Prakash, Chidambaram; Sawyer, Susan M

2018-05-20

Self-harm and suicidal behaviour is most prevalent during adolescence, but little is known about the risk profile of adolescents admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour. Young people who self-harm are at an increased risk of mortality compared to those who do not self-harm; adolescents admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour are particularly at risk. The aim of this study was to generate a risk profile of adolescents admitted to hospital with suicidal behaviour. We conducted a 12-month retrospective audit of adolescent admissions to the mental health inpatient unit at a tertiary children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Routinely collected data were used to generate a risk profile. We found that 212 of 271 (78.2%) admissions were due to suicidal behaviour. Of these, 107 (51%) adolescents were diagnosed with one or more mental disorders at discharge, most commonly major depressive disorder. Beyond known distal determinants of health risk, the proximal risk profile of these adolescents included factors relating to gender, substance use, prior mental health diagnoses and prior admission to hospital. Poor sleep was also a risk factor, with 159 (75%) reporting a recent history of sleeping problems. The very high proportion of admissions to the mental health inpatient unit due to suicidal behaviour reinforces the importance of finding effective methods of identification of the risk processes underpinning suicidal behaviours to reduce the unnecessary waste of young lives by suicide. © 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Concentrations of legacy and novel brominated flame retardants in indoor dust in Melbourne, Australia: An assessment of human exposure.

PubMed

McGrath, Thomas J; Morrison, Paul D; Ball, Andrew S; Clarke, Bradley O

2018-04-01

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFR) have been used in a range of polymers to inhibit the spread of fires but also have a propensity to migrate out of consumer materials and contaminate indoor dust. In this study, a total of 57 dust samples were collected from 12 homes, eight offices and eight vehicles in Melbourne, Australia and analysed for eight PBDEs (-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -154, -183 and -209) and seven NBFRs (PBT, PBEB, HBB, EH-TBB, BEH-TEBP, BTBPE and DBDPE) to determine human exposure risks from dust ingestion. Samples were analysed using selective pressurized liquid extraction (S-PLE) and gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Legacy and replacement flame retardants were detected in all samples with overall ∑PBDE concentrations ranging from 120 to 1700,000 ng/g (median 2100 ng/g) and ∑NBFRs ranging from 1.1 to 10,000 ng/g (median 1800 ng/g). BDE-209 and DBDPE were the dominant compounds in dust samples, followed by congeners associated with commercial Penta-BDE formulations (-47, -99, -100, -153 and -154) and then EH-TBB of the FireMaster 550 and BZ-54 products. ∑Penta-BDE concentrations were elevated in office samples compared with homes and vehicles, while EH-TBB and BDE-209 measured higher concentrations in vehicles compared with their respective levels in homes and offices. Risk assessment estimates revealed the majority of exposure to occur in the home for both adults and toddlers in the City of Melbourne. Generally, body weight adjusted exposure to PBDEs and NBFRs was predicted to be 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher for toddlers than adults. Estimated rates of BDE-47, -99, -153 and -209 ingestion were each 2 orders of magnitude or more below the USEPA's prescribed oral reference dose values (RfDs) for typical exposure scenarios. However, exposure rates for BDE-47 and -99 reached as high as 52 and 95% of RfDs, respectively, for adults and 4.4 and 7

Depression literacy among Australians of Chinese-speaking background in Melbourne, Australia

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background This study investigated the knowledge of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background, and the perceptions of this population of the causes of mental illness. Methods Adopting a cluster convenience sampling method, the study recruited 200 Chinese-speaking subjects from four major areas in metropolitan Melbourne where many Chinese live. The respondents were presented with a vignette describing an individual with depression and then asked questions to assess their understanding of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods. A comparative approach was used to compare the findings with those of a previous study of the mental health literacy of Australian and Japanese adults. Results Compared to the Australian and Japanese samples, a much lower percentage of Chinese-speaking Australians (14%) could correctly identify major depression described in the vignette, and a higher percentage believed that counseling professionals could be helpful. Higher percentages of those who believed that close family members could be helpful were found in the Chinese-speaking Australian and Japanese samples, and these two groups also expressed more uncertainty about the usefulness or harmfulness of certain medications compared to the Australian sample. Higher percentages of respondents in both the Chinese-speaking Australian and the Australian sample considered "lifestyle changes" to be helpful compared to the Japanese sample. In the Chinese-speaking sample, 30%, 17.4%, 33% and 27% of the respondents rated "traditional Chinese medicine doctors," "Chinese herbal medications," "taking Chinese nutritional foods/supplements" and "qiqong" as helpful. Many perceived "changing fungshui" and "traditional Chinese worship" to be harmful. Regarding the perception of causes of mental illness, items related to psychosocial perspectives including "life stress" and

Depression literacy among Australians of Chinese-speaking background in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Wong, Fu Keung Daniel; Lam, Yuk Kit Angus; Poon, Ada

2010-01-19

This study investigated the knowledge of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background, and the perceptions of this population of the causes of mental illness. Adopting a cluster convenience sampling method, the study recruited 200 Chinese-speaking subjects from four major areas in metropolitan Melbourne where many Chinese live. The respondents were presented with a vignette describing an individual with depression and then asked questions to assess their understanding of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods. A comparative approach was used to compare the findings with those of a previous study of the mental health literacy of Australian and Japanese adults. Compared to the Australian and Japanese samples, a much lower percentage of Chinese-speaking Australians (14%) could correctly identify major depression described in the vignette, and a higher percentage believed that counseling professionals could be helpful. Higher percentages of those who believed that close family members could be helpful were found in the Chinese-speaking Australian and Japanese samples, and these two groups also expressed more uncertainty about the usefulness or harmfulness of certain medications compared to the Australian sample. Higher percentages of respondents in both the Chinese-speaking Australian and the Australian sample considered "lifestyle changes" to be helpful compared to the Japanese sample. In the Chinese-speaking sample, 30%, 17.4%, 33% and 27% of the respondents rated "traditional Chinese medicine doctors," "Chinese herbal medications," "taking Chinese nutritional foods/supplements" and "qiqong" as helpful. Many perceived "changing fungshui" and "traditional Chinese worship" to be harmful. Regarding the perception of causes of mental illness, items related to psychosocial perspectives including "life stress" and "interpersonal conflict" were

A community-based culturally competent oral health promotion for migrant older adults living in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Mariño, Rodrigo; Calache, Hanny; Morgan, Mike

2013-02-01

To evaluate the effect of a theory-based oral health promotion intervention in a community environment by a nondental peer educator on the oral hygiene and gingival health of independent-living Italian older adults. A quasiexperimental design with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group with no intervention. Ten Melbourne-based Italian social clubs participated in this evaluation. One hundred forty-four active members of the social clubs. A series of oral health seminars and four supervised brushing sessions at club premises. The intervention did not involve any direct oral health professional clinical care. Clubs were allocated to the control or intervention group. Dental plaque levels and gingival bleeding scores were determined. A series of one-way analyses of covariance were conducted using the baseline measures as covariates. Controlling for pretest scores, the experimental group was significantly more likely than the control group to have improved gingival status and self-efficacy. No significant effects were found regarding dental plaque. Within the setting of Italian social clubs, the intervention was effective at increasing self-efficacy and reducing gingival bleeding. As such, it represents a useful approach for the design of oral health interventions in older migrant adults. © 2013, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2013, The American Geriatrics Society.

The evolving market structures of gambling: case studies modelling the socioeconomic assignment of gaming machines in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Marshall, David C; Baker, Robert G V

2002-01-01

The expansion of gambling industries worldwide is intertwined with the growing government dependence on gambling revenue for fiscal assignments. In Australia, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) have dominated recent gambling industry growth. As EGMs have proliferated, growing recognition has emerged that EGM distribution closely reflects levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. More machines are located in less advantaged regions. This paper analyses time-series socioeconomic distributions of EGMs in Melbourne, Australia, an immature EGM market, and then compares the findings with the mature market in Sydney. Similar findings in both cities suggest that market assignment of EGMs transcends differences in historical and legislative environments. This indicates that similar underlying structures are evident in both markets. Modelling the spatial structures of gambling markets provides an opportunity to identify regions most at risk of gambling related problems. Subsequently, policies can be formulated which ensure fiscal revenue from gambling can be better targeted towards regions likely to be most afflicted by excessive gambling-related problems.

Immunizations under sedation at a paediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia from 2012-2016.

PubMed

Cheng, Daryl R; Elia, Sonja; Perrett, Kirsten P

2018-05-09

Sedation for immunizations is of particular importance in a subset of paediatric patients with anxiety disorders, needle phobia, developmental or behavioural disorders. The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) Melbourne offers a unique immunization under sedation service for these patients. We aimed to evaluate the number and types of patients using inpatient sedation for immunizations, distraction and sedation techniques used, and outcomes of these procedures. A medical record review was conducted on all patients who had immunization under sedation between January 2012 to December 2016 in the RCH Day Medical Unit (DMU). A total of 139 children and adolescents had 213 vaccination encounters. More than half of the vaccination encounters involved multiple vaccines. A total of 400 vaccines were administered. One third of patients (32.3%) had multiple DMU admissions for vaccinations. The median age of patients was 13 years. There were only 10 (4.7%) failed attempts at vaccination; all due to patient non-compliance with prescribed sedation. The majority of patients (58.9%) had a diagnosis of needle phobia. Sedation was most commonly adequately achieved with inhaled nitrous oxide (54.7% sole agent). Midazolam was often used as an adjunct therapy (42.8%). Local anaesthetic cream or play therapy, were used in only 5.9% and 3.9% of patients respectively, although this may reflect poor documentation rather than actual practice. For a subset of paediatric patients for which standard immunization procedures have failed, distraction techniques and conscious sedation enable immunizations to be given safely and effectively. Future research will develop protocols to streamline immunization procedures under sedation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Past physical activity and age-related macular degeneration: the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

PubMed

McGuinness, Myra B; Karahalios, Amalia; Simpson, Julie A; Guymer, Robyn H; Robman, Luba D; Hodge, Allison M; Cerin, Ester; Giles, Graham G; Finger, Robert P

2016-10-01

To assess the association between past physical activity and early, intermediate and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a community-based cohort study in Melbourne, Australia. Diet and lifestyle information was recorded at baseline (1990-1994) and total recreational activity was derived from walking, vigorous and non-vigorous exercise. At follow-up (2003-2007), digital macular photographs were graded for early, intermediate and late AMD. Data were analysed using multinomial logistic regression controlling for age, sex, smoking, region of descent, diet and alcohol. Effect modification by sex was investigated. Out of 20 816 participants, early, intermediate and late AMD were detected at follow-up in 4244 (21%), 2661 (13%) and 122 (0.6%) participants, respectively. No association was detected between past total recreational physical activity and early, intermediate or late AMD. Frequent (≥3 times/week) and less frequent (1-2 times/week) vigorous exercise were associated with lower odds of intermediate and late AMD in univariable models. After controlling for confounders, there was evidence of effect modification by sex and frequent vigorous exercise was associated with a 22% decrease in the odds of intermediate AMD (95% CI 4% to 36%) in women, but no association was found for men. Past frequent vigorous exercise may be inversely related to the presence of intermediate AMD in women. Further studies are needed to confirm whether physical activity and exercise have a protective effect for AMD. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Reduced food access due to a lack of money, inability to lift and lack of access to a car for food shopping: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Victoria.

PubMed

Burns, Cate; Bentley, Rebecca; Thornton, Lukar; Kavanagh, Anne

2011-06-01

To describe associations between demographic and individual and area-level socio-economic variables and restricted household food access due to lack of money, inability to lift groceries and lack of access to a car to do food shopping. Multilevel study of three measures of restricted food access, i.e. running out of money to buy food, inability to lift groceries and lack of access to a car for food shopping. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to examine the risk of each of these outcomes according to demographic and socio-economic variables. Random selection of households from fifty small areas in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003. The main food shoppers in each household (n 2564). A lack of money was significantly more likely among the young and in households with single adults. Difficulty lifting was more likely among the elderly and those born overseas. The youngest and highest age groups both reported reduced car access, as did those born overseas and single-adult households. All three factors were most likely among those with a lower individual or household socio-economic position. Increased levels of area disadvantage were independently associated with difficulty lifting and reduced car access. In Melbourne, households with lower individual socio-economic position and area disadvantage have restricted access to food because of a lack of money and/or having physical limitations due difficulty lifting or lack of access to a car for food shopping. Further research is required to explore the relationship between physical restrictions and food access.

Virtual Surgical Planning for Correction of Delayed Presentation Scaphocephaly Using a Modified Melbourne Technique.

PubMed

Macmillan, Alexandra; Lopez, Joseph; Mundinger, Gerhard S; Major, Melanie; Medina, Miguel A; Dorafshar, Amir H

2018-02-23

Late treatment of scaphocephaly presents challenges including need for more complex surgery to achieve desired head shape. Virtual surgical planning for total vault reconstruction may mitigate some of these challenges, but has not been studied in this unique and complex clinical setting. A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients with scaphocephaly who presented to our institution between 2000 and 2014. Patients presenting aged 12 months or older who underwent virtual surgical planning-assisted cranial vault reconstruction were included. Patient demographic, intraoperative data, and postoperative outcomes were recorded. Pre- and postoperative anthropometric measurements were obtained to document the fronto-occipital (FO) and biparietal (BP) distance and calculate cephalic index (CI). Virtual surgical planning predicted, and actual postoperative anthropometric measurements were compared. Five patients were identified who fulfilled inclusion criteria. The mean age was 50.6 months. One patient demonstrated signs of elevated intracranial pressure preoperatively. Postoperatively, all but one needed no revisional surgery (Whitaker score of 1). No patient demonstrated postoperative evidence of bony defects, bossing, or suture restenosis. The mean preoperative, simulated, and actual postoperative FO length was 190.3, 182, and 184.3 mm, respectively. The mean preoperative, simulated, and actual postoperative BP length was 129, 130.7, and 131 mm, respectively. The mean preoperative, simulated, and actual postoperative CI was 66, 72, and 71.3, respectively. Based on our early experience, virtual surgical planning using a modified Melbourne technique for total vault remodeling achieves good results in the management of late presenting scaphocephaly.

An empirical Bayes safety evaluation of tram/streetcar signal and lane priority measures in Melbourne.

PubMed

Naznin, Farhana; Currie, Graham; Sarvi, Majid; Logan, David

2016-01-01

Streetcars/tram systems are growing worldwide, and many are given priority to increase speed and reliability performance in mixed traffic conditions. Research related to the road safety impact of tram priority is limited. This study explores the road safety impacts of tram priority measures including lane and intersection/signal priority measures. A before-after crash study was conducted using the empirical Bayes (EB) method to provide more accurate crash impact estimates by accounting for wider crash trends and regression to the mean effects. Before-after crash data for 29 intersections with tram signal priority and 23 arterials with tram lane priority in Melbourne, Australia, were analyzed to evaluate the road safety impact of tram priority. The EB before-after analysis results indicated a statistically significant adjusted crash reduction rate of 16.4% after implementation of tram priority measures. Signal priority measures were found to reduce crashes by 13.9% and lane priority by 19.4%. A disaggregate level simple before-after analysis indicated reductions in total and serious crashes as well as vehicle-, pedestrian-, and motorcycle-involved crashes. In addition, reductions in on-path crashes, pedestrian-involved crashes, and collisions among vehicles moving in the same and opposite directions and all other specific crash types were found after tram priority implementation. Results suggest that streetcar/tram priority measures result in safety benefits for all road users, including vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Policy implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Informal care for stroke survivors: results from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Dewey, H M; Thrift, A G; Mihalopoulos, C; Carter, R; Macdonell, R A L; McNeil, J J; Donnan, G A

2002-04-01

Informal caregivers play an important role in the lives of stroke patients, but the cost of providing this care has not been estimated. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature and amount of informal care provided to stroke patients and to estimate the economic cost of that care. The primary caregivers of stroke patients registered in the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS) were interviewed at 3, 6, and 12 months after stroke, and the nature and amount of informal care provided were documented. The opportunity and replacement costs of informal care for all first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes (excluding subarachnoid hemorrhages) that occurred in 1997 in Australia were estimated. Among 3-month stroke survivors, 74% required assistance with activities of daily living and received informal care from family or friends. Two thirds of primary caregivers were women, and most primary caregivers (>90%) provided care during family or leisure time. Total first-year caregiver time costs for all first-ever-in-a-lifetime strokes were estimated to be A$21.7 million (opportunity cost approach) or A$42.5 million (replacement cost approach), and the present values of lifetime caregiver time costs were estimated to be A$171.4 million (opportunity cost approach) or A$331.8 million (replacement cost approach). Informal care for stroke survivors represents a significant hidden cost to Australian society. Because our community is rapidly aging, this informal care burden may increase significantly in the future.

A Cluster of Fentanyl-Laced Heroin Deaths in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Rodda, Luke N; Pilgrim, Jennifer L; Di Rago, Matthew; Crump, Kerryn; Gerostamoulos, Dimitri; Drummer, Olaf H

2017-05-01

The prevalence of opioid use in therapeutic and recreational settings has steadily increased throughout the western world. The addition of fentanyl into heroin products can produce potentially dangerous consequences, even to opioid tolerant individuals who may be unaware of such additions. Following an observed spike of heroin-fentanyl related deaths in Melbourne, Australia, a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of these cases. All reportable deaths occurring in Victoria during 2015 and submitted to the toxicology laboratory were analysed using LC-MS-MS to confirm the combination of the heroin marker 6-acetylmorphine and/or morphine, and fentanyl. Over 4,000 coronial cases in 2015 underwent toxicological analysis for these drugs, there were nine cases identified that involved fentanyl-laced heroin. There was no specific mention of fentanyl use in any of these cases. All occurred within 2 months and in two distinct locations. The first four deaths occurred within 3 days of each other, in neighboring suburbs. The ages ranged from 25 to 57 years with an average of 40 and median of 37 years, and consisted of eight males and one female. The average and median femoral blood concentration of fentanyl was 18 and 20 ng/mL (range: <1-45 ng/mL), and morphine 140 and 80 ng/mL (range: 20-400 ng/mL), respectively. All nine cases had 6-acetylmorphine detectable in blood. Urine analysis was also performed where available. A syringe, powder and spoon found at the scene of one case were also analysed and found to be positive for both heroin and fentanyl, which supported the likelihood of fentanyl-laced heroin. This is the first reported case series of fatalities involving heroin and fentanyl outside of North America in published literature. These findings may help inform public health and prevention strategies serving to decrease the potential for such fatalities in the future. © Crown copyright 2017.

Incidence and outcome of subtypes of ischaemic stroke: initial results from the north East melbourne stroke incidence study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Dewey, Helen M; Sturm, Jonathan; Donnan, Geoffrey A; Macdonell, Richard A L; McNeil, John J; Thrift, Amanda G

2003-01-01

Information about the incidence and outcome of stroke subtypes is necessary to understand the likely impact of stroke prevention and treatment strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and outcome of subtypes of cerebral infarction (CI). All strokes occurring in a population of 133816 in Melbourne, Australia, during a 12-month period of 1996 and 1997 were identified and cases of CI subtyped according to the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification. 276 'first-ever-in-a-lifetime' stroke cases were registered. CI accounted for 72% of cases. Annual incidence rates per 100000 persons adjusted to the 'world' population were 11 (95% CI, 4-18) for TACI, 25 (95% CI, 15-35) for PACI, 17 (95% CI, 9-25) for POCI and 18 (95% CI, 10-26) for LACI. 28-day case fatality was highest for TACI (35%; 95% CI, 19-51%) and first year recurrence rate highest for PACI (17%; 95% CI, 8-26%). TACI had the poorest functional outcome at 3 and 12 months. These findings are similar to those of two previous studies conducted in the northern hemisphere. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Visitors' perception of thermal comfort during extreme heat events at the Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne.

PubMed

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Loughnan, Margaret; Tapper, Nigel

2018-01-01

Outdoor thermal comfort studies have mainly examined the perception of local residents, and there has been little work on how those conditions are perceived differently by tourists, especially tourists of diverse origins. This issue is important because it will improve the application of thermal indices in predicting the thermal perception of tourists. This study aims to compare the differences in thermal perception and preferences between local and overseas visitors to the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) in Melbourne during summer. An 8-day survey was conducted in February 2014 at four sites in the garden (n = 2198), including 2 days with maximum temperature exceeding 40 °C. The survey results were compared with data from four weather stations adjacent to the survey locations. One survey location, 'Fern Gully', has a misting system and visitors perceived the Fern Gully to be cooler than other survey locations. As the apparent temperature exceeded 32.4 °C, visitors perceived the environment as being 'warm' or 'hot'. At 'hot' conditions, 36.8 % of European visitors voted for no change to the thermal conditions, which is considerably higher than the response from Australian visitors (12.2 %) and Chinese visitors (7.5 %). Study results suggest that overseas tourists have different comfort perception and preferences compared to local Australians in hot weather based at least in part on expectations. Understanding the differences in visitors' thermal perception is important to improve the garden design. It can also lead to better tour planning and marketing to potential visitors from different countries.

Visitors' perception of thermal comfort during extreme heat events at the Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Loughnan, Margaret; Tapper, Nigel

2018-01-01

Outdoor thermal comfort studies have mainly examined the perception of local residents, and there has been little work on how those conditions are perceived differently by tourists, especially tourists of diverse origins. This issue is important because it will improve the application of thermal indices in predicting the thermal perception of tourists. This study aims to compare the differences in thermal perception and preferences between local and overseas visitors to the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) in Melbourne during summer. An 8-day survey was conducted in February 2014 at four sites in the garden ( n = 2198), including 2 days with maximum temperature exceeding 40 °C. The survey results were compared with data from four weather stations adjacent to the survey locations. One survey location, `Fern Gully', has a misting system and visitors perceived the Fern Gully to be cooler than other survey locations. As the apparent temperature exceeded 32.4 °C, visitors perceived the environment as being `warm' or `hot'. At `hot' conditions, 36.8 % of European visitors voted for no change to the thermal conditions, which is considerably higher than the response from Australian visitors (12.2 %) and Chinese visitors (7.5 %). Study results suggest that overseas tourists have different comfort perception and preferences compared to local Australians in hot weather based at least in part on expectations. Understanding the differences in visitors' thermal perception is important to improve the garden design. It can also lead to better tour planning and marketing to potential visitors from different countries.

Psychometric and Clinimetric Properties of the Melbourne Assessment 2 in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

PubMed

Wang, Tien-Ni; Liang, Kai-Jie; Liu, Yi-Chia; Shieh, Jeng-Yi; Chen, Hao-Ling

2017-09-01

To examine the psychometric and clinimetric properties of the Melbourne Assessment 2 (MA2), an outcome measurement that is increasingly used in clinical studies. Psychometric and clinimetric study. Community. Seventeen children with cerebral palsy (CP) from 5 to 12 years were recruited for the estimation of the test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC). Thirty-five children with CP were recruited to receive an 8-week intensive neurorehabilitation intervention to estimate the validity, responsiveness, and minimal clinically important difference (MCID). Thirty-five children with CP received upper limb neurorehabilitation programs for 8 weeks. The MA2 and the criterion measures, including the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd edition (BOT-2), the Box and Blocks Test (BBT), and the Pediatric Motor Activity Log-Revised (PMAL-R), were evaluated at pretreatment and posttreatment. The MA2 has 4 subscales: range of motion, fluency, accuracy, and dexterity. The test-retest reliability of the MA2 is high (intraclass correlation coefficient, .92-.98). The significant relationships between the MA2 and BBT, BOT-2, and PMAL-R support its validity. The significance of paired t test results (P<.001) and large magnitudes of the standardized response mean (1.70-2.00) confirm the responsiveness of the MA2. The MDC values of the 4 subscales of the MA2 are 2.85, 1.63, 1.97, and 1.84, respectively, and the suggested MCID values of these 4 subscales are 2.35, 3.20, 2.09, and 2.22, respectively, indicating the minimum scores of improvement to be interpreted as both statistically significant and clinically important. The study findings indicate that the MA2 has sound psychometric and clinimetric properties and is thus an adequate measurement for research and clinical applications. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Melbourne East Monash General Practice Database (MAGNET): Using data from computerised medical records to create a platform for primary care and health services research.

PubMed

Mazza, Danielle; Pearce, Christopher; Turner, Lyle Robert; De Leon-Santiago, Maria; McLeod, Adam; Ferriggi, Jason; Shearer, Marianne

2016-07-04

The Melbourne East MonAsh GeNeral PracticE DaTabase (MAGNET) research platform was launched in 2013 to provide a unique data source for primary care and health services research in Australia.  MAGNET contains information from the computerised records of 50 participating general practices and includes data from the computerised medical records of more than 1,100,000 patients.  The data extracted is patient-level episodic information and includes a variety of fields related to patient demographics and historical clinical information, along with the characteristics of the participating general practices.  While there are limitations to the data that is currently available, the MAGNET research platform continues to investigate other avenues for improving the breadth and quality of data, with the aim of providing a more comprehensive picture of primary care in Australia.

Risking for protection: discourses around 'safe sex' among Chilean, Turkish and second-generation Greek women living in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Gifford, S M; Bakopanos, C; Dawson, M T; Yesilyurt, Z

1998-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify the ways in which women from Turkish, second-generation Greek and Chilean backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia, understand risks to their sexual health with a focus on STDs including HIV/AIDS. Data were derived from in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 women from each ethnic group (N = 60). Interviews were guided by a theme list, conducted in the woman's language of preference, tape-recorded and fully transcribed. Transcripts were double coded for key themes and analysed using ethnographic content analysis. The key findings are that for many women, reducing the risk of STDs to protect their physical health introduces risks to their social health and to the well-being of their family and community. Thus, women place priority over the protection of their social health as opposed to their physical health. Despite specific cultural differences in understandings of sexual health risks and illnesses, all women shared gendered commonalities in the ways in which they contextualise STDs within the wider context of social relationships and their everyday life. We conclude by arguing for interventions that specifically take into account social models of risk in STD and HIV/AIDS prevention and we consider the practical implications of this for harm reduction strategies in multicultural societies such as Australia.

How clinical reasoning is taught and learned: Cultural perspectives from the University of Melbourne and Universitas Indonesia.

PubMed

Findyartini, Ardi; Hawthorne, Lesleyanne; McColl, Geoff; Chiavaroli, Neville

2016-07-21

The majority of schools in the Asia-Pacific region have adopted medical curricula based on western pedagogy. However to date there has been minimal exploration of the influence of the culture of learning on the teaching and learning process. This paper explores this issue in relation to clinical reasoning. A comparative case study was conducted in 2 medical schools in Australia (University of Melbourne) and Asia (Universitas Indonesia). It involved assessment of medical students' attitudes to clinical reasoning through administration of the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI), followed by qualitative interviews which explored related cultural issues. A total of 11 student focus group discussions (45 students) and 24 individual medical teacher interviews were conducted, followed by thematic analysis. Students from Universitas Indonesia were found to score lower on the Flexibility in Thinking subscale of the DTI. Qualitative data analysis based on Hofstede's theoretical constructs concerning the culture of learning also highlighted clear differences in relation to attitudes to authority and uncertainty avoidance, with potential impacts on attitudes to teaching and learning of clinical reasoning in undergraduate medical education. Different attitudes to teaching and learning clinical reasoning reflecting western and Asian cultures of learning were identified in this study. The potential impact of cultural differences should be understood when planning how clinical reasoning can be best taught and learned in the changing global contexts of medical education, especially when the western medical education approach is implemented in Asian contexts.

A store cohort study of compliance with a point-of-sale cigarette display ban in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Zacher, Meghan; Germain, Daniella; Durkin, Sarah; Hayes, Linda; Scollo, Michelle; Wakefield, Melanie

2013-02-01

This study aimed to evaluate compliance with legislation which restricted cigarette displays in retail outlets, and to assess prevalence of pro- and anti-tobacco elements in stores pre- and post-legislation. METHODS Three audits of 302 stores in Melbourne, Australia by trained observers who gathered information on point-of-sale tobacco displays 2-3 months before and 3-4 and 11-12 months after the enactment of new restrictions. Between the first and second audits, nine stores stopped selling tobacco and three stores had either shut down or were closed for renovations. Of the remaining 290 stores, 94.1% observed the full ban on cigarette package visibility, while new restrictions on price board size and new requirements for graphic health warnings were followed in 85.9% and 67.2% of stores, respectively. Between the second and third audits, another seven stores ended tobacco sales and two stores closed. In Audit 3, 89.7% of the remaining 281 stores complied with price board restrictions, and 82.2% of stores followed requirements for graphic health warnings. Overall, the prevalence of anti-tobacco signage increased and pro-tobacco features decreased between audits for every store type and neighborhood socio-economic status. Tobacco retailers were almost universally compliant with placing cigarettes out of sight and a substantial majority were compliant with regulations on price board size and display of graphic health warnings, demonstrating that such legislation can be implemented successfully.

Dietary factors and the risk of glioma in adults: results of a case-control study in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Giles, G G; McNeil, J J; Donnan, G; Webley, C; Staples, M P; Ireland, P D; Hurley, S F; Salzberg, M

1994-11-01

In a population-based case-control study of 416 incident gliomas in adults carried out in Melbourne, Australia, between 1987 and 1991, 409 age-sex-matched case-control pairs (243 male and 166 female) had adequate data available to examine associations between the dietary intake of N-nitroso compounds, N-nitroso precursors, other nutrients including N-nitroso inhibitors, and the risk of glioma. Dietary intakes were based on the reported frequency of consumption of 59 food items. Increased odds ratio (OR) were observed in males who consumed high levels of bacon, corned meats, apples, melons and oil. OR less than unity were observed in men consuming cabbage and cola drinks, and in women who consumed wholegrain bread, pasta, corned meat, bananas, cauliflower, brocoli, cola drinks and nuts. Generally, N-nitroso associations were greater in men and micronutrient associations were greater in women. Elevated OR in men, but not women, were associated with the intake of N-nitroso dimethylamine (NDMA), retinol and vitamin E. The intake of nitrate (largely of vegetable origin) was protective in women but not in men. When analyzed using multiple logistic regression, the association with NDMA intake in males was not modified by dietary micronutrient intakes. In females, beta carotene alone, though not directly associated with risk, modified the effect of NDMA. On balance, this study added only limited support to the N-nitroso hypothesis of glial carcinogenesis.

Differences in drinking patterns associated with migration from a Greek island to Melbourne, Australia: a study of sibships.

PubMed

Powles, J W; Macaskill, G; Hopper, J L; Ktenas, D

1991-05-01

Siblings (and their families) who have migrated from the Greek island of Levkada to Melbourne, Australia reported markedly lower alcohol consumption (n aged 25-74 = 846, reported consumption 16 g/d for men, 2 g/d for women) when compared with the siblings (and their family members) who stayed on the island (n = 498, 54 g/d for men, 16 g/d for women). Median time since migration exceeded 20 years. Of nonmigrants, 73% drank wine and 88% of these produced all they consumed. They drank wine regularly with the two main meals each day. Some migrants managed a kind of self-sufficiency by home-pressing bulk-purchased grapes, but commoner responses were to purchase beer or wine or to cease drinking alcohol. Migrants who drank wine consumed less than half as much as comparable nonmigrants. The prevalence of drinking on special occasions was not lower in migrants, nor were the amounts drunk. Drinking contexts continued to be those traditional within Greek culture. Among nonmigrant men self-rated health was positively associated with alcohol consumption. In this culture, which has traditionally made heavy use of alcohol and used it primarily as a food, the level and pattern of use changed markedly under changed circumstances--such as the loss of true self-sufficiency and an altered temporal pattern of daily life.

Becoming an 'Amai': Meanings and experiences of motherhood amongst Zimbabwean women living in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Benza, Sandra; Liamputtong, Pranee

2017-02-01

little is known about the meanings and experiences of motherhood among Zimbabwean migrant women. This paper discusses the meanings and experiences of motherhood from the perspectives of Zimbabwean migrant women living in Melbourne, Australia. qualitative methods (in-depth interviewing, photo elicitation and drawing) were conducted with 15 Zimbabwean women who had children in Zimbabwe and in Australia. Data were analysed using thematic analysis method. Zimbabwean women defined motherhood in varied ways. Common to all women was that becoming a mother had a significant meaning. Motherhood came with a sense of responsibility for children which resulted from their compromise and sacrifice. The dedication was exhibited by participants who demonstrated commitment to motherhood when striving to be a good mother. While motherhood provided pleasure and joy, some women found the role of motherhood burdensome in their new homeland. Due to cultural expectations of motherhood, women kept their difficulties silent for fear of being judged a 'bad mother'. The unfamiliarity with the health and social care systems in Australia presented challenges to these women. Often, they were treated without respect and felt discriminated against. our findings reveal the paradox of motherhood. Although motherhood can be burdensome, there are positive changes brought about by the process of motherhood. Due to a lack of knowledge about the health and social care system and the negative experiences with health care in Australia, the women felt overwhelmed about becoming a mother in Australia. healthcare providers, including midwives, need to understand how migrant women perceive and experience motherhood and their mothering role as this will help to improve the health and social care for these women and their children. Findings from this study provide a basis for further investigation into the formation and strengthening of support networks for Zimbabwean mothers in particular, and to other migrant

Venous thromboembolism management in Northeast Melbourne: how does it compare to international guidelines and data?

PubMed

Lim, Hui Y; Chua, Chong C; Tacey, Mark; Sleeman, Matthew; Donnan, Geoffrey; Nandurkar, Harshal; Ho, Prahlad

2017-09-01

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality with significant heterogeneity in its management, both within our local practice and in international guidelines. To provide a holistic evaluation of 'real-world' Australian experience in the warfarin era, including how we compare to international guidelines. Retrospective evaluation of VTE from July 2011 to December 2012 at two major hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. These results were compared to recommendations in the international guidelines. A total of 752 episodes involving 742 patients was identified. Contrary to international guidelines, an unwarranted heritable thrombophilia screen was performed in 22.0% of patients, amounting to a cost of AU$29 000. The duration of anticoagulation was longer compared to international recommendations, although the overall recurrence (3.2/100 person-years) and clinically significant bleeding rates (2.4/100 person-years) were comparable to 'real-world' data. Unprovoked VTE (hazard ratio 2.06; P = 0.01) was a risk factor for recurrence, and there was no difference in recurrence between major VTE (proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism) and isolated distal DVT (3.02 vs 3.94/100 person-years; P = 0.25). Fourteen patients were subsequently diagnosed with malignancy, and patients with recurrent VTE had increased risk of prospective cancer diagnosis (relative risk 6.68; P < 0.001). While our 'real-world' VTE experience during the warfarin era largely correlates with international guidelines, there remains heterogeneity in the management strategies, including excessive thrombophilia screening and longer duration of anticoagulation. This audit highlights the need for national VTE guidelines, as well as prospective auditing of VTE management, in the direct oral anticoagulant era for future comparison. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Vitamin D status and the risk of type 2 diabetes: the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

PubMed

Heath, Alicia K; Williamson, Elizabeth J; Hodge, Allison M; Ebeling, Peter R; Eyles, Darryl W; Kvaskoff, David; O'Dea, Kerin; Giles, Graham G; English, Dallas R

2018-05-18

Inverse associations between vitamin D status and risk of type 2 diabetes observed in epidemiological studies could be biased by confounding and reverse causality. We investigated the prospective association between vitamin D status and type 2 diabetes and the possible role of reverse causality. We conducted a case-cohort study within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS), including a random sample of 628 participants who developed diabetes and a sex-stratified random sample of the cohort (n=1,884). Concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in samples collected at recruitment. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of type 2 diabetes for quartiles of 25(OH)D relative to the lowest quartile and per 25 nmol/L increase in 25(OH)D, adjusting for confounding variables. The ORs for the highest versus lowest 25(OH)D quartile and per 25 nmol/L increase in 25(OH)D were 0.60 (95% CI: 0.44, 0.81) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.92; p=0.004), respectively. In participants who reported being in good/very good/excellent health approximately four years after recruitment, ORs for the highest versus lowest 25(OH)D quartile and per 25 nmol/L increase in 25(OH)D were 0.46 (95% CI: 0.29, 0.72) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.89; p=0.003), respectively. In this sample of middle-aged Australians, vitamin D status was inversely associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes, and this association did not appear to be explained by reverse causality. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A health-promoting community dental service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: protocol for the North Richmond model of oral health care.

PubMed

Hall, Martin; Christian, Bradley

2017-10-01

Despite the best efforts and commitment of oral health programs, there is no evidence that the current surgical output-based model of oral health care is delivering better oral health outcomes to the community. In fact, Australian evidence indicates the oral health of the community could be getting worse. It is now well-understood that this traditional surgical model of oral health care will never successfully manage the disease itself. It is proposed that a health-promoting, minimally invasive oral disease management model of care may lead to a sustainable benefit to the oral health status of the individual and community groups. The aim of this paper is to describe such a model of oral health care (MoC) currently being implemented by the North Richmond Community Health Oral Health (NRCH-OH) program in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; this model may serve as a template for other services to re-orient their healthcare delivery towards health promotion and prevention. The paper describes the guiding principles and theories for the model and also its operational components, which are: pre-engagement while on the waitlist; client engagement at the reception area; the assessment phase; oral health education (high-risk clients only); disease management; and reviews and recall.

The maintenance effect of cognitive-behavioural treatment groups for the Chinese parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Melbourne, Australia: a 6-month follow-up study.

PubMed

Wong, D F K; Poon, A; Kwok, Y C Lai

2011-11-01

Caring for a child with intellectual disability can be stressful. No data on the longer-term effects of cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) on parents from a Chinese-speaking background who have children with intellectual disabilities are available in the literature. This study attempted to fill this research gap by examining the maintenance effect of CBT among the Chinese parents of such children in Melbourne, Australia. Thirty-nine participants took part in our CBT groups and attended follow-up meetings. A questionnaire comprising four instruments, the Parenting Stress Index (PS) - Parent Domain, General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Abbreviated Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q-18) and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), was administered to the participants at the pre- and post-test stage and at the 6-month follow-up. One-way repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed significant time and group effects in the PS (F(2,27) = 16.93, P < 0.001), Q-LES-Q-18 (F(2,27) = 15.98, P < 0.001), GHQ-12 (F(2,27) = 81.93, P < 0.001) and DAS (F(2,27) = 15.50, P < 0.001) scores at the three measurement times. The participants continued to maintain significant improvements in mental health and quality of life and declines in the severity of parenting stress and dysfunctional attitudes at the 6-month follow-up. Effect size analyses revealed mostly large differences in the foregoing measurements (Cohen's d = 0.76-2.18) between the pre-test and 6-month follow-up. Employing a cut-off score of 3/4 in the GHQ-12 to identify at-risk and not-at-risk cases, approximately 90.5% of the participants could be classified as not-at-risk at the follow-up. Lastly, regression analyses showed that changes in DAS scores significantly predicted changes in the GHQ-12 and Q-LES-Q-18 scores at the follow-up. This study provides preliminary evidence of the 6-month maintenance effect of CBT groups for the Melbourne-resident Chinese parents of children with

Active transport and obesity prevention - A transportation sector obesity impact scoping review and assessment for Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Brown, V; Moodie, M; Mantilla Herrera, A M; Veerman, J L; Carter, R

2017-03-01

Given the alarming prevalence of obesity worldwide and the need for interventions to halt the growing epidemic, more evidence on the role and impact of transport interventions for obesity prevention is required. This study conducts a scoping review of the current evidence of association between modes of transport (motor vehicle, walking, cycling and public transport) and obesity-related outcomes. Eleven reviews and thirty-three primary studies exploring associations between transport behaviours and obesity were identified. Cohort simulation Markov modelling was used to estimate the effects of body mass index (BMI) change on health outcomes and health care costs of diseases causally related to obesity in the Melbourne, Australia population. Results suggest that evidence for an obesity effect of transport behaviours is inconclusive (29% of published studies reported expected associations, 33% mixed associations), and any potential BMI effect is likely to be relatively small. Hypothetical scenario analyses suggest that active transport interventions may contribute small but significant obesity-related health benefits across populations (approximately 65 health adjusted life years gained per year). Therefore active transport interventions that are low cost and targeted to those most amenable to modal switch are the most likely to be effective and cost-effective from an obesity prevention perspective. The uncertain but potentially significant opportunity for health benefits warrants the collection of more and better quality evidence to fully understand the potential relationships between transport behaviours and obesity. Such evidence would contribute to the obesity prevention dialogue and inform policy across the transportation, health and environmental sectors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Observation and modelling of stable isotopes in precipitation for midlatitude weather systems in Melbourne, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barras, Vaughan; Simmonds, Ian

2010-05-01

The application of stable water isotopes as tracers of moisture throughout the hydrological cycle is often hindered by the relatively coarse temporal and spatial resolution of observational data. Intensive observation periods (IOPs) of isotopes in precipitation have been valuable in this regard enabling the quantification of the effects of vapour recycling, convection, cloud top height and droplet reevaporation (Dansgaard, 1953; Miyake et al., 1968; Gedzelman and Lawrence, 1982; 1990; Pionke and DeWalle, 1992; Risi et al., 2008; 2009) and have been used as a basis to develop isotope models of varying complexity (Lee and Fung, 2008; Bony et al., 2008). This study took a unified approach combining observation and modelling of stable isotopes in precipitation in an investigation of three key circulation types that typically bring rainfall to southeastern Australia. The observational component of this study involved the establishment of the Melbourne University Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (MUNIP). MUNIP was devised to sample rainwater simultaneously at a number of collection sites across greater Melbourne to record the spatial and temporal isotopic variability of precipitation during the passage of particular events. Samples were collected at half-hourly intervals for three specific rain events referred to as (1) mixed-frontal, (2) convective, and (3) stratiform. It was found that the isotopic content for each event varied over both high and low frequencies due to influences from local changes in rain intensity and large scale rainout respectively. Of particular note was a positive relationship between deuterium excess and rainfall amount under convective conditions. This association was less well defined for stratiform rainfall. As a supplement to the data coverage of the observations, the events were simulated using a version of NCAR CAM3 running with an isotope hydrology scheme. This was done by periodically nudging the model dynamics with data from the

Progress towards a National Cardiac Procedure Database--development of the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ASCTS) and Melbourne Interventional Group (MIG) registries.

PubMed

Chan, William; Clark, David J; Ajani, Andrew E; Yap, Cheng-Hon; Andrianopoulos, Nick; Brennan, Angela L; Dinh, Diem T; Shardey, Gilbert C; Smith, Julian A; Reid, Christopher M; Duffy, Stephen J

2011-01-01

Since the call for a National Cardiac Procedures Database in 2001, much work has been accomplished in both cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology in an attempt to establish a unified, systematic approach to data collection, defining a common minimum dataset pertinent to the Australian context, and instituting quality control measures to ensure integrity and privacy of data. In this paper we outline the aims of the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ASCTS) and the Melbourne Interventional Group (MIG) registries, and propose a comprehensive set of standardised data elements and their definitions to facilitate transparency in data collection, consistency between these and other data sets, and encourage ongoing peer-review. The aims are to improve outcomes for patients by determining key performance indicators and standards of performance for hospital units, to allow estimation of procedural risks and likelihood of outcomes for patients, and to report outcomes to relevant stake-holders and the public. Copyright © 2010 Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Incidence of stroke subtypes in the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS): differences between men and women.

PubMed

Thrift, Amanda G; Dewey, Helen M; Sturm, Jonathan W; Srikanth, Velandai K; Gilligan, Amanda K; Gall, Seana L; Macdonell, Richard A L; McNeil, John J; Donnan, Geoffrey A

2009-01-01

Incidence rates of stroke subtypes may be imprecise when samples are small. We aimed to determine the incidence of stroke subtypes in a large geographically defined population. Multiple overlapping sources were used to ascertain all strokes occurring in 22 postcodes (population of 306,631) of Melbourne, Australia, between 1997 and 1999. Stroke subtypes were defined by CT, MRI and autopsy. The Mantel-Haenszel age-adjusted rate ratio (MH RR) was used to compare incidence rates between men and women. We identified 1,421 strokes among 1,337 residents, 1,035 (72.8%) being first-ever strokes. Incidence (number/100,000 population/year), adjusted to the European population 45-84 years, was 197 (95% confidence interval, CI, 169-224) for ischemic stroke (IS), 47 (95% CI 33-60) for intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and 19 (95% CI 10-27) for subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Compared with women, men in this age group had a greater incidence of IS (MH RR 1.65, 95% CI 1.39-1.96, p < 0.0001) and ICH (MH RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.01-2.10, p = 0.0420), but lesser rates of SAH (MH RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.16-0.69, p = 0.0031). In this population-based study, the incidence of IS and ICH was greater among men than women, while women had a greater incidence of SAH. More effort may need to be directed at modifying risk factors for IS and ICH in men. 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

KSC-00pp0315

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-09

Team 393 from Morristown, Ind., sets up its robot on a table to prepare it for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 at the KSC Visitor Complex. KSC is co-sponsoring the team, The Bee Bots, from Morristown Junior and Senior High Schools. On the floor at right is team 386, known as Voltage: The South Brevard First Team. This team is made up of students from Eau Gallie, Satellite, Palm Bay, Melbourne, Bayside and Melbourne Central Catholic High Schools. They are sponsored by KSC as well as Harris Corp., Intersil Corp., Interface & Control Systems. Inc. and Rockwell Collins. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at KSC, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

Teams begin their preparations for the FIRST competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Team 393 from Morristown, Ind., sets up its robot on a table to prepare it for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 at the KSC Visitor Complex. KSC is co-sponsoring the team, The Bee Bots, from Morristown Junior and Senior High Schools. On the floor at right is team 386, known as Voltage: The South Brevard First Team. This team is made up of students from Eau Gallie, Satellite, Palm Bay, Melbourne, Bayside and Melbourne Central Catholic High Schools. They are sponsored by KSC as well as Harris Corp., Intersil Corp., Interface & Control Systems. Inc. and Rockwell Collins. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at KSC, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC00pp0315

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-09

Team 393 from Morristown, Ind., sets up its robot on a table to prepare it for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 at the KSC Visitor Complex. KSC is co-sponsoring the team, The Bee Bots, from Morristown Junior and Senior High Schools. On the floor at right is team 386, known as Voltage: The South Brevard First Team. This team is made up of students from Eau Gallie, Satellite, Palm Bay, Melbourne, Bayside and Melbourne Central Catholic High Schools. They are sponsored by KSC as well as Harris Corp., Intersil Corp., Interface & Control Systems. Inc. and Rockwell Collins. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at KSC, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

Lifetime cost of stroke subtypes in Australia: findings from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Dewey, Helen M; Thrift, Amanda G; Mihalopoulos, Cathy; Carter, Robert; Macdonell, Richard A L; McNeil, John J; Donnan, Geoffrey A

2003-10-01

Little is known about any variations in resource use and costs of care between stroke subtypes, especially nonhospital costs. The purpose of this study was to describe the patterns of resource use and to estimate the first-year and lifetime costs for stroke subtypes. A cost-of-illness model was used to estimate the total first-year costs and lifetime costs of stroke subtypes for all strokes (subarachnoid hemorrhages excluded) that occurred in Australia during 1997. For each subtype, average cost per case during the first year and the present value of average cost per case over a lifetime were calculated. Resource use data obtained in the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS) were used. The present value of total lifetime costs for all strokes was Aus 1.3 billion dollars (US 985 million dollars). Total lifetime costs were greatest for ischemic stroke (72%; Aus 936.8 million dollars; US 709.7 million dollars), followed by intracerebral hemorrhage (26%; Aus 334.5 million dollars; US 253.4 million dollars) and unclassified stroke (2%; Aus 30 million dollars; US 22.7 million dollars). The average cost per case during the first year was greatest for total anterior circulation infarction (Aus 28 266 dollars). Over a lifetime, the present value of average costs was greatest for intracerebral hemorrhage (Aus 73 542 dollars), followed by total anterior circulation infarction (Aus 53 020 dollars), partial anterior circulation infarction (Aus 50 692 dollars), posterior circulation infarction (Aus 37 270 dollars), lacunar infarction (Aus 34 470 dollars), and unclassified stroke (Aus 12 031 dollars). First-year and lifetime costs vary considerably between stroke subtypes. Variation in average length of total hospital stay is the main explanation for differences in first-year costs.

Evaluation of the Implementation of a New Nurse-Led Express "Test-And-Go" Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Service for Men Who Have Sex With Men at a Sexual Health Center in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Chow, Eric P F; Fortune, Ria; Dobinson, Sheranne; Wakefield, Trish; Read, Tim R H; Chen, Marcus Y; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Fehler, Glenda; Fairley, Christopher K

2018-06-01

In August 2015, a nurse-led express human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing service "Test-And-Go" (TAG) for asymptomatic men who have sex with men (MSM) was implemented in a large public sexual health center in Melbourne, Australia. We aimed to compare the clients' characteristics between the TAG and routine walk-in service among asymptomatic MSM. This study was conducted at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Australia, between August 5, 2015, and June 1, 2016. General estimating equation logistic regression models were constructed to examine the association between the use of TAG service and clients' demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, and HIV/STI positivity. Clients' consultation and waiting times for both services were calculated. Of the 3520 consultations, 784 (22.3%) were TAG services and 2736 (77.7%) were routine walk-in services for asymptomatic MSM. Asymptomatic MSM were more likely to use the TAG service if they were born in Australia (adjusted odds ratio, 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.56), and had more than 6 male partners in the last 12 months (adjusted odds ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.58). Age, HIV status, condomless anal sex and HIV/STI positivity did not differ between the two services. The TAG service had a shorter median waiting time (8.4 minutes vs 52.9 minutes; p < 0.001) and consultation time (8.9 minutes vs 17.6 minutes; p < 0.001) than the routine walk-in service. Although country of birth and sexual behaviors differed between clients attending the 2 services, there were no differences in HIV and STI positivity. Importantly, the TAG service required less waiting and consultation time and hence created additional clinic capacity at the general clinic to see clients who are at higher risk.

Implications of survey labels and categorisations for understanding drug use in the context of sex among gay and bisexual men in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Ryan, Kathleen E; Wilkinson, Anna L; Pedrana, Alisa; Quinn, Brendan; Dietze, Paul; Hellard, Margaret; Stoové, Mark

2018-05-01

Reliably measuring drug use by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) in the context of sex can inform sexual health service responses. We report changing drug use patterns among GBM testing for HIV at a community-based service in Melbourne in response to behavioural survey modifications. Surveys were completed by GBM prior to all HIV tests. Survey one asked about use of "party drugs for the purpose of sex" and survey two asked about specific drug use (alcohol, amyl nitrate, methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, GHB, Viagra ® /Cialis ® ) before or during sex. Differences in drug use prevalence and demographic and sexual risk correlates are reported. Reported drug use increased from 16.9% in survey one to 54.0% in survey two. Among GBM completing both surveys, 45% who reported no drug use in survey one reported drug use in survey two. Drug use was associated with high HIV risk behaviours across both surveys. Survey modification improved ascertainment of drug use in the context of sex among GBM. Continued monitoring of drug use in this setting will improve our understanding the relationship between use of specific drugs and sexual health and help inform client focused health promotion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cost of stroke in Australia from a societal perspective: results from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Dewey, H M; Thrift, A G; Mihalopoulos, C; Carter, R; Macdonell, R A; McNeil, J J; Donnan, G A

2001-10-01

Accurate information about resource use and costs of stroke is necessary for informed health service planning. The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of resource use among stroke patients and to estimate the total costs (direct service use and indirect production losses) of stroke (excluding SAH) in Australia for 1997. An incidence-based cost-of-illness model was developed, incorporating data obtained from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS). The costs of stroke during the first year after stroke and the present value of total lifetime costs of stroke were estimated. The total first-year costs of all first-ever-in-a lifetime strokes (SAH excluded) that occurred in Australia during 1997 were estimated to be A$555 million (US$420 million), and the present value of lifetime costs was estimated to be A$1.3 billion (US$985 million). The average cost per case during the first 12 months and over a lifetime was A$18 956 (US$14 361) and A$44 428 (US$33 658), respectively. The most important categories of cost during the first year were acute hospitalization (A$154 million), inpatient rehabilitation (A$150 million), and nursing home care (A$63 million). The present value of lifetime indirect costs was estimated to be A$34 million. Similar to other studies, hospital and nursing home costs contributed most to the total cost of stroke (excluding SAH) in Australia. Inpatient rehabilitation accounts for approximately 27% of total first-year costs. Given the magnitude of these costs, investigation of the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation services should become a priority in this community.

Translation into French of: “Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne – what does e-publication mean for you?”. Translated by Christian Feuillet and Valéry Malécot Changements des conditions requises pour la publication faits au XVIII e Congrès International de Botanique à Melbourne – qu’est-ce que la publication électronique représente pour vous?

PubMed Central

Knapp, Sandra; McNeill, John; Turland, Nicholas J.

2011-01-01

Résumé Les changements au Code International de Nomenclature Botanique sont décidés tous les 6 ans aux Sections de Nomenclature associées aux Congrès Internationaux de Botanique (CIB). Le XVIIIe CIB se tenait à Melbourne, Australie; la Section de Nomenclature s’est réunie les 18-22 juillet 2011 et ses décisions ont été acceptées par le Congrès en session plénière le 30 juillet. Suite à cette réunion, plusieurs modifications importantes ont été apportées au Code et vont affecter la publication de nouveaux noms. Deux de ces changements prendront effet le 1er janvier 2012, quelques mois avant que le Code de Melbourne soit publié. Les documents électroniques publiés en ligne en ‘Portable Document Format’ (PDF) avec un ‘International Standard Serial Number’ (ISSN) ou un ‘International Standard Book Number’ (ISBN) constitueront une publication effective, et l’exigence d’une description ou d’une diagnose en latin pour les noms des nouveaux taxa sera changée en l’exigence d’une description ou d’une diagnose en latin ou en anglais. De plus, à partir du 1er janvier 2013, les noms nouveaux des organismes traités comme champignons devront, pour que la publication soit valide, inclure dans le protologue (tous ce qui est associé au nom au moment de la publication valide) la citation d’un identifiant (‘identifier’) fourni par un dépôt reconnu (tel MycoBank). Une ébauche des nouveaux articles concernant la publication électronique est fournie et des conseils de bon usage sont esquissés. Pour encourager la diffusion des changements adoptés au Code International de Nomenclature pour les algues, les champignons et les plantes, cet article sera publié dans BMC Evolutionary Biology, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Brittonia, Cladistics, MycoKeys, Mycotaxon, New Phytologist, North American Fungi, Novon, Opuscula Philolichenum, PhytoKeys, Phytoneuron, Phytotaxa, Plant Diversity and Resources, Systematic Botany et

Individual characteristics are less important than event characteristics in predicting protected and unprotected anal intercourse among homosexual and bisexual men in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Smith, A M A; Grierson, J; Pitts, M; Pattison, P

2006-12-01

To describe individual, social network and encounter specific factors associated with protected anal intercourse (PAI) and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). This was a cross sectional survey conducted between April and November 2002. A total of 733 sexual encounters were reported by 202 men recruited from the gay community in Melbourne, Australia. Predictors of self reported PAI and UAI were examined. Of the 733 sexual events most (56.3%) did not involve anal intercourse, and more involved PAI than UAI (30.6% versus 13.1%). PAI was more likely than no anal intercourse (NAI) if the participant's social network was mostly homosexual, the partner was an occasional or casual partner, or was HIV positive. PAI was less likely if sex took place at a "beat" but more likely if it took place at a sauna. PAI was more likely if the partner was affected by drugs or alcohol. UAI was more likely than NAI if the participant had injected drugs in the year before interview. It was less likely if the partner was occasional or casual or was HIV positive but more likely if the partner's HIV status was unknown. UAI was much more likely than NAI if the encounter took place at a "sex on premises" venue. In this analysis it is the characteristics of the sexual encounter that predict whether PAI or UAI rather than NAI takes place.

78 FR 5254 - Standard Instrument Approach Procedures, and Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-25

... Pass, RNAV (GPS)-A, Amdt 1 Jonesboro, AR, Jonesboro Muni, ILS OR LOC RWY 23, Amdt 2 Jonesboro, AR, Jonesboro Muni, VOR RWY 23, Amdt 11 Melbourne, AR, Melbourne Muni--John E Miller Field, RNAV (GPS) RWY 3, Amdt 1 Melbourne, AR, Melbourne Muni--John E Miller Field, RNAV (GPS) RWY 21, Amdt 1 Aspen, CO, Aspen...

Assortative sexual mixing patterns in male-female and male-male partnerships in Melbourne, Australia: implications for HIV and sexually transmissible infection transmission.

PubMed

Chow, Eric P F; Read, Tim R H; Law, Matthew G; Chen, Marcus Y; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Fairley, Christopher K

2016-10-01

Assortative mixing patterns have become a new and important focus in HIV/sexually transmissible infection (STI) research in recent years. There are very limited data on sexual mixing patterns, particularly in an Australian population. Male-female and male-male partnerships attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) between 2011 and 2014 were included. Correlation of age between two individuals within a partnership was examined by using Spearman's rank correlation. The Newman's assortativity coefficient was used as an aggregate quantitative measurement of sexual mixing for number of partners and condom use. 1165 male-female and 610 male-male partnerships were included in the analysis. There was a strong positive correlation of age in both male-female (rho=0.709; P<0.001) and male-male partnerships (rho=0.553; P<0.001). The assortative mixing pattern for number of partners was similar in male-female (r=0.255; 95% CI: 0.221-0.289) and male-male partnerships (r=0.264; 95% CI: 0.218-0.309). There was a stronger assortative mixing pattern for condom use in male-male (r=0.517, 95% CI: 0.465-0.569) compared with male-female (r=0.382; 95% CI: 0.353-0.412) partnerships. Male-female and male-male partnerships have a high assortativity mixing pattern for age, number of partners and condom use. The sexual mixing pattern is not purely assortative, and hence it may lead to increased HIV and STI transmission in certain risk groups.

Utility of risk-based chlamydia testing in primary care: analysis of retrospective surveillance data among women in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Anna L; McNamee, Kathleen; El-Hayek, Carol; Chow, Eric P F; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Roth, Norm; Tee, B K; Stoové, Mark; Hellard, Margaret

2017-06-01

Background Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) continues to be a public health challenge in Australia, with some contention as to the best screening approach. In the present study we examined chlamydia testing, positivity and sexual behaviour among women with the aim of informing targeted testing among women aged ≥30 years. A longitudinal analysis was conducted on retrospective surveillance data collected among women attending general practice, family planning and sexual health clinics participating in sentinel surveillance in Melbourne, Australia. Women were aged ≥16 years and underwent urogenital testing for C. trachomatis (chlamydia) at participating clinics between 2007 and 2014. Chlamydia incidence was calculated as positive chlamydia tests over person-years (PY) among women and reported by 5-year age groups. A Cox regression model examined correlates of a positive chlamydia test among women aged ≥30 years. In all, 36770 women contributed 46432 PY and 52395 chlamydia tests, of which 2895 were positive. The overall chlamydia incidence rate was 6.2 per 100 PY (95% confidence interval (CI) 6.0-6.5). Chlamydia incidence declined with age, plateauing to <5 per 100 PY among women aged ≥30 years. Among women aged ≥30 years, being born in North-East Asia (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 2.9; 95% CI 1.9-4.5) and reporting multiple partners (aHR 2.5; 95% CI 1.8-3.5) in the past 12 months were associated with a positive chlamydia test. Chlamydia control remains challenging in Australia and optimising testing in primary care is a key priority. The results of the present study suggest that, at least among women aged ≥30 years, chlamydia testing should be risk-based and informed by appropriate sexual history taking.

An investigation of the impact of Melbourne Zoo's "Seal-the-Loop" donate call-to-action on visitor satisfaction and behavior.

PubMed

Mellish, Sarah; Sanders, Ben; Litchfield, Carla A; Pearson, Elissa L

2017-05-01

Modern zoos are uniquely positioned to educate the public about environmental issues and promote conservation action. This report investigates the introduction of a donation request during an interactive fur seal presentation (as part of Melbourne Zoo's "Seal-the-Loop" initiative) on visitor satisfaction, perceptions of donation as a way to help wild fur seals, and donation behaviors. Comparisons are made between three groups surveyed upon exit: (1) viewed the interactive fur seal presentation prior to the donation request implementation (pledge-presentation: N = 86; see Mellish, Pearson, Sanders, and Litchfield []; International Zoo Yearbook 129:129-154); (2) viewed the interactive fur seal presentation including the donation request (donate-presentation: N = 82); and (3) viewed the fur seal exhibit and donation point but not the presentation and were not directly asked to make a donation (donate-exhibit: N = 82). Findings demonstrate visitor satisfaction with the interactive fur seal presentation was not negatively impacted following the implementation of the donate request (with >92% of pledge-presentation and donate-presentation visitors providing a "satisfied" or "very satisfied" rating). Only the donate-presentation visitors reported donation as a conservation action to help wild fur seals (19.18%; 0% for pledge-presentation visitors). While both donate-exhibit (39.51%) and donate-presentation visitors (60.75%) self-reported making donations or intending to do so, donation behavior was significantly increased for visitors who had viewed the fur seal presentation. Findings provide preliminary support that zoos may utilize interactive educational presentations to effectively ask visitors for donations to support specific conservation projects, without negatively impacting on satisfaction and with a relatively high level of visitor engagement. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A parent focused child obesity prevention intervention improves some mother obesity risk behaviors: the Melbourne inFANT program.

PubMed

Lioret, Sandrine; Campbell, Karen J; Crawford, David; Spence, Alison C; Hesketh, Kylie; McNaughton, Sarah A

2012-08-28

The diets, physical activity and sedentary behavior levels of both children and adults in Australia are suboptimal. The family environment, as the first ecological niche of children, exerts an important influence on the onset of children's habits. Parent modeling is one part of this environment and a logical focus for child obesity prevention initiatives. The focus on parent's own behaviors provides a potential opportunity to decrease obesity risk behaviors in parents as well. To assess the effect of a parent-focused early childhood obesity prevention intervention on first-time mothers' diets, physical activity and TV viewing time. The Melbourne InFANT Program is a cluster-randomized controlled trial which involved 542 mothers over their newborn's first 18 months of life. The intervention focused on parenting skills and strategies, including parental modeling, and aimed to promote development of healthy child and parent behaviors from birth, including healthy diet, increased physical activity and reduced TV viewing time. Data regarding mothers' diet (food frequency questionnaire), physical activity and TV viewing times (self-reported questionnaire) were collected using validated tools at both baseline and post-intervention. Four dietary patterns were derived at baseline using principal components analyses including frequencies of 55 food groups. Analysis of covariance was used to measure the impact of the intervention. The scores of both the "High-energy snack and processed foods" and the "High-fat foods" dietary patterns decreased more in the intervention group: -0.22 (-0.42;-0.02) and -0.25 (-0.50;-0.01), respectively. No other significant intervention vs. control effects were observed regarding total physical activity, TV viewing time, and the two other dietary patterns, i.e. "Fruits and vegetables" and "Cereals and sweet foods". These findings suggest that supporting first-time mothers to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors in their infants impacts maternal

A parent focused child obesity prevention intervention improves some mother obesity risk behaviors: the Melbourne inFANT Program

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The diets, physical activity and sedentary behavior levels of both children and adults in Australia are suboptimal. The family environment, as the first ecological niche of children, exerts an important influence on the onset of children’s habits. Parent modeling is one part of this environment and a logical focus for child obesity prevention initiatives. The focus on parent’s own behaviors provides a potential opportunity to decrease obesity risk behaviors in parents as well. Objective To assess the effect of a parent-focused early childhood obesity prevention intervention on first-time mothers’ diets, physical activity and TV viewing time. Methods The Melbourne InFANT Program is a cluster-randomized controlled trial which involved 542 mothers over their newborn’s first 18 months of life. The intervention focused on parenting skills and strategies, including parental modeling, and aimed to promote development of healthy child and parent behaviors from birth, including healthy diet, increased physical activity and reduced TV viewing time. Data regarding mothers’ diet (food frequency questionnaire), physical activity and TV viewing times (self-reported questionnaire) were collected using validated tools at both baseline and post-intervention. Four dietary patterns were derived at baseline using principal components analyses including frequencies of 55 food groups. Analysis of covariance was used to measure the impact of the intervention. Results The scores of both the "High-energy snack and processed foods" and the "High-fat foods" dietary patterns decreased more in the intervention group: -0.22 (−0.42;-0.02) and −0.25 (−0.50;-0.01), respectively. No other significant intervention vs. control effects were observed regarding total physical activity, TV viewing time, and the two other dietary patterns, i.e. “Fruits and vegetables” and “Cereals and sweet foods”. Conclusions These findings suggest that supporting first-time mothers

Individual characteristics are less important than event characteristics in predicting protected and unprotected anal intercourse among homosexual and bisexual men in Melbourne, Australia

PubMed Central

Smith, A M A; Grierson, J; Pitts, M; Pattison, P

2006-01-01

Objective To describe individual, social network and encounter specific factors associated with protected anal intercourse (PAI) and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). Methods This was a cross sectional survey conducted between April and November 2002. A total of 733 sexual encounters were reported by 202 men recruited from the gay community in Melbourne, Australia. Predictors of self reported PAI and UAI were examined. Results Of the 733 sexual events most (56.3%) did not involve anal intercourse, and more involved PAI than UAI (30.6% versus 13.1%). PAI was more likely than no anal intercourse (NAI) if the participant's social network was mostly homosexual, the partner was an occasional or casual partner, or was HIV positive. PAI was less likely if sex took place at a “beat” but more likely if it took place at a sauna. PAI was more likely if the partner was affected by drugs or alcohol. UAI was more likely than NAI if the participant had injected drugs in the year before interview. It was less likely if the partner was occasional or casual or was HIV positive but more likely if the partner's HIV status was unknown. UAI was much more likely than NAI if the encounter took place at a “sex on premises” venue. Conclusions In this analysis it is the characteristics of the sexual encounter that predict whether PAI or UAI rather than NAI takes place. PMID:17151033

Population and age-group trends in weekend sun protection and sunburn over two decades of the SunSmart programme in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Makin, J K; Warne, C D; Dobbinson, S J; Wakefield, M A; Hill, D J

2013-01-01

In response to the high skin cancer burden in Australia, the multicomponent, community-wide SunSmart programme has worked since 1988 to reduce excessive sun exposure.  To examine trends in key sun-protection behaviours and sunburn for the Melbourne population from 1987 to 2007, and examine for the first time patterns of change among age groups.   Representative cross-sectional weekly telephone surveys of weekend sun protection and sunburn were conducted over 11 of the summers in the period 1987-88 to 2006-07. Trends were analysed for the population and for age groups, adjusting for ambient temperature and ultraviolet radiation, which are environmental determinants of sun-related behaviour and sunburn.   The general pattern of trends suggests two distinct periods, one with rapid improvement in behaviours (more sunscreen use, less unprotected body exposure and less sunburn) from 1987-88 to 1994-95, and the second from 1997-98 to 2006-07 with fewer changes in behaviours noted. The age-group analyses showed a similar pattern of change over time across groups, with a few notable exceptions.  The similarity of the pattern of trends among age groups suggests that external influences including the SunSmart programme's activity had a relatively similar impact across the population. Sun-related behaviours continue to be amenable to change. More recent relative stability with some declines in sun protection suggests further intensive campaigns and other strategies may be needed to maintain previous successes and to achieve more universal use of sun protection. © 2012 The Authors. BJD © 2012 British Association of Dermatologists.

Early motherhood: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of African Australian teenage mothers in greater Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Ngum Chi Watts, Mimmie Claudine; Liamputtong, Pranee; Mcmichael, Celia

2015-09-10

Motherhood is a significant and important aspect of life for many women around the globe. For women in communities where motherhood is highly desired, motherhood is considered crucial to the woman's identity. Teenage motherhood, occurring at a critical developmental stage of teenagers' lives, has been identified as having adverse social and health consequences. This research aimed to solicit the lived experiences of African Australian young refugee women who have experienced early motherhood in Australia. This qualitative research used in-depth interviews. The research methods and analysis were informed by intersectionality theory, phenomenology and a cultural competency framework. Sixteen African born refugee young women who had experienced teenage pregnancy and early motherhood in Greater Melbourne, Australia took part in this research. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and data analysed using thematic content analysis. Ethics approval for this research was granted by Victoria University Human Research Ethics committee. Motherhood brings increased responsibilities, social recognition, and a sense of purpose for young mothers. Despite the positive aspects of motherhood, participants faced challenges that affected their lives. Most often, the challenges included coping with increased responsibilities following the birth of the baby, managing the competing demands of schooling, work and taking care of a baby in a site of settlement. The young mothers indicated they received good support from their mothers, siblings and close friends, but rarely from the father of their baby and the wider community. Participants felt that teenage mothers are frowned upon by their wider ethnic communities, which left them with feelings of shame and embarrassment, despite the personal perceived benefits of achieving motherhood. We propose that service providers and policy makers support the role of the young mothers' own mother, sisters, their grandmothers and aunts following

Patterns of stroke recurrence according to subtype of first stroke event: the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Azarpazhooh, Mahmoud Reza; Nicol, Marcus B; Donnan, Geoffrey A; Dewey, Helen M; Sturm, Jonathan W; Macdonell, Richard A L; Pearce, Dora C; Thrift, Amanda G

2008-08-01

Specific information about the nature of recurrent events that occur after each subtype of index stroke may be useful for refining preventive therapies. We aimed to determine whether stroke recurrence rates, the pattern of subtype recurrence, and prescription of secondary prevention agents differed according to initial stroke subtype. Multiple overlapping sources were used to recruit all first-ever stroke patients from a geographically defined region of Melbourne, Australia over a 3-year period from 1996 to 1999. Potential stroke recurrences (fatal and nonfatal) occurring within 2 years of the initial event were identified following patient interview and follow up of death records. Subjects were classified into the different Oxfordshire groups and the type of first-ever stroke was compared with recurrent stroke events. One thousand, three hundred and sixteen first-ever strokes were registered during the 3-year period (mean age 74.4 years). A total of 103 first recurrent stroke events (fatal and nonfatal) occurred among those with a first-ever ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) during the 2-year follow-up period. The recurrent stroke subtype was different to the index stroke subtype in most (78%) patients. People with partial anterior circulation infarct had the greatest proportion of recurrences (13%), with a third of these being the more severe total anterior circulation infarct subgroup. The relative risk of ICH after an index lacunar infarct (LACI) compared with an index non-LACI was 4.06 (95% CI 1.10-14.97, P=0.038). Prescription of secondary prevention agents was greater at 2 years after stroke than at hospital discharge, and was similar between ischemic stroke subtypes. Approximately 9% of people with first-ever stroke suffered a recurrent event, despite many being prescribed secondary prevention agents. This has implications for the uptake of current preventive strategies and the development of new strategies. The possibility that ICH is

Pattern and characteristics of ecstasy and related drug (ERD) presentations at two hospital emergency departments, Melbourne, Australia, 2008-2010.

PubMed

Horyniak, Danielle; Degenhardt, Louisa; Smit, De Villiers; Munir, Venita; Johnston, Jennifer; Fry, Craig; Dietze, Paul

2014-04-01

To describe patterns and characteristics of emergency department (ED) presentations related to the use of ecstasy and related drugs (ERDs) in Melbourne, Australia. Retrospective audit of ERD-related presentations from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010 at two tertiary hospital EDs. Variation in presentations across years was tested using a two-tailed test for proportions. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics across groups. Most of the 1347 presentations occurred on weekends, 24:00-06:00. Most patients arrived by ambulance (69%) from public places (42%), private residences (26%) and licensed venues (21%). Ecstasy-related presentations decreased from 26% of presentations in 2008 to 14% in 2009 (p<0.05); γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) presentations were most common overall. GHB presentations were commonly related to altered conscious state (89%); other presentations were due to psychological concerns or nausea/vomiting. Compared with GHB presentations, patients in ecstasy-related presentations were significantly less likely to require intubation (OR 0.04, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.18), but more likely to result in hospital admission (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.91). Patients in amphetamine-related cases were older than those in GHB-related cases (median 28.4 years vs 23.9 years; p<0.05), and more likely to have a history of substance use (OR 4.85, 95% CI 3.50 to 6.74) or psychiatric illness (OR 6.64, 95% CI 4.47 to 9.87). Overall, the median length of stay was 3.0 h (IQR 1.8-4.8), with most (81%) patients discharged directly home. Although the majority of ERD-related presentations were effectively treated, with discharge within a short time frame, the number and timing of presentations places a significant burden on EDs. ERD harm reduction and improved management of minor harms at licensed venues could reduce this burden.

Patterns of, and Factors Associated With, Illicit Pharmaceutical Opioid Analgesic Use in a Prospective Cohort of People Who Inject Drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Horyniak, Danielle; Agius, Paul A; Degenhardt, Louisa; Reddel, Siobhan; Higgs, Peter; Aitken, Campbell; Stoové, Mark; Dietze, Paul

2015-01-01

People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population engaging in pharmaceutical opioid analgesic (PO) use, yet little is known about patterns of illicit PO use among this group. The aims of this research were to measure the prevalence and frequency of lifetime and past-month illicit PO use and injection in a sample of regular PWID, to examine patterns of past-month illicit PO use within individuals over time, and to identify factors independently associated with past-month illicit PO use. Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of regular PWID (N = 666) in Melbourne, Australia. Data from five waves of annual data collection (including baseline) were analyzed descriptively and using generalized estimating equations (GEE). At baseline, 59% of participants reported lifetime illicit PO use and 20% reported past-month use, predominantly through injecting. Most illicit PO users at baseline transitioned to nonuse of illicit POs across the study period. In multivariable GEE analysis, factors associated with past-month illicit PO use included past-year arrest [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.39], opioids other than heroin as drug of choice (AOR: 5.14), experiencing poorer physical health (AOR: 0.98) and a range of other drug use variables. We found little evidence of ongoing illicit PO use among those followed up, with illicit PO use linked to polydrug use more broadly. Nonetheless, trends in illicit PO use among PWID should continue to be monitored and harm reduction interventions implemented to reduce the associated public health risks.

Longitudinal analysis of change in individual-level needle and syringe coverage amongst a cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

O'Keefe, Daniel; Scott, Nick; Aitken, Campbell; Dietze, Paul

2017-07-01

Needle and syringe program (NSP) coverage is often calculated at the individual level. This method relates sterile needle and syringe acquisition to injecting frequency, resulting in a percentage of injecting episodes that utilise a sterile syringe. Most previous research using this method was restricted by their cross-sectional design, calling for longitudinal exploration of coverage. We used the data of 518 participants from an ongoing cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. We calculated individual-level syringe coverage for the two weeks prior to each interview, then dichotomised the outcome as either "sufficient" (≥100% of injecting episodes covered by at least one reported sterile syringe) or "insufficient" (<100%). Time-variant predictors of change in recent coverage (from sufficient to insufficient coverage) were estimated longitudinally using logistic regression with fixed effects for each participant. Transitioning to methamphetamine injection (AOR:2.16, p=0.004) and a newly positive HCV RNA test result (AOR:4.93, p=0.001) were both associated with increased odds of change to insufficient coverage, whilst change to utilising NSPs as the primary source of syringe acquisition (AOR: 0.41, p=0.003) and opioid substitution therapy (OST) enrolment (AOR:0.51, p=0.013) were protective against a change to insufficient coverage. We statistically tested the transitions between time-variant exposure sub-groups and transitions in individual-level syringe coverage. Our results give important insights into means of improving coverage at the individual level, suggesting that methamphetamine injectors should be targeted, whilst both OST prescription and NSP should be expanded. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol consumption and cardiovascular mortality accounting for possible misclassification of intake: 11-year follow-up of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.

PubMed

Harriss, Linton R; English, Dallas R; Hopper, John L; Powles, John; Simpson, Julie A; O'Dea, Kerin; Giles, Graham G; Tonkin, Andrew M

2007-10-01

To investigate the relationship between usual daily alcohol intake, beverage type and drinking frequency on cardiovascular (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, accounting for systematic misclassification of intake. Prospective cohort study with mean follow-up of 11.4 years. Setting The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, Australia. A total of 38 200 volunteers (23 044 women) aged 40-69 years at baseline (1990-1994). Self-reported alcohol intake using beverage-specific quantity-frequency questions (usual intake) and drinking diary for previous week. Compared with life-time abstention, usual daily alcohol intake was associated with lower CVD and CHD mortality risk for women but not men. For women, the hazard ratio [HR (95% CI)] for CVD for those drinking > 20 g/day alcohol was 0.43 (0.19-0.95; P trend = 0.18), and for CHD, 0.19 (0.05-0.82; P trend = 0.24). Male former drinkers had over twice the mortality risk for CVD [HR = 2.58 (1.51-4.41)] and CHD [HR = 2.91 (1.59-5.33)]. Wine was the only beverage associated inversely with mortality for women. Compared with drinkers who consumed no alcohol in the week before baseline, drinking frequency was associated inversely with CVD and CHD mortality risk for men but not women. HR for men drinking 6-7 days/week was 0.49 (0.29-0.81; P trend = 0.02) for CVD, and 0.49 (0.26-0.92: P trend = 0.23) for CHD. Usual daily alcohol intake was associated with reduced CVD and CHD mortality for women but not men. This benefit appeared to be mainly from wine, although comparison of beverages was not possible. Drinking frequency was associated inversely with CVD and CHD death for men but not women.

Child oral health in migrant families: A cross-sectional study of caries in 1-4 year old children from migrant backgrounds residing in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Gibbs, L; de Silva, A M; Christian, B; Gold, L; Gussy, M; Moore, L; Calache, H; Young, D; Riggs, E; Tadic, M; Watt, R; Gondal, I; Waters, E

2016-06-01

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is the most common, preventable disease of childhood. It can affect children's health and wellbeing and children from migrant families may be at greater risk of developing ECC. To describe ECC in children from migrant families, and explore possible influences. Cross-sectional analysis of caries data collected as baseline data for an oral health promotion study. The analysis sample included 630 1-4 year-old children clustered within 481 Iraqi, Lebanese and Pakistani families in Melbourne, Australia. Child participants received a community-based visual dental examination. Parents completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographics, ethnicity, and oral health knowledge, behaviour and attitudes. Child caries experience. Bivariate associations between oral health behaviours and ethnicity were tested for significance using chi-square. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associations with ECC, adjusting for demographic variables and accounting for clustering by family. Overall, 34% of children in the sample experienced caries (both non-cavitated and cavitated). For all caries lesions, parent' length of residence in Australia, consumption of sweet drinks and parental education remained as independent predictors of child caries experience. Adding sugar to drinks was an additional risk factor for cavitation. Ethnicity was associated with some individual oral health behaviours suggesting cultural influences on health, however the relationship was not independent of other predictors. Culturally competent oral health promotion interventions should aim to support migrant families with young children, and focus on reducing sweet drink consumption.

The prognostic significance of smoking cessation after acute coronary syndromes: an observational, multicentre study from the Melbourne interventional group registry.

PubMed

Yudi, Matias B; Farouque, Omar; Andrianopoulos, Nick; Ajani, Andrew E; Kalten, Katie; Brennan, Angela L; Lefkovits, Jeffrey; Hiew, Chin; Oqueli, Ernesto; Reid, Christopher M; Duffy, Stephen J; Clark, David J

2017-10-06

We aim to ascertain the prognostic significance of persistent smoking and smoking cessation after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the era of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and optimal secondary prevention pharmacotherapy. Consecutive patients from the Melbourne Interventional Group registry (2005-2013) who were alive at 30 days post-ACS presentation were included in our observational cohort study. Patients were divided into four categories based on their smoking status: non-smoker; ex-smoker (quit >1 month before ACS); recent quitter (smoker at presentation but quit by 30 days) and persistent smoker (smoker at presentation and at 30 days). The primary endpoint was survival ascertained through the Australian National Death Index linkage. A Cox-proportional hazards model was used to estimate the adjusted HR and 95% CI for survival. Of the 9375 patients included, 2728 (29.1%) never smoked, 3712 (39.6%) were ex-smokers, 1612 (17.2%) were recent quitters and 1323 (14.1%) were persistent smokers. Cox-proportional hazard modelling revealed, compared with those who had never smoked, that persistent smoking (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.36 to 2.32, p<0.001) was an independent predictor of increased hazard (mean follow-up 3.9±2.2 years) while being a recent quitter (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.68, p=0.10) or an ex-smoker (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.22, p=0.72) were not. In a contemporary cohort of patients with ACS, those who continued to smoke had an 80% risk of lower survival while those who quit had comparable survival to lifelong non-smokers. This underscores the importance of smoking cessation in secondary prevention despite the improvement in management of ACS with PCI and pharmacotherapy. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia taxa in faecal samples from animals in catchments supplying the city of Melbourne with drinking water (2011 to 2015).

PubMed

Koehler, Anson V; Haydon, Shane R; Jex, Aaron R; Gasser, Robin B

2016-06-01

In a long-term program to monitor pathogens in water catchments serving the City of Melbourne in the State of Victoria in Australia, we detected and genetically characterised Cryptosporidium and Giardia in faecal samples from various animals in nine water reservoir areas over a period of 4 years (July 2011 to November 2015). This work was conducted using PCR-based single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and phylogenetic analyses of portions of the small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU) and 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes for Cryptosporidium, and triose-phosphate isomerase (tpi) gene for Giardia. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 1.62 % (69 of 4,256 samples); 25 distinct sequence types were defined for pSSU, and six for gp60 which represented C. hominis (genotype Ib - subgenotype IbA10G2), C. cuniculus (genotype Vb - subgenotypes VbA26, and VbA25), and C. canis, C. fayeri, C. macropodum, C. parvum, C. ryanae, Cryptosporidium sp. "duck" genotype, C. suis and C. ubiquitum as well as 12 novel SSU sequence types. The prevalence of Giardia was 0.31 % (13 of 4,256 samples); all three distinct tpi sequence types defined represented assemblage A of G. duodenalis. Of the 34 sequence types (genotypes) characterized here, five and one have been recorded previously for Cryptosporidium and Giardia, respectively, from humans. Novel genotypes of Cryptosporidium and Giardia were recorded for SSU (n = 12), gp60 (n = 4) and tpi (n = 1); the zoonotic potential of these novel genotypes is presently unknown. Future work will continue to monitor the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia genotypes in animals in these catchments, and expand investigations to humans. Nucleotide sequences reported in this paper are available in the GenBank database under accession nos. KU531647-KU531718.

Establishing the Melbourne injecting drug user cohort study (MIX): rationale, methods, and baseline and twelve-month follow-up results

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Cohort studies provide an excellent opportunity to monitor changes in behaviour and disease transmission over time. In Australia, cohort studies of people who inject drugs (PWID) have generally focused on older, in-treatment injectors, with only limited outcome measure data collected. In this study we specifically sought to recruit a sample of younger, largely out-of-treatment PWID, in order to study the trajectories of their drug use over time. Methods Respondent driven sampling, traditional snowball sampling and street outreach methods were used to recruit heroin and amphetamine injectors from one outer-urban and two inner-urban regions of Melbourne, Australia. Information was collected on participants’ demographic and social characteristics, drug use characteristics, drug market access patterns, health and social functioning, and health service utilisation. Participants are followed-up on an annual basis. Results 688 PWID were recruited into the study. At baseline, the median age of participants was 27.6 years (IQR: 24.4 years – 29.6 years) and two-thirds (67%) were male. Participants reported injecting for a median of 10.2 years (range: 1.5 months – 21.2 years), with 11% having injected for three years or less. Limited education, unemployment and previous incarceration were common. The majority of participants (82%) reported recent heroin injection, and one third reported being enrolled in Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) at recruitment. At 12 months follow-up 458 participants (71% of eligible participants) were retained in the study. There were few differences in demographic and drug-use characteristics of those lost to follow-up compared with those retained in the study, with attrition significantly associated with recruitment at an inner-urban location, male gender, and providing incomplete contact information at baseline. Conclusions Our efforts to recruit a sample of largely out-of-treatment PWID were limited by drug market

Addressing the midwifery workforce crisis: evaluating an employment model for undergraduate midwifery students at a tertiary maternity hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

McLachlan, Helen L; Forster, Della A; Ford, Rachael L; Farrell, Tanya

2011-12-01

In Victoria, maternity services are under significant strain due to increased numbers of women giving birth and critical workforce shortages. Hospitals have experienced challenges in adequately staffing maternity units, particularly on postnatal wards. In 2008, a tertiary maternity hospital in Melbourne introduced a model where undergraduate midwifery students were employed as Division 2 nurses (SMW_Div2) (enrolled nurses), to work in the postnatal area only. This study explored the pilot employment model from the perspective of the SMW_Div2 and hospital midwives. A web-based survey was administered to hospital midwives and the SMW_Div2s in the employment model in January 2010. The survey explored the views of midwives and SMW_Div2s regarding the perceived impact of the model on workforce readiness, recruitment and retention, and clinical competence and confidence. Forty-seven of 158 midwives (30%) and five of nine SMW_Div2s employed in the model responded to the survey. Both groups considered the model to have benefits for the organisation, including increased: student workforce readiness; clinical confidence and competence; and organisational loyalty. Both groups also considered that the model would facilitate: workforce recruitment; a teaching and learning culture within the organisation; and enhanced partnerships between students, hospitals and universities. Caution was expressed regarding workload and the need for ongoing support for SMW_Div2s working in the model. SMW_Div2s and midwives were positive about the introduction of the paid employment model at the Women's. The findings are consistent with evaluations of similar programs in the nursing setting. The employment model has potential short and long term individual and organisational advantages, which is important in the context of increasing births and workforce shortages. Progression of such models will be contingent on the collaboration and cooperation of the various stakeholders involved in maternity

Associations between the purchase of healthy and fast foods and restrictions to food access: a cross-sectional study in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Burns, Cate; Bentley, Rebecca; Thornton, Lukar; Kavanagh, Anne

2015-01-01

To examine the associations between financial, physical and transport conditions that may restrict food access (which we define as food security indicators) and the purchase of fast foods and nutritious staples such as bread and milk. Multilevel logistic and multinomial regression analysis of cross-sectional survey data to assess associations between the three indicators of food insecurity and household food shopping adjusted for sociodemographic and socio-economic variables. Random selection of households (n 3995) from fifty Census Collector Districts in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003. The main food shoppers in each household (n 2564). After adjustment for confounders, analysis showed that a greater likelihood of purchasing chain-brand fast food on a weekly basis compared with never was associated with running out of money to buy food (OR = 1·59; 95 % CI 1·08, 2·34) and reporting difficulties lifting groceries (OR = 1·77; 95 % CI 1·23, 2·54). Respondents without regular access to a car to do food shopping were less likely to purchase bread types considered more nutritious than white bread (OR = 0·75; 95 % CI 0·59, 0·95) and milk types considered more nutritious than full-cream milk (OR = 0·62; 95 % CI 0·47, 0·81). The food insecurity indicators were not associated with the purchasing of fruits, vegetables or non-chain fast food. Householders experiencing financial and physical barriers were more likely to frequently purchase chain fast foods while limited access to a car resulted in a lower likelihood that the nutritious options were purchased for two core food items (bread and milk). Policies and interventions that improve financial access to food and lessen the effect of physical limitations to carrying groceries may reduce the purchasing of fast foods. Further research is required on food sourcing and dietary quality among those with food access restrictions.

Retailer-Led Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Price Increase Reduces Purchases in a Hospital Convenience Store in Melbourne, Australia: A Mixed Methods Evaluation.

PubMed

Blake, Miranda R; Peeters, Anna; Lancsar, Emily; Boelsen-Robinson, Tara; Corben, Kirstan; Stevenson, Christopher E; Palermo, Claire; Backholer, Kathryn

2018-06-01

Limited evidence has been gathered on the real-world impact of sugar-sweetened beverage price changes on purchasing behavior over time or in community-retail settings. Our aim was to determine changes in beverage purchases, business outcomes, and customer and retailer satisfaction associated with a retailer-led sugar-sweetened beverage price increase in a convenience store. We hypothesized that purchases of less-healthy beverages would decrease compared to predicted sales. A convergent parallel mixed methods design complemented sales data (122 weeks pre-intervention, 17 weeks during intervention) with stakeholder interviews and customer surveys. Electronic beverage sales data were collected from a convenience store in Melbourne, Australia (August through November 2015). Convenience store staff completed semi-structured interviews (n=4) and adult customers exiting the store completed surveys (n=352). Beverages were classified using a state government framework. Prices of "red" beverages (eg, nondiet soft drinks, energy drinks) increased by 20%. Prices of "amber" (eg, diet soft drinks, small pure fruit juices) and "green" beverages (eg, water) were unchanged. Changes in beverage volume, item sales, and revenue during the intervention were compared with predicted sales. Sales data were analyzed using time series segmented regression while controlling for pre-intervention trends, autocorrelation in sales data, and seasonal fluctuations. Beverage volume sales of red (-27.6%; 95% CI -32.2 to -23.0) and amber (-26.7%; 95% CI -39.3 to -16.0) decreased, and volume of green beverages increased (+26.9%; 95% CI +14.1 to +39.7) in the 17th intervention week compared with predicted sales. Store manager and staff considered the intervention business-neutral, despite a small reduction in beverage revenue. Fifteen percent of customers noticed the price difference and 61% supported the intervention. A 20% sugar-sweetened beverage price increase was associated with a reduction

Estimating the long-term costs of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke for Australia: new evidence derived from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Cadilhac, Dominique A; Carter, Rob; Thrift, Amanda G; Dewey, Helen M

2009-03-01

Stroke is associated with considerable societal costs. Cost-of-illness studies have been undertaken to estimate lifetime costs; most incorporating data up to 12 months after stroke. Costs of stroke, incorporating data collected up to 12 months, have previously been reported from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS). NEMESIS now has patient-level resource use data for 5 years. We aimed to recalculate the long-term resource utilization of first-ever stroke patients and compare these to previous estimates obtained using data collected to 12 months. Population structure, life expectancy, and unit prices within the original cost-of-illness models were updated from 1997 to 2004. New Australian stroke survival and recurrence data up to 10 years were incorporated, as well as cross-sectional resource utilization data at 3, 4, and 5 years from NEMESIS. To enable comparisons, 1997 costs were inflated to 2004 prices and discounting was standardized. In 2004, 27 291 ischemic stroke (IS) and 4291 intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke (ICH) first-ever events were estimated. Average annual resource use after 12 months was AU$6022 for IS and AU$3977 for ICH. This is greater than the 1997 estimates for IS (AU$4848) and less than those for ICH (previously AU$10 692). The recalculated average lifetime costs per first-ever case differed for IS (AU$57 106 versus AU$52 855 [1997]), but differed more for ICH (AU$49 995 versus AU$92 308 [1997]). Basing lifetime cost estimates on short-term data overestimated the costs for ICH and underestimated those for IS. Patterns of resource use varied by stroke subtype and, overall, the societal cost impact was large.

Brief comprehensive quality of life assessment after stroke: the assessment of quality of life instrument in the north East melbourne stroke incidence study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Sturm, Jonathan W; Osborne, Richard H; Dewey, Helen M; Donnan, Geoffrey A; Macdonell, Richard A L; Thrift, Amanda G

2002-12-01

Generic utility health-related quality of life instruments are useful in assessing stroke outcome because they facilitate a broader description of the disease and outcomes, allow comparisons between diseases, and can be used in cost-benefit analysis. The aim of this study was to validate the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) instrument in a stroke population. Ninety-three patients recruited from the community-based North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study between July 13, 1996, and April 30, 1997, were interviewed 3 months after stroke. Validity of the AQoL was assessed by examining associations between the AQoL and comparator instruments: the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36); London Handicap Scale; Barthel Index; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; and Irritability, Depression, Anxiety scale. Sensitivity of the AQoL was assessed by comparing AQoL scores from groups of patients categorized by severity of impairment and disability and with total anterior circulation syndrome (TACS) versus non-TACS. Predictive validity was assessed by examining the association between 3-month AQoL scores and outcomes of death or institutionalization 12 months after stroke. Overall AQoL utility scores and individual dimension scores were most highly correlated with relevant scales on the comparator instruments. AQoL scores clearly differentiated between patients in categories of severity of impairment and disability and between patients with TACS and non-TACS. AQoL scores at 3 months after stroke predicted death and institutionalization at 12 months. The AQoL demonstrated strong psychometric properties and appears to be a valid and sensitive measure of health-related QoL after stroke.

Translating an early childhood obesity prevention program for local community implementation: a case study of the Melbourne InFANT Program.

PubMed

Laws, R; Hesketh, K D; Ball, K; Cooper, C; Vrljic, K; Campbell, K J

2016-08-08

While there is a growing interest in the field of research translation, there are few published examples of public health interventions that have been effectively scaled up and implemented in the community. This paper provides a case study of the community-wide implementation of the Melbourne Infant, Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT), an obesity prevention program for parents with infants aged 3-18 months. The study explored key factors influencing the translation of the Program into routine practice and the respective role of policy makers, researchers and implementers. Case studies were conducted of five of the eight prevention areas in Victoria, Australia who implemented the Program. Cases were selected on the basis of having implemented the Program for 6 months or more. Data were collected from January to June 2015 and included 18 individual interviews, one focus group and observation of two meetings. A total of 28 individuals, including research staff (n = 4), policy makers (n = 2) and implementers (n = 22), contributed to the data collected. Thematic analysis was conducted using cross case comparisons and key themes were verified through member checking. Key facilitators of implementation included availability of a pre-packaged evidence based program addressing a community need, along with support and training provided by research staff to local implementers. Partnerships between researchers and policy makers facilitated initial program adoption, while local partnerships supported community implementation. Community partnerships were facilitated by local coordinators through alignment of program goals with existing policies and services. Workforce capacity for program delivery and administration was a challenge, largely overcome by embedding the Program into existing roles. Adapting the Program to fit local circumstance was critical for feasible and sustainable delivery, however balancing this with program fidelity was a critical

Urinary excretion of adrenal steroids, catecholamines and electrolytes in man, before and after acclimatization to cold in Antarctica

PubMed Central

Budd, G. M.; Warhaft, N.

1970-01-01

1. Urine samples were collected from four men before and during test cold exposures in Melbourne, Australia, and Mawson, Antarctica. Changes in the response of body temperature to the test exposures showed that the men had acclimatized to cold at Mawson. 2. Excretion rates of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and 17-ketosteroids were significantly greater at Mawson than in Melbourne, in both the pre-exposure and exposure periods. 3. Excretion rates of noradrenaline, adrenaline, sodium, potassium and creatinine did not differ significantly between Mawson and Melbourne, nor did urine flow rates. 4. During the cold exposure significant increases occurred, to the same extent at Mawson as in Melbourne, in urine flow rate and in all measured urinary constituents except creatinine. PMID:5501486

The health loss from ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage: evidence from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS).

PubMed

Cadilhac, Dominique A; Dewey, Helen M; Vos, Theo; Carter, Rob; Thrift, Amanda G

2010-05-14

People suffering different types of stroke have differing demographic characteristics and survival. However, current estimates of disease burden are based on the same underlying assumptions irrespective of stroke type. We hypothesized that average Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) lost from stroke would be different for ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We used 1 and 5-year data collected from patients with first-ever stroke participating in the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS). We calculated case fatality rates, health-adjusted life expectancy, and quality-of-life (QoL) weights specific to each age and gender category. Lifetime 'health loss' for first-ever ischemic stroke and ICH surviving 28-days for the 2004 Australian population cohort was then estimated. Multivariable uncertainty analyses and sensitivity analyses (SA) were used to assess the impact of varying input parameters e.g. case fatality and QoL weights. Paired QoL data at 1 and 5 years were available for 237 NEMESIS participants. Extrapolating NEMESIS rates, 31,539 first-ever strokes were expected for Australia in 2004. Average discounted (3%) QALYs lost per first-ever stroke were estimated to be 5.09 (SD 0.20; SA 5.49) for ischemic stroke (n = 27,660) and 6.17 (SD 0.26; SA 6.45) for ICH (n = 4,291; p < 0.001). QALYs lost also differed according to gender for both subtypes (ischemic stroke: males 4.69 SD 0.38, females 5.51 SD 0.46; ICH: males 5.82 SD 0.67, females 6.50 SD 0.40). People with ICH incurred greater loss of health over a lifetime than people with ischemic stroke. This is explained by greater stroke related case fatality at a younger age, but longer life expectancy with disability after the first 12 months for people with ICH. Thus, studies of disease burden in stroke should account for these differences between subtype and gender. Otherwise, in countries where ICH is more common, health loss for stroke may be underestimated. Similar to other studies

Concordance of gonorrhoea of the rectum, pharynx and urethra in same-sex male partnerships attending a sexual health service in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Cornelisse, Vincent J; Zhang, Lei; Law, Matthew; Chen, Marcus Y; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Bellhouse, Clare; Fairley, Christopher K; Chow, Eric P F

2018-02-27

We aimed to describe anatomic site-specific concordance of gonococcal infections in partnerships of men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from MSM partnerships attending Melbourne Sexual Health Centre between March 2011 and February 2015. Logistic regression models (random effect) were used to examine the association between gonococcal infections of the urethra, rectum and pharynx. Gonococci were detected by culture at all anatomic sites. The analysis included 495 partnerships. Of the men with urethral gonorrhoea, 33% (95% CI 18-52) had partners with pharyngeal gonorrhoea and 67% (95% CI 48-82) had partners with rectal gonorrhoea. The adjusted odds of having urethral gonorrhoea was 4.6 (95% CI 1.2-17.1) for a man whose partner had pharyngeal gonorrhoea, and 48.1 (95% CI 18.3-126.7) for a man whose partner had rectal gonorrhoea. Of the men with rectal gonorrhoea, 46% (95% CI 31-61) had a partner with urethral gonorrhoea and 23% (95% CI 12-37) had a partner with pharyngeal gonorrhoea. The adjusted odds of having rectal gonorrhoea was 63.9 (95% CI 24.7-165.6) for a man whose partner had urethral gonorrhoea. Of the men with pharyngeal gonorrhoea, 42% (95% CI 23-63) had a partner with rectal gonorrhoea and 23% (95% CI 9-44) had a partner with had a partner with pharyngeal gonorrhoea. The adjusted odds of having pharyngeal gonorrhoea was 8.9 (95% CI 3.2-24.6) for a man whose partner had rectal gonorrhoea. The crude odds of having pharyngeal gonorrhoea was 14.2 (95% CI 5.1-39.0) for a man whose partner had pharyngeal gonorrhoea. These data provide the first estimates of concordance of anatomic site-specific gonococcal infections in MSM partnerships, and confirm that urethral gonorrhoea is contracted from both rectal and pharyngeal sites, and suggest that gonococci transmit between the rectum and pharynx. However, due to use of culture rather than NAAT, our analysis was not adequately powered to assess pharynx

Proportion of infants meeting the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years: data from the Melbourne InFANT Program.

PubMed

Hesketh, Kylie D; Downing, Katherine L; Campbell, Karen; Crawford, David; Salmon, Jo; Hnatiuk, Jill A

2017-11-20

Little information is available on the movement behaviours of infants, despite evidence that these are important for development. The release of new Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines provides an opportunity to document the current state of movement behaviours in infants relative to these guidelines. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of 4 month old Australian infants meeting the 24-hour Movement Guidelines, individually, and in combination, and to describe associations with individual characteristics. Maternal report baseline data from the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial Program were used to determine prevalence of infants meeting physical activity (30 min of tummy time per day), sedentary behaviour (no more than 1 h at a time kept restrained; zero screen time), and sleep guidelines (14-17 h for 0-3 month olds or 12-16 h for 4-11 month olds). Prevalence of infants meeting combined guidelines was also described. The odds of meeting guidelines based on infant and family characteristics was determined. Data are reported for 455 infants with a mean age of 3.6 months (SD = 1.0). The proportion of infants meeting each of the guidelines was 29.7% for tummy time, 56.9% for kept restrained, 27.9% for screen time, 58.7% for sleep and 3.5% for the combined guidelines (i.e. meeting all four guidelines). A significantly higher proportion of girls than boys met the screen time guideline (32.5% versus 24.0%, p = 0.04) and the combined guidelines (5.7% versus 1.6%, p = 0.01). Few associations were observed between infant and family characteristics and proportion of infants meeting individual guidelines. Very few infants met all of the guidelines contained in the new Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines suggesting there is much room for improvement in movement behaviours from early life. Fewer infants met the tummy time and screen time guidelines hence these appear to be the behaviours requiring most attention. Parents and

Astronaut David Brown poses with ComBBat team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Astronaut David Brown poses with members of the team known as ComBBat, representing Central Florida's Astronaut and Titusville high schools. ComBBat was teamed with Boeing at KSC and Brevard Community College. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition being held March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Pesticide and trace metal occurrence and aquatic benchmark exceedances in surface waters and sediments of urban wetlands and retention ponds in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Allinson, Graeme; Zhang, Pei; Bui, AnhDuyen; Allinson, Mayumi; Rose, Gavin; Marshall, Stephen; Pettigrove, Vincent

2015-07-01

Samples of water and sediments were collected from 24 urban wetlands in Melbourne, Australia, in April 2010, and tested for more than 90 pesticides using a range of gas chromatographic (GC) and liquid chromatographic (LC) techniques, sample 'hormonal' activity using yeast-based recombinant receptor-reporter gene bioassays, and trace metals using spectroscopic techniques. At the time of sampling, there was almost no estrogenic activity in the water column. Twenty-three different pesticide residues were observed in one or more water samples from the 24 wetlands; chemicals observed at more than 40% of sites were simazine (100%), atrazine (79%), and metalaxyl and terbutryn (46%). Using the toxicity unit (TU) concept, less than 15% of the detected pesticides were considered to pose an individual, short-term risk to fish or zooplankton in the ponds and wetlands. However, one pesticide (fenvalerate) may have posed a possible short-term risk to fish (log10TUf > -3), and three pesticides (azoxystrobin, fenamiphos and fenvalerate) may have posed a risk to zooplankton (logTUzp between -2 and -3); all the photosystem II (PSII) inhibiting herbicides may have posed a risk to primary producers in the ponds and wetlands (log10TUap and/or log10TUalg > -3). The wetland sediments were contaminated with 16 different pesticides; no chemicals were observed at more than one third of sites, but based on frequency of detection and concentrations, bifenthrin (33%, maximum 59 μg/kg) is the priority insecticide of concern for the sediments studied. Five sites returned a TU greater than the possible effect threshold (i.e. log10TU > 1) as a result of bifenthrin contamination of their sediments. Most sediments did not exceed Australian sediment quality guideline levels for trace metals. However, more than half of the sites had threshold effect concentration quotients (TECQ) values >1 for Cu (58%), Pb (50%), Ni (67%) and Zn (63%), and 75% of sites had mean probable effect concentration quotients

Astronaut David Brown talks with team members from Lake Buena Vista, Fla

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Astronaut David Brown chats with members of the Explorers team, from Lake Buena Vista, Fla., during the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held March 9-11 in the KSC Visitor Complex Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students from all over the country are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC00pp0329

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

FIRST teams and their robots work to go through the right motions at the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0329

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

FIRST teams and their robots work to go through the right motions at the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

USING POSITIVE CLINICAL LEADERSHIP TO SUPPORT A CULTURE OF PRESSURE INJURY PREVENTION.

PubMed

Sage, Sarah; Tudor, Hannah

2017-03-01

The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) is an 800 bed tertiary referral service within metropolitan Melbourne. While the hospital acquired pressure injury (HAPI) incidence rate is low (2.5%), there is still work to be done in this area.

Validation of clinical case definition of acute intussusception in infants in Viet Nam and Australia.

PubMed

Bines, Julie E; Liem, Nguyen Thanh; Justice, Frances; Son, Tran Ngoc; Carlin, John B; de Campo, Margaret; Jamsen, Kris; Mulholland, Kim; Barnett, Peter; Barnes, Graeme L

2006-07-01

To test the sensitivity and specificity of a clinical case definition of acute intussusception in infants to assist health-care workers in settings where diagnostic facilities are not available. Prospective studies were conducted at a major paediatric hospital in Viet Nam (the National Hospital of Pediatrics, Hanoi) from November 2002 to December 2003 and in Australia (the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne) from March 2002 to March 2004 using a clinical case definition of intussusception. Diagnosis of intussusception was confirmed by air enema or surgery and validated in a subset of participants by an independent clinician who was blinded to the participant's status. Sensitivity of the definition was evaluated in 584 infants aged<2 years with suspected intussusception (533 infants in Hanoi; 51 in Melbourne). Specificity was evaluated in 638 infants aged<2 years presenting with clinical features consistent with intussusception but for whom another diagnosis was established (234 infants in Hanoi; 404 in Melbourne). In both locations the definition used was sensitive (96% sensitivity in Hanoi; 98% in Melbourne) and specific (95% specificity in Hanoi; 87% in Melbourne) for intussusception among infants with sufficient data to allow classification (449/533 in Hanoi; 50/51 in Melbourne). Reanalysis of patients with missing data suggests that modifying minor criteria would increase the applicability of the definition while maintaining good sensitivity (96-97%) and specificity (83-89%). The clinical case definition was sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of acute intussusception in infants in both a developing country and a developed country but minor modifications would enable it to be used more widely.

Astronaut David Brown talks to FIRST team members

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Astronaut David Brown talks with FIRST team members, Baxter Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home, Ariz., during the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Members of one of the teams competing in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition, wait to receive their medals from the FIRST crew. At left is Nap Carroll, chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center. The event was held at the KSC Visitor Complex. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC00pp0333

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

Astronaut David Brown talks with FIRST team members, Baxter Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home, Ariz., during the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0333

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

Astronaut David Brown talks with FIRST team members, Baxter Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home, Ariz., during the FIRST competition. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gather for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gather for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

The "Pizzicato Effect" Program: A (Personal) Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Amanda

2016-01-01

This paper is a reflection on a teaching program located in a Government primary school in Melbourne and initiated by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). The school was selected by a coincidence. Volunteers, MSO personnel, community and corporate funding, employed classroom and specialist music teachers came together to provide teaching of…

Respiratory infection rates differ between geographically distant paediatric cystic fibrosis cohorts

PubMed Central

Hart, Emily; Turkovic, Lidija; Padros-Goossens, Marc; Stick, Stephen M.; Ranganathan, Sarath C.

2016-01-01

Respiratory infections are a major cause of pulmonary decline in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). We compared the prevalence of infection in early life at geographically distant CF treatment centres participating in the same surveillance programme in Australia. Lower airway microbiology, inflammation and structural lung disease at annual review were evaluated for 260 children 0–8 years old with CF at 1032 visits to CF treatment centres in Melbourne or Perth. Melbourne patients were more likely to be culture-positive for common respiratory pathogens at all age groups (odds ratio (OR) 1.85, 95% CI 1.33–2.58). Subjects <2 years old in Melbourne were also more likely to have neutrophil elastase present (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.62–5.95). Bronchiectasis (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.21–3.38) and air trapping (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.42–4.51) in subjects 2–5 years old was more common in Melbourne subjects. The severity of structural lung disease was also worse in Melbourne patients >5 years old. Patients at both centres had a similar rate of hospitalisations and prescribed antibiotics. No procedural differences were identified that could explain the disparity between pathogen prevalence. Geographical differences in early acquisition of infection may contribute to variability in outcomes between CF centres. PMID:27957481

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

After the finals of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition, Team 86 from Jacksonville, Fla., receives from the FIRST crew an award for Best Play of the Day. At left is Nap Carroll, chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center. The event was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Astronaut David Brown talks with team members from South Carolina

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Astronaut David Brown looks over the robot named 'L'il Max' with members of the team The Bot Kickers! from Northwestern High School, Rock Hill, S.C. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition being held March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co- sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Home Space: Youth Identification in the Greek Diaspora

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsolidis, Georgina; Pollard, Vikki

2010-01-01

This article draws on a larger study on schooling and diaspora using the case of the Greek community of Melbourne, Australia to examine processes of identification of young people with access to minority cultures. The Melbourne Greek community is long-standing, diverse, and well-established. Because of this, the young people involved in this study…

How do drug market changes affect characteristics of injecting initiation and subsequent patterns of drug use? Findings from a cohort of regular heroin and methamphetamine injectors in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Horyniak, Danielle; Stoové, Mark; Degenhardt, Louisa; Aitken, Campbell; Kerr, Thomas; Dietze, Paul

2015-01-01

Changes in drug market characteristics have been shown to affect drug use patterns but few studies have examined their impacts on injecting initiation experiences and subsequent patterns of injecting drug use (IDU). We collected data on self-reported injecting initiation experiences and past-month patterns of IDU from 688 regular heroin and methamphetamine injectors in Melbourne, Australia, who initiated injecting across three different drug market periods (prior to the Australian heroin shortage ('high heroin')/immediately following the shortage ('low heroin')/'contemporary' markets (fluctuating heroin and methamphetamine availability)). We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression to examine the relationship between period of injecting initiation and first drug injected, and multinomial logistic regression for the relationship between period of injecting initiation and current injecting patterns. 425 participants (62%) reported initiating injecting in the high heroin period, 146 (21%) in the low heroin period, and 117 (17%) in the contemporary period. Participants who initiated injecting during the low heroin period were twice as likely to initiate injecting using a drug other than heroin (AOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.27-2.95). The most common patterns of drug use among study participants in the month preceding interview were polydrug use (44%) and primary heroin use (41%). Injecting initiation period was either non-significantly or weakly associated with current drug use pattern, which was more strongly associated with other socio-demographic and drug use characteristics, particularly self-reported drug of choice. The drug market period in which injecting initiation occurred influenced the first drug injected and influenced some aspects of subsequent drug use. In the context of highly dynamic drug markets in which polydrug use is common there is a need for broad harm reduction and drug treatment services which are flexible and responsive to changing

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

At the conclusion of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex, KSC Deputy Director for Business Operations Jim Jennings speaks to the teams and other attendees. At left is Gregg Gale, with Walt Disney World, which is the site of the national competition (at EPCOT) April 6-8. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC-00pp0344

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-11

At the conclusion of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex, KSC Deputy Director for Business Operations Jim Jennings speaks to the teams and other attendees. At left is Gregg Gale, with Walt Disney World, which is the site of the national competition (at EPCOT) April 6-8. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC00pp0344

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-11

At the conclusion of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex, KSC Deputy Director for Business Operations Jim Jennings speaks to the teams and other attendees. At left is Gregg Gale, with Walt Disney World, which is the site of the national competition (at EPCOT) April 6-8. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0330

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Bee Bots team (393) robot, named Dr. Beevil, scores by gathering balls. The team is composed of students from Morristown Jr. and Sr. high schools in Morristown, Ind., and is co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and IPT Inc. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

Team 393 robot scores in FIRST competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Bee Bots team (393) robot, named Dr. Beevil, scores by gathering balls. The team is composed of students from Morristown Jr. and Sr. high schools in Morristown, Ind., and is co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and IPT Inc. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC00pp0330

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Bee Bots team (393) robot, named Dr. Beevil, scores by gathering balls. The team is composed of students from Morristown Jr. and Sr. high schools in Morristown, Ind., and is co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and IPT Inc. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0334

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Hero Team (278) gets some help from a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop in repairing their robot, named Hero. The team of Edgewater High School students was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC00pp0349

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Hero Team (278) robot, named Hero, is repaired in a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop. The team of Edgewater High School students was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0349

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Hero Team (278) robot, named Hero, is repaired in a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop. The team of Edgewater High School students was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC00pp0335

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Hero Team (278) robot, named Hero, is repaired in a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop. The team of Edgewater High School students was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC00pp0326

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Roboticks team (408) carries their robot, which is named R2K, during the FIRST competition. The team of students from Blanche Ely High School in Ft. Lauderdale was co-sponsored by Nortel Networks and NASA Kennedy Space Center. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

KSC-00pp0326

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Roboticks team (408) carries their robot, which is named R2K, during the FIRST competition. The team of students from Blanche Ely High School in Ft. Lauderdale was co-sponsored by Nortel Networks and NASA Kennedy Space Center. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville

Team 278 gets help from KSC machine shop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Hero Team (278) gets some help from a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop in repairing their robot, named Hero. The team of Edgewater High School students was co- sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co- sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Team 278 gets help from KSC machine shop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Hero Team (278) robot, named Hero, is repaired in a Kennedy Space Center research and development machine shop. The team of Edgewater High School students was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and Honeywell. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

When smoke comes to town - effects of biomass burning smoke on air quality down under

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keywood, Melita; Cope, Martin; (C. P) Meyer, Mick; Iinuma, Yoshi; Emmerson, Kathryn

2014-05-01

Annually, biomass burning results in the emission of quantities of trace gases and aerosol to the atmosphere. Biomass burning emissions have a significant effect on atmospheric chemistry due to the presence of reactive species. Biomass burning aerosols influence the radiative balance of the earth-atmosphere system directly through the scattering and absorption of radiation, and indirectly through their influence on cloud microphysical processes, and therefore constitute an important forcing in climate models. They also reduce visibility, influence atmospheric photochemistry and can be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs, so that they can have a significant effect on human health. Australia experiences bushfires on an annual basis. In most years fires are restricted to the tropical savannah forests of Northern Australia. However in the summer of 2006/2007 (December 2006 - February 2007), South Eastern Australia was affected by the longest recorded fires in its history. During this time the State of Victoria was ravaged by 690 separate bushfires, including the major Great Divide Fire, which devastated 1,048,238 hectares over 69 days. On several occasions, thick smoke haze was transported to the Melbourne central business district and PM10 concentrations at several air quality monitoring stations peaked at over 200 µg m-3 (four times the National Environment Protection Measure PM10 24 hour standard). During this period, a comprehensive suite of air quality measurements was carried out at a location 25 km south of the Melbourne CBD, including detailed aerosol microphysical and chemical composition measurements. Here we examine the chemical and physical properties of the smoke plume as it impacted Melbourne's air shed and discuss its impact on air quality over the city. We estimate the aerosol emission rates of the source fires, the age of the plumes and investigate the transformation of the smoke as it progressed from its source to the Melbourne airshed. We

Nitrogen composition in urban runoff--implications for stormwater management.

PubMed

Taylor, Geoff D; Fletcher, Tim D; Wong, Tony H F; Breen, Peter F; Duncan, Hugh P

2005-05-01

A study was conducted to characterise the composition of nitrogen in urban stormwater in Melbourne, Australia, during baseflows and storm events, and to compare the results with international data. Nitrogen in Melbourne stormwater was predominantly dissolved (approximately 80%), with ammonia the least-abundant form (approximately 11%). Concentrations of nitrogen species did not vary significantly between baseflow and storms, although the proportion of nitrogen in particulate form was higher during storm events (p = 0.04). Whilst the composition of nitrogen in Melbourne was broadly consistent with international data, the level of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was higher in Melbourne (mu = 48% during baseflows and 49% during storms) than in the international literature (mu = 29%). Limitations in the international dataset precluded comparison of total dissolved nitrogen. The results have implications for stormwater management. Whilst nitrogen species concentrations are variable, they are not strongly related to flow conditions, so treatment systems must be designed to cope with stochastic inflow concentrations at all times. To optimise their performance, stormwater treatments should be designed to improve dissolved nitrogen removal. Further research is needed to improve the ability of treatment systems to achieve this aim.

The decriminalization of prostitution is associated with better coverage of health promotion programs for sex workers.

PubMed

Harcourt, Christine; O'Connor, Jody; Egger, Sandra; Fairley, Christopher K; Wand, Handan; Chen, Marcus Y; Marshall, Lewis; Kaldor, John M; Donovan, Basil

2010-10-01

In order to assess whether the law has an impact on the delivery of health promotion services to sex workers, we compared health promotion programs in three Australian cities with different prostitution laws. The cities were Melbourne (brothels legalized if licensed, unlicensed brothels criminalized), Perth (criminalization of all forms of sex work) and Sydney (sex work largely decriminalized, without licensing). We interviewed key informants and gave questionnaires to representative samples of female sex workers in urban brothels. Despite the different laws, each city had a thriving and diverse sex industry and a government-funded sex worker health promotion program with shopfront, phone, online and outreach facilities. The Sydney program was the only one run by a community-based organisation and the only program employing multi-lingual staff with evening outreach to all brothels. The Melbourne program did not service the unlicensed sector, while the Perth program accessed the minority of brothels by invitation only. More Sydney workers reported a sexual health centre as a source of safer sex training and information (Sydney 52% v Melbourne 33% and Perth 35%; p<0.001). Sex workers in Melbourne's licensed brothels were the most likely to have access to free condoms (Melbourne 88%, Sydney 39%, Perth 12%; p<0.001). The legal context appeared to affect the conduct of health promotion programs targeting the sex industry. Brothel licensing and police-controlled illegal brothels can result in the unlicensed sector being isolated from peer-education and support. © 2010 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2010 Public Health Association of Australia.

Prevalence of asthma in regional Victorian schoolchildren.

PubMed

Robertson, C F; Bishop, J; Dalton, M; Caust, J; Nolan, T M; Olinsky, A; Phelan, P D

1992-06-15

To determine whether the high prevalence of reported asthma in Melbourne schoolchildren is seen in rural Victoria. A questionnaire on respiratory symptoms was distributed to children to be completed by parents and returned to the school. Results were compared with a previous Melbourne study. Two hundred and twenty-seven government and non-government primary schools in five rural regions of Victoria: coast, wheatbelt, riverland, highland and Latrobe valley. All children enrolled in grade 2 were invited to join the study. Parents completed questionnaires for 4661 children after 4886 questionnaires were distributed (response rate, 95%). History of wheeze in the past 12 months. The overall prevalence of wheeze in the last 12 months was 23.6%. There was a significant difference overall in this rate across the five rural areas and Melbourne, with the Latrobe Valley (26.2%) and highland areas (25.0%) having the highest rate, and the wheatbelt the lowest (19.6%). The spectrum of severity of asthma was similarly distributed across rural regions, although severe episodes were significantly more frequently reported by parents from rural areas than by parents in Melbourne. The reported use of bronchodilators and diagnosis of asthma showed a similar pattern of variation to that of the 12-month prevalence of wheeze. The prevalence of asthma in 7-year-old children is similar for rural Victoria as a whole compared with Melbourne, but there is variability in asthma prevalence in individual rural areas which is difficult to account for in terms of known environmental precipitants.

Understanding oral health beliefs and practices among Cantonese-speaking older Australians.

PubMed

Mariño, Rodrigo; Minichiello, Victor; Macentee, Michael I

2010-03-01

The present study was conducted to explore how older immigrants from Hong Kong or Southern China manage their oral health in Melbourne. We used six focus groups involving 50 Cantonese-speaking immigrants who were 55 years and over and living in Melbourne. Four major themes relevant to oral health care emerged from the discussion: (i) traditional Chinese health beliefs; (ii) traditional medicine and oral health; (iii) attitudes towards dentists; and (iv) access to oral health-care services. Language, communication and cost of dentistry were identified as major barriers to oral health care. Older Chinese immigrants in Melbourne have concerns about oral health care that are similar to other ethnic groups, they want more oral health-related support from government, and many of they return to China or Hong Kong for dental treatment.

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Members of the team known as Heatwave, from St. Petersburg, Fla., are excited after receiving an award at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex. At left are Carol Cavanaugh, Public Affairs, and Nap Carroll, chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center. Heatwave came in second for the final competition, plus received awards for Number One Seed, Best Offensive round, and the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Adult members of the team known as Heatwave, from St. Petersburg, Fla., get 'high fives' from Nap Carroll (center), chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center, and other officials of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex. Heatwave came in second for the final competition, plus received awards for Number One Seed, Best Offensive round, and the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Members of the team known as Heatwave, from St. Petersburg, Fla., accept one of their four awards earned during the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex. Heatwave came in second for the final competition, plus received awards for Number One Seed, Best Offensive round, and the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit. At far left is Nap Carroll, chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC-00pp0351

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-11

Adult members of the team known as Heatwave, from St. Petersburg, Fla., get "high fives" from Nap Carroll (center), chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center, and other officials of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex. Heatwave came in second for the final competition, plus received awards for Number One Seed, Best Offensive round, and the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusvill

KSC00pp0351

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-11

Adult members of the team known as Heatwave, from St. Petersburg, Fla., get "high fives" from Nap Carroll (center), chief financial officer, Kennedy Space Center, and other officials of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex. Heatwave came in second for the final competition, plus received awards for Number One Seed, Best Offensive round, and the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusvill

Team 282 prepares for the FIRST competition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Orange Crusher team (282) works on their robot, which is named Rust Bot, during the FIRST competition. The team of students from Lake Howell, Winter Springs and Orange Christian Private high schools was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center, Matern Professional Engineering The Foundation, Control Technologies, Lucent Technologies and Sandy Engineering. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co- sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

KSC00pp0325

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Orange Crusher team (282) works on their robot, which is named Rust Bot, during the FIRST competition. The team of students from Lake Howell, Winter Springs and Orange Christian Private high schools was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center, Matern Professional Engineering The Foundation, Control Technologies, Lucent Technologies and Sandy Engineering. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusvill

KSC-00pp0325

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-03-10

The Orange Crusher team (282) works on their robot, which is named Rust Bot, during the FIRST competition. The team of students from Lake Howell, Winter Springs and Orange Christian Private high schools was co-sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center, Matern Professional Engineering The Foundation, Control Technologies, Lucent Technologies and Sandy Engineering. Students from all over the country are at the KSC Visitor Complex for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition March 9-11 in the Rocket Garden. Teams of high school students are testing the limits of their imagination using robots they have designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing, 16 are Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusvill

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo during a visit to the Space Station Processing Facility. They were awarded the trip to Kennedy Space Center when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The girls are accompanied by American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station/Payload Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo during a visit to the Space Station Processing Facility. They were awarded the trip to Kennedy Space Center when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The girls are accompanied by American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station/Payload Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo during a visit to the Orbiter Processing Facility. They were awarded the trip to Kennedy Space Center when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The girls are accompanied by American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station/Payload Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo during a visit to the Orbiter Processing Facility. They were awarded the trip to Kennedy Space Center when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The girls are accompanied by American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station/Payload Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William F. Readdy addresses the family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William F. Readdy addresses the family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark, husband of STS-107 astronaut Laurel Clark, addresses the family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark, husband of STS-107 astronaut Laurel Clark, addresses the family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for the dedication ceremony of the Columbia Village at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, president of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., delivers the opening remarks at the university's Columbia Village dedication ceremony. The event is attended by family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, president of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., delivers the opening remarks at the university's Columbia Village dedication ceremony. The event is attended by family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

Assessment of vitamin D and its association with cardiovascular disease risk factors in an adult migrant population: an audit of patient records at a Community Health Centre in Kensington, Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Ruwanpathirana, Thilanga; Reid, Christopher M; Owen, Alice J; Fong, David P S; Gowda, Usha; Renzaho, Andre M N

2014-11-11

Vitamin D deficiency is a global public health problem associated with increased risk of cardio-metabolic diseases and osteoarthritis. Migrants with dark skin settled in temperate climates are at greater risk of both vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to identify the risk of vitamin D deficiency and associations with cardiovascular disease in a migrant population in Australia. An audit was carried out at a Community Health Service in Kensington, Melbourne which, services a large migrant population. Data from the clinical records of all adults who visited the medical centre at least once during the period from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2012 was extracted. The future (10 year) coronary heart disease risk was estimated using Framingham Risk Score. The centre has given higher priority to vitamin D testing in migrants, those middle-aged, females and those with diabetes and osteoarthritis. Migrants from countries located in lower latitude regions (Latitude N230 to S230) were 1.48 (95% C.I. 1.32-1.65) times more likely to develop vitamin D deficiency post migration and 0.44 (95% C.I. 0.31-0.62) times less likely to have a >15% 10-year risk of coronary heart disease when compared to their Australian-born counterparts. Adherence to a high risk strategy for vitamin D testing was observed in the centre. Pre-migration latitude is an important factor for vitamin D deficiency (lower the latitude higher the risk) and in predicting future risk of cardiovascular disease in migrants. These findings suggest that a targeted approach for vitamin D testing, including zone of origin might better identify individuals at higher risk of both vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease.

Objective Lightning Probability Forecasts for East-Central Florida Airports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crawford, Winfred C.

2013-01-01

The forecasters at the National Weather Service in Melbourne, FL, (NWS MLB) identified a need to make more accurate lightning forecasts to help alleviate delays due to thunderstorms in the vicinity of several commercial airports in central Florida at which they are responsible for issuing terminal aerodrome forecasts. Such forecasts would also provide safer ground operations around terminals, and would be of value to Center Weather Service Units serving air traffic controllers in Florida. To improve the forecast, the AMU was tasked to develop an objective lightning probability forecast tool for the airports using data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). The resulting forecast tool is similar to that developed by the AMU to support space launch operations at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) for use by the 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) in previous tasks (Lambert and Wheeler 2005, Lambert 2007). The lightning probability forecasts are valid for the time periods and areas needed by the NWS MLB forecasters in the warm season months, defined in this task as May-September.

HOspitals and patients WoRking in Unity (HOW R U?): telephone peer support to improve older patients’ quality of life after emergency department discharge in Melbourne, Australia—a multicentre prospective feasibility study

PubMed Central

Lennox, Alyse; Curtis, Andrea; Wilson, Gillian; Rosewarne, Cate; Smit, De Villiers; O’Brien, Debra; Browning, Colette Joy; Boyd, Lee; Smith, Cathie; Cameron, Peter

2018-01-01

Objectives To ascertain the feasibility and acceptability of the HOW R U? programme, a novel volunteer-peer postdischarge support programme for older patients after discharge from the emergency department (ED). Design A multicentre prospective mixed-methods feasibility study. Setting Two tertiary hospital EDs in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Participants A convenience sample of 39 discharged ED patients aged 70 years or over, with symptoms of social isolation, loneliness and/or depression. Intervention The HOW R U? intervention comprised weekly social support telephone calls delivered by volunteer peers for 3 months following ED discharge. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcomes were feasibility of study processes, intervention acceptability to participants and retention in the programme. Secondary outcomes were changes in loneliness level (UCLA-3—3-item Loneliness Scale), mood (5-item Geriatric Depression Scale) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS) postintervention. Results Recruitment was feasible, with 30% of eligible patients successfully recruited. Seventeen volunteer peers provided telephone support to patient participants, in addition to their usual hospital volunteer role. HOW R U? was well received, with 87% retention in the patient group, and no attrition in the volunteer group. The median age of patients was 84 years, 64% were female, and 82% lived alone. Sixty-eight per cent of patients experienced reductions in depressive symptoms, and 53% experiencing reduced feelings of loneliness, and these differences were statistically significant Patient feedback was positive and volunteers reported great satisfaction with their new role. Conclusion HOW R U? was feasible in terms of recruitment and retention and was acceptable to both patients and volunteers. The overall results support the potential for further research in this area and provide data to support the design of a definitive trial to confirm the observed

Preparation of a Natural Product Extract Library for Investigation Against Disease States Specific to Defence Health: A Mini Long Range Research Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-01

Sci in 1994 and with a BSc(Hons) in 1995 from The University of Melbourne. In 1999 he completed a PhD in marine natural products chemistry from the...BSc(Hons) in 1994 from the University of Melbourne. In 1998 she completed a PhD in organic chemistry , developing new free-radical syntheses of some...Melissa began work in the area of medicinal chemistry , developing partial agonists of adenosine A1 receptors; firstly at Deakin University and

Local Data Integration in East Central Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, Jonathan L.; Manobianco, John T.

1999-01-01

The Applied Meteorology Unit has configured a Local Data Integration System (LDIS) for east central Florida which assimilates in-situ and remotely-sensed observational data into a series of high-resolution gridded analyses. The ultimate goal for running LDIS is to generate products that may enhance weather nowcasts and short-range (less than 6 h) forecasts issued in support of the 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG), and the Melbourne National Weather Service (NWS MLB) operational requirements. LDIS has the potential to provide added value for nowcasts and short-ten-n forecasts for two reasons. First, it incorporates all data operationally available in east central Florida. Second, it is run at finer spatial and temporal resolutions than current national-scale operational models such as the Rapid Update Cycle and Eta models. LDIS combines all available data to produce grid analyses of primary variables (wind, temperature, etc.) at specified temporal and spatial resolutions. These analyses of primary variables can be used to compute diagnostic quantities such as vorticity and divergence. This paper demonstrates the utility of LDIS over east central Florida for a warm season case study. The evolution of a significant thunderstorm outflow boundary is depicted through horizontal and vertical cross section plots of wind speed, divergence, and circulation. In combination with a suitable visualization too], LDIS may provide users with a more complete and comprehensive understanding of evolving mesoscale weather than could be developed by individually examining the disparate data sets over the same area and time.

Look who's talking! A roadside survey of drivers' cell phone use.

PubMed

Young, Kristie L; Rudin-Brown, Christina M; Lenné, Michael G

2010-12-01

The objective of this study was to quantify Melbourne drivers' rates of handheld and hands-free phone use and the driver, vehicle, site, and time characteristics associated with phone use. Additionally, this study sought to examine any change in the prevalence of handheld cell phone use by Melbourne drivers between 2006 and 2009. Observational survey of vehicle drivers at various times of the day and week at 3 sites across metropolitan Melbourne during May 2009. A total of 195 (3.4%) of the 5813 drivers observed were using handheld phones and 81 (1.4%) were using hands-free phones. This represents a significant increase in handheld phone usage rates compared to those found in an earlier study conducted in Melbourne in 2006. Cell phone use was associated with a range of driver, vehicle, site, and time characteristics. Handheld phone users were predominately young or middle-aged drivers who drove cars or 4-wheel-drive vehicles (4WDs), and this activity was more likely to occur in the late afternoon. Use of hands-free phones did not differ significantly across gender, age group, vehicle type, observation site, or time of day; however, use of hands-free phones was higher on weekdays compared to weekends. Despite legislation being in place, drivers' handheld cell phone use is still a major road safety concern, particularly for young and middle-aged drivers. The effectiveness of other strategies for decreasing handheld usage rates, including increased surveillance and tougher penalties, need to be ascertained.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, place a floral tribute to the crew of Columbia at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, place a floral tribute to the crew of Columbia at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese and American students gather at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Japanese girls are from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The American students are from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese and American students gather at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Japanese girls are from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The American students are from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Evelyn Husband, wife of STS-107 Commander Rick Husband, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Evelyn Husband, wife of STS-107 Commander Rick Husband, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Rona Ramon, wife of STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Rona Ramon, wife of STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sandra Anderson, wife of STS-107 Payload Commander Michael Anderson, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sandra Anderson, wife of STS-107 Payload Commander Michael Anderson, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

Outcomes from the Mount Sinai Social Work Leadership Enhancement Program: Evaluation and extrapolation.

PubMed

Nilsson, David; Wellington-Boyd, Anna

2006-01-01

This article presents an overview of outcomes from the Mount Sinai Leadership Enhancement Program as identified by previous program participants from Melbourne, Australia. These are categorised into: (1) Personal/professional, (2) Intra-organisational, (3) Interorganisational, and (4) International outcomes. Two illustrative examples are provided of international outcomes demonstrating how the ongoing commitment of Professor Epstein has extended and embedded the principles of practice-based research in Melbourne, and how the over-riding principles of the program have been applied by participants in establishing collaborative relationships with colleagues in our neighbouring South-East Asian region.

HOspitals and patients WoRking in Unity (HOW R U?): telephone peer support to improve older patients' quality of life after emergency department discharge in Melbourne, Australia-a multicentre prospective feasibility study.

PubMed

Lowthian, Judy A; Lennox, Alyse; Curtis, Andrea; Wilson, Gillian; Rosewarne, Cate; Smit, De Villiers; O'Brien, Debra; Browning, Colette Joy; Boyd, Lee; Smith, Cathie; Cameron, Peter; Dale, Jeremy

2018-06-14

To ascertain the feasibility and acceptability of the HOW R U? programme, a novel volunteer-peer postdischarge support programme for older patients after discharge from the emergency department (ED). A multicentre prospective mixed-methods feasibility study. Two tertiary hospital EDs in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. A convenience sample of 39 discharged ED patients aged 70 years or over, with symptoms of social isolation, loneliness and/or depression. The HOW R U? intervention comprised weekly social support telephone calls delivered by volunteer peers for 3 months following ED discharge. The primary outcomes were feasibility of study processes, intervention acceptability to participants and retention in the programme. Secondary outcomes were changes in loneliness level (UCLA-3-3-item Loneliness Scale), mood (5-item Geriatric Depression Scale) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS) postintervention. Recruitment was feasible, with 30% of eligible patients successfully recruited. Seventeen volunteer peers provided telephone support to patient participants, in addition to their usual hospital volunteer role. HOW R U? was well received, with 87% retention in the patient group, and no attrition in the volunteer group.The median age of patients was 84 years, 64% were female, and 82% lived alone. Sixty-eight per cent of patients experienced reductions in depressive symptoms, and 53% experiencing reduced feelings of loneliness, and these differences were statistically significant Patient feedback was positive and volunteers reported great satisfaction with their new role. HOW R U? was feasible in terms of recruitment and retention and was acceptable to both patients and volunteers. The overall results support the potential for further research in this area and provide data to support the design of a definitive trial to confirm the observed effects. ANZCTRN12615000715572; Results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in

Projecting future temperature-related mortality in three largest Australian cities.

PubMed

Guo, Yuming; Li, Shanshan; Liu, De Li; Chen, Dong; Williams, Gail; Tong, Shilu

2016-01-01

We estimated net annual temperature-related mortality in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia using 62 global climate model projections under three IPPC SRES CO2 emission scenarios (A2, A1B and B1). In all cities, all scenarios resulted in increases in summer temperature-related deaths for future decades, and decreases in winter temperature-related deaths. However, Brisbane and Sydney will increase the net annual temperature-related deaths in the future, while a slight decrease will happen in Melbourne. Additionally, temperature-related mortality will largely increase beyond the summer (including January, February, March, November and December) in Brisbane and Sydney, while temperature-related mortality will largely decrease beyond the winter in Melbourne. In conclusion, temperature increases for Australia are expected to result in a decreased burden of cold-related mortality and an increased burden of heat-related mortality, but the balance of these differences varied by city. In particular, the seasonal patterns in temperature-related deaths will be shifted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Undergraduate Child Psychiatry Teaching in Melbourne, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gough, Jenny K.; McCallum, Zoe; Bevan, Catherine; Vance, Alasdair

2010-01-01

Objective: The teaching of child psychiatry in Australian medical schools is under review: the content, the placement of the field within medical curricula, and the appropriate teaching and learning methods are all contested. The authors developed a 1-day program in the 9-week child and adolescent health course conducted in the final two semesters…

Imported Case of Poliomyelitis, Melbourne, Australia, 2007

PubMed Central

Roberts, Jason A.; Beckett, Carolyn L.; Prime, Hayden T.; Loh, Poh-Sien; Thorley, Bruce R.; Daffy, John R.

2009-01-01

Wild poliovirus–associated paralytic poliomyelitis has not been reported in Australia since 1977. We report type 1 wild poliovirus infection in a man who had traveled from Pakistan to Australia in 2007. Poliomyelitis should be considered for patients with acute flaccid paralysis or unexplained fever who have been to poliomyelitis-endemic countries. PMID:19116053

Imported case of poliomyelitis, Melbourne, Australia, 2007.

PubMed

Stewardson, Andrew J; Roberts, Jason A; Beckett, Carolyn L; Prime, Hayden T; Loh, Poh-Sien; Thorley, Bruce R; Daffy, John R

2009-01-01

Wild poliovirus-associated paralytic poliomyelitis has not been reported in Australia since 1977. We report type 1 wild poliovirus infection in a man who had traveled from Pakistan to Australia in 2007. Poliomyelitis should be considered for patients with acute flaccid paralysis or unexplained fever who have been to poliomyelitis-endemic countries.

ICE-VOLC Project: unravelling the dynamics of Antarctica volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cannata, Andrea; Del Carlo, Paola; Giudice, Gaetano; Giuffrida, Giovanni; Larocca, Graziano; Liuzzo, Marco

2017-04-01

Melbourne and Rittmann volcanoes are located in the Victoria Land. Whilst Rittmann's last eruption dates probably to Pleistocene, Melbourne's most recent eruption between 1862 and 1922, testifying it is still active. At present, both volcanoes display fumarolic activity. Melbourne was discovered in 1841 by James Clark Ross, Rittmann during the 4th Italian Expedition (1988/1989). Our knowledge on both volcanoes is really little. The position of these volcanoes in the Antarctic region (characterised by absence of anthropic noise) and its proximity with the Italian Mario Zucchelli Station makes them ideal sites for studying volcano seismic sources, geothermal emissions, seismo-acoustic signals caused by cryosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere dynamics, and volcanic gas impact on environment. Hence, the main aim of the ICE-VOLC ("multiparametrIC Experiment at antarctica VOLCanoes: data from volcano and cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere dynamics") project is the study of Melbourne and Rittmann, by acquisition, analysis and integration of multiparametric geophysical, geochemical and thermal data. Complementary objectives include investigation of the relationship between seismo-acoustic activity recorded in Antarctica and cryosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere dynamics, evaluation of the impact of volcanic gas in atmosphere. This project involves 26 researchers, technologists and technicians from University of Perugia and from Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia of Catania, Palermo, Pisa and Rome. In this work, we show the preliminary results obtained after the first expedition in Antarctica, aiming to perform geochemical-thermal surveys in the volcano ice caves, as well as to collect ash samples and to install temporary seismic stations.

An exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds: a protocol paper for Teeth Tales.

PubMed

Gibbs, Lisa; Waters, Elizabeth; de Silva, Andrea; Riggs, Elisha; Moore, Laurence; Armit, Christine; Johnson, Britt; Morris, Michal; Calache, Hanny; Gussy, Mark; Young, Dana; Tadic, Maryanne; Christian, Bradley; Gondal, Iqbal; Watt, Richard; Pradel, Veronika; Truong, Mandy; Gold, Lisa

2014-03-12

Inequalities are evident in early childhood caries rates with the socially disadvantaged experiencing greater burden of disease. This study builds on formative qualitative research, conducted in the Moreland/Hume local government areas of Melbourne, Victoria 2006-2009, in response to community concerns for oral health of children from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Development of the community-based intervention described here extends the partnership approach to cogeneration of contemporary evidence with continued and meaningful involvement of investigators, community, cultural and government partners. This trial aims to establish a model for child oral health promotion for culturally diverse communities in Australia. This is an exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Families from an Iraqi, Lebanese or Pakistani background with children aged 1-4 years, residing in metropolitan Melbourne, were invited to participate in the trial by peer educators from their respective communities using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Target sample size was 600. Moreland, a culturally diverse, inner-urban metropolitan area of Melbourne, was chosen as the intervention site. The intervention comprised peer educator led community oral health education sessions and reorienting of dental health and family services through cultural Competency Organisational Review (CORe). Ethics approval for this trial was granted by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Research Committee. Study progress and output will be disseminated via periodic newsletters, peer-reviewed research papers, reports, community seminars and at National and International conferences. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12611000532909).

Survival of insects in the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft on flights between tropical and temperate airports

PubMed Central

Russell, R. C.

1987-01-01

Mosquitos (Culex quinquefasciatus), house flies (Musca domestica), and flour beetles (Tribolium confusum) located in cages within the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft, survived travel on the following normal commercial routes: Sydney—Melbourne; Melbourne—Singapore; Singapore—Bangkok; Bangkok—Singapore; and Singapore—Melbourne. Survival of all three species was high, averaging 84% for mosquitos and higher for flies (93%) and beetles (>99%). Although external temperatures were -42 °C to -54 °C for aircraft cruising at 10 700-11 900 m, minimum temperatures within the wheel bays ranged from +8 °C to +25 °C. PMID:3501345

Hepatitis C seropositivity is not a risk factor for sensory neuropathy among patients with HIV

PubMed Central

Cherry, C.L.; Affandi, J.S.; Brew, B.J.; Creighton, J.; Djauzi, S.; Hooker, D.J.; Imran, D.; Kamarulzaman, A.; Kamerman, P.; McArthur, J.C.; Moore, R.D.; Price, P.; Smyth, K.; Tan, I.L.; Vanar, S.; Wadley, A.; Wesselingh, S.L.; Yunihastuti, E.

2010-01-01

Background: Sensory neuropathy (SN) is common in patients with HIV. Hepatitis C (HCV) coinfection is often cited as an HIV-SN risk factor, but data to support this are lacking. This collaboration aimed to examine the association between HCV serostatus and SN risk among ambulatory HIV-positive patients. Methods: Patients with HIV were assessed in cross-sectional studies in Baltimore, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, and Sydney for SN (defined by both supportive symptoms and signs). HCV seropositivity was assessed as an SN risk using a χ2 test, followed by logistic regression modeling to correct for treatment exposures and demographics. Results: A total of 837 patients of African, Asian, and Caucasian descent were studied. HCV seroprevalence varied by site (Baltimore n = 104, 61% HCV+; Jakarta 96, 51%; Johannesburg 300, 1%; Kuala Lumpur 97, 10%; Melbourne 206, 16%; Sydney 34, 18%). HCV seropositivity was not associated with increased SN risk at any site, but was associated with reduced SN risk in Melbourne (p = 0.003). On multivariate analyses, the independent associations with SN were increasing age, height, and stavudine exposure. HCV seropositivity was not independently associated with an increased SN risk at any site, but associated independently with reduced SN risk in Baltimore (p = 0.04) and Melbourne (p = 0.06). Conclusions: Hepatitis C (HCV) seropositivity was not associated with increased sensory neuropathy risk among HIV-positive patients at any site. While we were unable to assess HCV RNA or liver damage, the data suggest that HCV coinfection is not a major contributor to HIV-SN. GLOSSARY HCV = hepatitis C; SN = sensory neuropathy. PMID:20458071

An exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds: a protocol paper for Teeth Tales

PubMed Central

Gibbs, Lisa; Waters, Elizabeth; de Silva, Andrea; Riggs, Elisha; Moore, Laurence; Armit, Christine; Johnson, Britt; Morris, Michal; Calache, Hanny; Gussy, Mark; Young, Dana; Tadic, Maryanne; Christian, Bradley; Gondal, Iqbal; Watt, Richard; Pradel, Veronika; Truong, Mandy; Gold, Lisa

2014-01-01

Introduction Inequalities are evident in early childhood caries rates with the socially disadvantaged experiencing greater burden of disease. This study builds on formative qualitative research, conducted in the Moreland/Hume local government areas of Melbourne, Victoria 2006–2009, in response to community concerns for oral health of children from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Development of the community-based intervention described here extends the partnership approach to cogeneration of contemporary evidence with continued and meaningful involvement of investigators, community, cultural and government partners. This trial aims to establish a model for child oral health promotion for culturally diverse communities in Australia. Methods and analysis This is an exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Families from an Iraqi, Lebanese or Pakistani background with children aged 1–4 years, residing in metropolitan Melbourne, were invited to participate in the trial by peer educators from their respective communities using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Target sample size was 600. Moreland, a culturally diverse, inner-urban metropolitan area of Melbourne, was chosen as the intervention site. The intervention comprised peer educator led community oral health education sessions and reorienting of dental health and family services through cultural Competency Organisational Review (CORe). Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval for this trial was granted by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Research Committee. Study progress and output will be disseminated via periodic newsletters, peer-reviewed research papers, reports, community seminars and at National and International conferences. Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials

Vision impairment predicts five-year mortality.

PubMed Central

Taylor, H R; McCarty, C A; Nanjan, M B

2000-01-01

PURPOSE: To describe predictors of mortality in the 5-year follow-up of the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project (VIP) cohort. METHODS: The Melbourne VIP was a population-based study of the distribution and determinants of age-related eye disease in a cluster random sample of Melbourne residents aged 40 years and older. Baseline examinations were conducted between 1992 and 1994. In 1997, 5-year follow-up examinations of the original cohort commenced. Causes of death were obtained from the National Death Index for all reported deaths. RESULTS: Of the original 3,271 participants, 231 (7.1%) were reported to have died in the intervening 5 years. Of the remaining 3,040 participants eligible to return for follow-up examinations, 2,594 (85% of eligible) did participate, 51 (2%) had moved interstate or overseas, 83 (3%) could not be traced, and 312 (10%) refused to participate. Best corrected visual acuity < 6/12 and cortical cataract were associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality, as were increasing age, male sex, increased duration of cigarette smoking, increased duration of hypertension, and arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: Even mild visual impairment increases the risk of death more than twofold. PMID:11190044

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, carry a floral tribute to the crew of Columbia to place at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, carry a floral tribute to the crew of Columbia to place at the STS-107 memorial stone at the Spacehab facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The group was awarded the trip to Florida when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo on their visit to the Spacehab facility in Cape Canaveral, Fla. They were awarded the trip when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The girls planned a floral tribute at the STS-107 memorial stone at the facility. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-08-20

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese girls from Urawa Daiichi Girls High School, Urawa, Japan, pose for a group photo on their visit to the Spacehab facility in Cape Canaveral, Fla. They were awarded the trip when their experiments were chosen to fly on mission STS-107. The group was also meeting with American students from Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla. The girls planned a floral tribute at the STS-107 memorial stone at the facility. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the KSC International Space Station and Payloads Processing Directorate worked with the NASA KSC Education Programs and University Research Division to coordinate the students’ visit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark (right), husband of STS-107 Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, and their son (left) visit a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for his late wife. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark (right), husband of STS-107 Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, and their son (left) visit a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for his late wife. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

Impact of sex on prognostic host factors in surgical patients with lung cancer.

PubMed

Wainer, Zoe; Wright, Gavin M; Gough, Karla; Daniels, Marissa G; Choong, Peter; Conron, Matthew; Russell, Prudence A; Alam, Naveed Z; Ball, David; Solomon, Benjamin

2017-12-01

Lung cancer has markedly poorer survival in men. Recognized important prognostic factors are divided into host, tumour and environmental factors. Traditional staging systems that use only tumour factors to predict prognosis are of limited accuracy. By examining sex-based patterns of disease-specific survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients, we determined the effect of sex on the prognostic value of additional host factors. Two cohorts of patients treated surgically with curative intent between 2000 and 2009 were utilized. The primary cohort was from Melbourne, Australia, with an independent validation set from the American Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate analyses of validated host-related prognostic factors were performed in both cohorts to investigate the differences in survival between men and women. The Melbourne cohort had 605 patients (61% men) and SEER cohort comprised 55 681 patients (51% men). Disease-specific 5-year survival showed men had statistically significant poorer survival in both cohorts (P < 0.001); Melbourne men at 53.2% compared with women at 68.3%, and SEER 53.3% men and 62.0% women were alive at 5 years. Being male was independently prognostic for disease-specific mortality in the Melbourne cohort after adjustment for ethnicity, smoking history, performance status, age, pathological stage and histology (hazard ratio = 1.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-2.16, P = 0.012). Sex differences in non-small cell lung cancer are important irrespective of age, ethnicity, smoking, performance status and tumour, node and metastasis stage. Epidemiological findings such as these should be translated into research and clinical paradigms to determine the factors that influence the survival disadvantage experienced by men. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Trying to keep a balance: the meaning of health and diabetes in an urban aboriginal community.

PubMed

Thompson, S J; Gifford, S M

2000-11-01

Although the predominant paradigm of epidemiological investigation continues to focus narrowly on the individual and on individual risk factors, there is a growing body of work that calls for a rethinking of the current epidemiological models. In this paper we illustrate the need for a more comprehensive epidemiological approach towards understanding the risks for diabetes, by exploring the lived experiences of diabetes and lay meanings of risk among Aborigines living in Melbourne, Australia. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted within the Melbourne Aboriginal community in the state of Victoria over a 22-month period (1994-1996). Melbourne Aborigines see non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) as the result of living a life out of balance, a life of lost or severed connections with land and kin and a life with little control over past, present or future. The lay model regarding diabetes that is derived from the narratives of Melbourne Aborigines, consists of three levels of connectedness important in determining an individual's susceptibility not only to diabetes but to all disease--(1) family, (2) community and (3) society. This structure of interactive systems at successive levels from the individual to the population fits within the framework of an ecological paradigm. The strength of ethnography as applied to epidemiology is that it has the capacity to discover previously unknown components of a system at several different levels, and to build models to explain how these components interact. This framework, developed using an ethno-epidemiological approach, has application in other indigenous populations who have been dispossessed of their land, their pasts and their future. There is great potential to apply this approach to the major public health challenges presented by rapid global socio-cultural and environmental change that are impacting negatively on population health.

KSC-2012-3181

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses the audience during opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-3171

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses students on the opening day of the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3175

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses the audience during opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3173

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana participates in the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3170

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses students on the opening day of the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3176

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses the audience during opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

1982 Horton Medalist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, Thomas G.; Philip, J. R.

The names of Horton and Philip occur together so frequently in any discussion of infiltration that it is particularly appropriate that John R. Philip should be the recipient of the Robert E. Horton Medal. In 1931, Horton emphasized the need for ‘research to provide connective tissue between related problems,’ and Philip's achievements have gone far toward satisfying that need.John R. Philip was born at Ballarat, some 70 miles from Melbourne, and attended Melbourne University, graduating as bachelor of civil engineering in 1946. After a few years of engineering experience with Queensland's Irrigation Commission, he took up a position as research scientist in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in 1951. He moved rapidly from analysis of the hydraulics of border irrigation to the general problems of infiltration and soil water movement and found analytical solutions to a wide range of problems in homogeneous porous media. In 1957, Philip and his colleague D. A. de Vries were awarded the Horton prize of the AGU for their paper on moisture movement in porous materials under temperature gradients. In 1960, Melbourne University awarded John Philip his doctorate of science for a thesis, ‘Physical Contributions to Microhydrology,’ consisting of 19 published papers.

Uncertainty Categorization, Modeling, and Management for Regional Water Supply Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, S.; Strzepek, K. M.; AlSaati, A.; Alhassan, A.

2016-12-01

Many water planners face increased pressure on water supply systems from growing demands, variability in supply and a changing climate. Short-term variation in water availability and demand; long-term uncertainty in climate, groundwater storage, and sectoral competition for water; and varying stakeholder perspectives on the impacts of water shortages make it difficult to assess the necessity of expensive infrastructure investments. We categorize these uncertainties on two dimensions: whether they are the result of stochastic variation or epistemic uncertainty, and whether the uncertainties can be described probabilistically or are deep uncertainties whose likelihood is unknown. We develop a decision framework that combines simulation for probabilistic uncertainty, sensitivity analysis for deep uncertainty and Bayesian decision analysis for uncertainties that are reduced over time with additional information. We apply this framework to two contrasting case studies - drought preparedness in Melbourne, Australia and fossil groundwater depletion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - to assess the impacts of different types of uncertainty on infrastructure decisions. Melbourne's water supply system relies on surface water, which is impacted by natural variation in rainfall, and a market-based system for managing water rights. Our results show that small, flexible investment increases can mitigate shortage risk considerably at reduced cost. Riyadh, by contrast, relies primarily on desalination for municipal use and fossil groundwater for agriculture, and a centralized planner makes allocation decisions. Poor regional groundwater measurement makes it difficult to know when groundwater pumping will become uneconomical, resulting in epistemic uncertainty. However, collecting more data can reduce the uncertainty, suggesting the need for different uncertainty modeling and management strategies in Riyadh than in Melbourne. We will categorize the two systems and propose appropriate

Applying Best Practices to Florida Local Government Retrofit Programs, Central Florida (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

In some communities, local government and non-profit entities have funds to purchase and renovate distressed, foreclosed homes for resale in the affordable housing market. Numerous opportunities to improve whole house energy efficiency are inherent in these comprehensive renovations. BA-PIRC worked together in a multi-year field study making recommendations in individual homes, meanwhile compiling improvement costs, projected energy savings, practical challenges, and labor force factors surrounding common energy-related renovation measures. The field study, Phase 1 of this research, resulted in a set of best practices appropriate to the current labor pool and market conditions in central Florida to achieve projected annualmore » energy savings of 15-30% and higher. This report describes Phase 2 of the work where researchers worked with a local government partner to implement and refine the "current best practices". A simulation study was conducted to characterize savings potential under three sets of conditions representing varying replacement needs for energy-related equipment and envelope components. The three scenarios apply readily to the general remodeling industry as for renovation of foreclosed homes for the affordable housing market. Our new local government partner, the City of Melbourne, implemented the best practices in a community-scale renovation program that included ten homes in 2012.« less

KSC-2012-3177

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver has a rapt audience of space program managers and students for her remarks during opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3183

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Entertainment during the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., is provided by Jim Sawgrass and the Deep Forest Native American Indian Program dancers. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-3179

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Entertainment during the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., is provided by Jim Sawgrass and the Deep Forest Native American Indian Program dancers. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3180

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – NASA Kennedy Space Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana addresses the audience during opening ceremonies for the university's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3182

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Entertainment during the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., is provided by Jim Sawgrass and the Deep Forest Native American Indian Program dancers. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-3178

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Entertainment during the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., is provided by Jim Sawgrass and the Deep Forest Native American Indian Program dancers. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Complications of laparoscopic hysterectomy: the Monash experience.

PubMed

Tsaltas, J; Lawrence, A; Michael, M; Pearce, S

2002-08-01

A retrospective review of medical records was performed to assess the incidence and type of significant complications encountered during laparoscopic hysterectomy Two hundred and sixty-five consecutive patients were reviewed between the years 1994 and August 2001. Two hundred and thirty-two laparoscopic vaginal hysterectomies and 33 total laparoscopic hysterectomies were performed. The operations were performed at Monash Medical Centre, a Melbourne tertiary public hospital, and two Melbourne private hospitals, by three surgeons. Ten significant complications occurred. There were two cases of ureteric fistula, two bladder injuries, two bowel obstructions, two postoperative haematomas, one case of a bladder fistula and one superficial epigastric artery injury. In-patient stay ranged from two to six days. Our complication and in-patient stay rates are consistent with previously reported rates.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lani McCool (back row, left), wife of STS-107 Pilot Willie McCool, accompanied by their children and other family members, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lani McCool (back row, left), wife of STS-107 Pilot Willie McCool, accompanied by their children and other family members, visits a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for her late husband. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

Prototype Local Data Integration System and Central Florida Data Deficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manobianco, John; Case, Jonathan

1998-01-01

This report describes the Applied Meteorology Unit's (AMU) task on the Local Data Integration System (LDIS) and central Florida data deficiency. The objectives of the task are to identify all existing meteorological data sources within 250 km of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), identify and configure an appropriate LDIS to integrate these data, and implement a working prototype to be used for limited case studies and data non-incorporation (DNI) experiments. The ultimate goal for running LDIS is to generate products that may enhance weather nowcasts and short-range (less than 6 h) forecasts issued in support of the 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG), and the Melbourne National Weather Service (NWS MLB) operational requirements. The LDIS has the potential to provide added value for nowcasts and short term forecasts for two reasons. First, it incorporates all data operationally available in east central Florida. Second, it is run at finer spatial and temporal resolutions than current national-scale operational models. In combination with a suitable visualization tool, LDIS may provide users with a more complete and comprehensive understanding of evolving fine-scale weather features than could be developed by individually examining the disparate data sets over the same area and time. The utility of LDIS depends largely on the reliability and availability of observational data. Therefore, it is important to document all existing meteorological data sources around central Florida that can be incorporated by it. Several factors contribute to the data density and coverage over east central Florida including the level in the atmosphere, distance from KSC/CCAS, time, and prevailing weather. The central Florida mesonet consists of existing surface meteorological and hydrological data available from the Tampa NWS and data servers at Miami and Jacksonville. However the utility of these

75 FR 47537 - Foreign-Trade Zone 136-Brevard County, FL; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-06

... 2 (500 acres)--Titusville-Cocoa Space Center Executive Airport Industrial Park, Titusville; Site 3... Park at State Road 520, Cocoa; and Site 5 (5 acres)--718 and 720 North Drive, Melbourne. The grantee's...

Insulated Concrete Homes Increase Durability and Energy Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2001-05-01

New houses designed by Mercedes Homes in Melbourne, Florida, save their homeowners money by using energy efficient features such as a high performance heat pump and solar control glazing to reduce cooling costs.

Organization - NOAA's National Weather Service

Science.gov Websites

Virginia Charleston Alabama Birmingham Huntsville Mobile Arkansas Little Rock Florida Jacksonville Key West Mobile/Pensacola Tallahassee, FL Key West, FL Miami-South Florida, FL Tampa Bay, FL Melbourne, FL

A personalized 3D-printed prosthetic joint replacement for the human temporomandibular joint: From implant design to implantation.

PubMed

Ackland, David C; Robinson, Dale; Redhead, Michael; Lee, Peter Vee Sin; Moskaljuk, Adrian; Dimitroulis, George

2017-05-01

Personalized prosthetic joint replacements have important applications in cases of complex bone and joint conditions where the shape and size of off-the-shelf components may not be adequate. The objective of this study was to design, test and fabricate a personalized 3D-printed prosthesis for a patient requiring total joint replacement surgery of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The new 'Melbourne' prosthetic TMJ design featured a condylar component sized specifically to the patient and fixation screw positions that avoid potential intra-operative damage to the mandibular nerve. The Melbourne prosthetic TMJ was developed for a 58-year-old female recipient with end-stage osteoarthritis of the TMJ. The load response of the prosthesis during chewing and a maximum-force bite was quantified using a personalized musculoskeletal model of the patient's masticatory system developed using medical images. The simulations were then repeated after implantation of the Biomet Microfixation prosthetic TMJ, an established stock device. The maximum condylar stresses, screw stress and mandibular stress at the screw-bone interface were lower in the Melbourne prosthetic TMJ (259.6MPa, 312.9MPa and 198.4MPa, respectively) than those in the Biomet Microfixation device (284.0MPa, 416.0MPa and 262.2MPa, respectively) during the maximum-force bite, with similar trends also observed during the chewing bite. After trialing surgical placement and evaluating prosthetic TMJ stability using cadaveric specimens, the prosthesis was fabricated using 3D printing, sterilized, and implanted into the female recipient. Six months post-operatively, the prosthesis recipient had a normal jaw opening distance (40.0 mm), with no complications identified. The new design features and immediate load response of the Melbourne prosthetic TMJ suggests that it may provide improved clinical and biomechanical joint function compared to a commonly used stock device, and reduce risk of intra-operative nerve damage

Dealing with Drought: Decoupling Climatic and Management-Related Drivers of Water Conservation Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemati, A.; Rippy, M.; Grant, S. B.

2015-12-01

As global populations grow, cities in drought prone regions of the world such as California and South East Australia are faced with escalating water scarcity and water security challenges. The management approaches geared towards addressing these challenges are diverse. Given the myriad of possible approaches and the tendency to apply them in combination, successful management actions can be difficult to identify. Background climactic variability further complicates the story, making transfer of management lessons from one drought stressed region to another difficult. Here we use Melbourne, a city of 4.3 million people in South East Australia that recently faced and overcame a > 10 year "Millennium" drought, as a test case for evaluating the relative importance of various management-related and climactic factors in driving reductions in municipal water consumption (~60% in 12 years). Our analysis suggests that Melbourne's declining municipal consumption cannot be explained by potable substitution alone, as reductions in municipal consumption were not matched by increased use of alternative sources (e.g., urban rain or recycled water). Thus, water conservation behavior (not source switching) may be responsible for the majority of demand reduction in Melbourne. Interestingly, while voluntary or mandatory water restrictions appear to have substantially altered the rate of change of consumption near the end of Melbourne's Millennium drought (e.g., forcing a period of intense conservation), overall conservation behavior precedes these restrictions. This suggests that other rapidly implemented (and hither too unquantified) management approaches such as advertising or newspapers may have driven water conservation behavior early in the drought. Climatic factors, particularly precipitation may also have influenced conservation behavior; changes in precipitation were significantly positively correlated with changes in water consumption at a lag of 18 months. Similar

A national audit of retail lamb loin quality in Australia.

PubMed

Safari, E; Channon, H A; Hopkins, D L; Hall, D G; van de Ven, R

2002-07-01

A retail audit of lamb loin tenderness was conducted over a 12-month period to determine the variation in tenderness of Australian lamb. Tenderness was objectively measured using Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force. Muscle pH and cooking loss were determined on all samples and colour was measured on a sub-sample of loins. A total of 909 midloins from retail butcher shops and supermarkets located in four Australian capital cities (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth) were evaluated at four sampling times (December 1997 and March, June, and October 1998). Overall, 20.3% of all midloins purchased had a WB shear force value above the threshold level of 5 kg. Generic samples from Melbourne butcher shops were similar for WB shear force on average to the generic samples from Canberra and Sydney, whereas those from Melbourne supermarkets had significantly (P<0.001) higher WB shear force and were in line with generic samples from Perth. In both Canberra and Perth, alliance (branded) lamb had a greater WB shear force (P<0.05) than generic lamb. No relationship was found between price per kg and shear force (r=0.02) for loins purchased in Sydney (n=220). Price per kg differed between months (P<0.001) and suburbs (P<0.001), but not between retail butcher shops and supermarkets. Of the midloins tested, 10.3% had a pH above the critical point of 5.8. Midloins from the December 1997 sampling had a lower pH (P<0.01) than those sampled at other months. Those sampled in Melbourne and Perth had a similar mean pH, which were lower (P<0.001) than Canberra and Sydney samples. The findings from this quality audit suggest that there is room to improve the tenderness of Australian lamb sold in the domestic market. A lamb eating quality assurance system, based on set protocols, is one approach that is currently being investigated in Australia to ensure the supply of consistently high eating quality lamb to consumers.

Review of “Managing Arsenic in the Environment: From Soil to Hman Health”

EPA Science Inventory

This is a book review of "Managing Arsenic in the Environment: From Soil to Human Health," R. Naidu, E. Smith, G. Owens, P. Bhattacharya, and P. Nadebaum eds., CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 656 pp.,

Situational Lightning Climatologies for Central Florida: Phase III

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, Joe H., III

2008-01-01

This report describes work done by the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to add composite soundings to the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS). This allows National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters to compare the current atmospheric state with climatology. In a previous phase, the AMU created composite soundings for four rawinsonde observation stations in Florida, for each of eight flow regimes. The composite soundings were delivered to the NWS Melbourne (MLB) office for display using the NSHARP software program. NWS MLB requested that the AMU make the composite soundings available for display in AWIPS. The AMU first created a procedure to customize AWIPS so composite soundings could be displayed. A unique four-character identifier was created for each of the 32 composite soundings. The AMU wrote a Tool Command Language/Tool Kit (TcVTk) software program to convert the composite soundings from NSHARP to Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) format. The NetCDF files were then displayable by AWIPS.

Existing Whole-House Solutions Case Study: Applying Best Practices to Florida Local Government Retrofit Programs - Central Florida

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

In some communities, local government and non-profit entities have funds to purchase and renovate distressed, foreclosed homes for resale in the affordable housing market. Numerous opportunities to improve whole house energy efficiency are inherent in these comprehensive renovations. BA-PIRC worked together in a multiyear field study making recommendations in individual homes, meanwhile compiling improvement costs, projected energy savings, practical challenges, and labor force factors surrounding common energy-related renovation measures. The field study, Phase 1 of this research, resulted in a set of best practices appropriate to the current labor pool and market conditions in central Florida to achieve projected annualmore » energy savings of 15%-30% and higher. This case study describes Phase 2 of the work where researchers worked with a local government partner to implement and refine the "current best practices". A simulation study was conducted to characterize savings potential under three sets of conditions representing varying replacement needs for energy-related equipment and envelope components. The three scenarios apply readily to the general remodeling industry as for renovation of foreclosed homes for the affordable housing market. The new local government partner, the City of Melbourne, implemented the best practices in a community-scale renovation program that included ten homes in 2012.« less

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is not Related to Beta-Amyloid Deposition: Data from the Women's Healthy Ageing Project.

PubMed

Hill, E; Szoeke, C; Dennerstein, L; Campbell, S; Clifton, P

2018-01-01

Research has indicated the neuroprotective potential of the Mediterranean diet. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet has shown preventative potential for Alzheimer's disease incidence and prevalence, yet few studies have investigated the impact of Mediterranean diet adherence on the hallmark protein; beta-amyloid. To investigate the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and beta-amyloid deposition in a cohort of healthy older Australian women. This study was a cross-sectional investigation of participants from the longitudinal, epidemiologically sourced Women's Healthy Ageing Project which is a follow-up of the Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project. Assessments were conducted at the Centre for Medical Research, Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. F-18 Florbetaben positron emission tomography scanning was conducted at the Austin Centre for PET in Victoria, Australia. One hundred and eleven Women's Healthy Ageing Project participants were included in the study. Mediterranean diet adherence scores for all participants were calculated from the administration of a validated food frequency questionnaire constructed by the Cancer Council of Victoria. Beta-amyloid deposition was measured using positron emission tomography standardised uptake value ratios. Gamma regression analysis displayed no association between Mediterranean diet adherence and beta-amyloid deposition. This result was consistent across APOE-ε4 +/- cohorts and with the inclusion of covariates such as age, education, body mass index and cognition. This study found no association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and beta-amyloid deposition in a cohort of healthy Australian women.

Characterizing the Relationships Among Lightning and Storm Parameters: Lightning as a Proxy Variable

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, S. J.; Raghavan, R.; William, E.; Weber, M.; Boldi, B.; Matlin, A.; Wolfson, M.; Hodanish, S.; Sharp. D.

1997-01-01

We have gained important insights from prior studies that have suggested relationships between lightning and storm growth, decay, convective rain flux, vertical distribution of storm mass and echo volume in the region, and storm energetics. A study was initiated in the Summer of 1996 to determine how total (in-cloud plus ground) lightning observations might provide added knowledge to the forecaster in the determination and identification of severe thunderstorms and weather hazards in real-time. The Melbourne Weather Office was selected as a primary site to conduct this study because Melbourne is the only site in the world with continuous and open access to total lightning (LDAR) data and a Doppler (WSR-88D) radar. A Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Demonstration (LISDAD) system was integrated into the forecaster's workstation during the Summer 1996 to allow the forecaster to interact in real-time with the multi-sensor data being displayed. LISDAD currently ingests LDAR data, the cloud-to-ground National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) data, and the Melbourne radar data in f real-time. The interactive features provide the duty forecaster the ability to perform quick diagnostics on storm cells of interest. Upon selection of a storm cell, a pop-up box appears displaying the time-history of various storm parameters (e.g., maximum radar reflectivity, height of maximum reflectivity, echo-top height, NLDN and LDAR lightning flash rates, storm-based vertically integrated liquid water content). This product is archived to aid on detailed post-analysis.

A Multiplicative Cascade Model for High-Resolution Space-Time Downscaling of Rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raut, Bhupendra A.; Seed, Alan W.; Reeder, Michael J.; Jakob, Christian

2018-02-01

Distributions of rainfall with the time and space resolutions of minutes and kilometers, respectively, are often needed to drive the hydrological models used in a range of engineering, environmental, and urban design applications. The work described here is the first step in constructing a model capable of downscaling rainfall to scales of minutes and kilometers from time and space resolutions of several hours and a hundred kilometers. A multiplicative random cascade model known as the Short-Term Ensemble Prediction System is run with parameters from the radar observations at Melbourne (Australia). The orographic effects are added through multiplicative correction factor after the model is run. In the first set of model calculations, 112 significant rain events over Melbourne are simulated 100 times. Because of the stochastic nature of the cascade model, the simulations represent 100 possible realizations of the same rain event. The cascade model produces realistic spatial and temporal patterns of rainfall at 6 min and 1 km resolution (the resolution of the radar data), the statistical properties of which are in close agreement with observation. In the second set of calculations, the cascade model is run continuously for all days from January 2008 to August 2015 and the rainfall accumulations are compared at 12 locations in the greater Melbourne area. The statistical properties of the observations lie with envelope of the 100 ensemble members. The model successfully reproduces the frequency distribution of the 6 min rainfall intensities, storm durations, interarrival times, and autocorrelation function.

Guided Learning Applied to Optical Mineralogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Driver, S. C.; Hunter, W. R.

1975-01-01

Describes an individual programmed study method used in a second year Geology course at the University of Melbourne. Outlines the criteria that make this instructional style useful and presents the student questionnaire used to evaluate the course. (GS)

What Australian Primary School Students Value in Mathematics Learning: A WIFI Preliminary Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seah, Wee Tiong; Barkatsas, Tasos

2014-01-01

Grades 5/6 students in Melbourne reported the valuing of "achievement," "open-endedness," "relevance," "humanism," "ICT," and "openness" most in mathematics learning. Although prior research suggested that students in East Asia valued "achievement" most as well, there was an…

Towards an Automated Pipeline for the Translation and Optimization of Geospatial Data for Virtual Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

clearly observed in the game industry ( Introversion , 2008). Currently there are many tools available to assist in automating the production of large...Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Melbourne, Australia, February 11 – 14. Introversion Software, 2008: Procedural Content Generation. http

Setting the pace: the 2011 Australasian Podiatry Council conference

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The 2011 Australasian Podiatry Council conference was held from April 26 to 29 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. This commentary provides a brief overview of the conference, including the speakers and topic areas covered, selected original research highlights, and award winning presentations. PMID:21762520

TRIHALOMETHANE PRECURSOR REMOVAL BY THE MAGNESIUM CARBONATE PROCESS

EPA Science Inventory

A project was conducted to determine and improve the ability of the magnesium carbonate process to remove trihalomethane (THM) precursors in treated drinking water. The project was conducted at a drinking water treatment plant in Melbourne, FL, which had been developed and instal...

Sharing Place, Learning Together: Perspectives and Reflections on an Educational Partnership Formation with a Remote Indigenous Community School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godinho, Sally Caroline; Woolley, Marilyn; Webb, Jessie; Winkel, Kenneth Daniel

2015-01-01

Sustainable partnership formation in a remote Indigenous community involves social, cultural and political considerations. This article reports on the project, "Sharing Place, Learning Together: Supporting Sustainable Educational Partnerships to Advance Social Equity," funded by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI) at the…

Is "Learning" Science Enough?--A Cultural Model of Religious Students of Science in an Australian Government School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Joseph Paul; Kameniar, Barbara

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the cognitive experiences of four religious students studying evolutionary biology in an inner city government secondary school in Melbourne, Australia. The participants in the study were identified using the Religious Background and Behaviours questionnaire (Connors, Tonigan, & Miller, 1996). Participants were…

Late Pleistocene-Holocene volcanic activity in northern Victoria Land recorded in Ross Sea (Antarctica) marine sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Carlo, P.; Di Roberto, A.; Di Vincenzo, G.; Bertagnini, A.; Landi, P.; Pompilio, M.; Colizza, E.; Giordano, G.

2015-05-01

Eight pyroclastic fall deposits have been identified in cores of Late Pleistocene-Holocene marine sediments from the Ross Sea (Antarctica), and their components, granulometry and clast morphologies were analysed. Sedimentological, petrographic and geochemical analysis of clasts, with 40Ar-39Ar dating of alkali feldspar grains, indicate that during this period at least five explosive eruptions of mid to high intensity (plinian to subplinian) occurred, and that three of these eruptions took place from Mount Melbourne volcanic complex, between 137.1 ± 3.4 and 12 ka. Geochemical comparison of the studied tephra with micro- and crypto-tephra recovered from deep Antarctic ice cores and from nearby englacial tephra at Frontier Mountain indicates that eruptive activity in the Melbourne Volcanic Province of northern Victoria Land was intense during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, but only a general area of provenance for the majority of the identified tephra can be identified.

Housing stability over two years and HIV risk among newly homeless youth.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Doreen; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Batterham, Philip; Mallett, Shelley; Rice, Eric; Milburn, Norweeta G

2007-11-01

The stability of living situation was examined as a predictor of young people's HIV-related sexual and drug use acts two years after leaving home for the first time. Newly homeless youth aged 12-20 years were recruited in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A. (n = 261) and Melbourne, Australia (n = 165) and followed longitudinally at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Their family history of moves and the type and frequency of moves over the two years following becoming newly homeless were examined. Regression analyses indicated that recent sexual risk two years after becoming newly homeless was not related to the instability of youths' living situations; condom use was higher among youth with more placements in institutional settings and among males. Drug use was significantly related to having moved more often over two years and Melbourne youth used drugs significantly more than youth in Los Angeles.

Report on corrections and future considerations for Appendices II–VIII of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For the first time, the main text and Appendices II–VIII of the International Code of Nomenclature were separately published following decisions of the Melbourne Nomenclature Section, which contributed to subsequent development of an online resource capable of producing the Appendices in real time. ...

Peer Reviewing Preservice Teachers of Christian Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, Michael T.

2011-01-01

This study investigated the contributions peer review makes to the formation of preservice teachers of religious education within the context of Christian higher education. The participants were postgraduate students undertaking a preservice teacher training course at Australian Catholic University, Australia (Melbourne campus). Those training to…

NOAA Photo Library - Other NOAA Photo Sites

Science.gov Websites

National Marine Mammal Laboratory Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Fish Photos by Family Florida - Melbourne: Post Storm Damage Surveys and Summaries Florida - Tallahassee: Virtual Office Tour Kentucky - Jackson: Virtual Tour Kentucky - Louisville: Photo Album Kentucky - Paducah: Photo Gallery

Perspectives on ... Information Literacy in the ''E'' Environment: An Approach for Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bridgland, Angela; Whitehead, Martha

2005-01-01

This article examines an organizational approach to information literacy at the University of Melbourne involving information specialists who bridge information management, teaching, and technology. It discusses the circumstances leading to this approach, the benefits and challenges of the information specialists' mandate, the importance of social…

Equity or Equality? Students with Language Backgrounds Other Than English. Centre for the Study of Higher Education Research Working Papers, 93.8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaac, Anne

This paper reviews participation patterns of migrants, refugees, and permanent residents with language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE), at Australian universities in general, and the University of Melbourne in particular. It critically examines the effectiveness of current measures designed to improve the opportunities and university…

Individual Dlfferences in Children's Preferences among Recent Paintings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, R.; Bell, G.

1979-01-01

Preferences of Melbourne, Australia, students for twentieth-century paintings were examined. The identified dimensions of preference (represention, color, complexity) were similar to those found in previous studies. Age and sex differences were found only for color and complexity. Preference for representational, over nonrepresentational,…

Computer Networking with the Victorian Correspondence School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conboy, Ian

During 1985 the Education Department installed two-way radios in 44 remote secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, to improve turn-around time for correspondence assignments. Subsequently, teacher supervisors at Melbourne's Correspondence School sought ways to further augument audio interactivity with computer networking. Computer equipment was…

Teachers' Needs in Supporting Students with a Disability in the Classroom: A Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eraclides, George

An Australian study explored what teachers thought about working with students with disabilities and what kind of factors affected their practices. Twelve teachers from Box Hill Institute in Melbourne were interviewed using questions grouped into these four categories: background and experience, attitude, professional issues, and recommendations.…

Promotional Discourse in the Websites of Two Australian Universities: A Discourse Analytic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoang, Thi Van Yen; Rojas-Lizana, Isolda

2015-01-01

This article shows how universities represent themselves through the use of language on their institutional websites. Specifically, it compares and contrasts how a long established university, the University of Melbourne and a young university, Macquarie University construct their institutional identities and build up a relationship with potential…

Global Flows as Gendered Cultural Pedagogies: Learning Gangsta in the "Durty South"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Glenn C.; Hickey-Moody, Anna

2010-01-01

This article theorizes empirical data from an ethnographic project conducted in and around the economically disadvantaged suburb of Noble Park in southeast suburban Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). Exploring the politics around gendered identities of young people involved in the research, particularly Australian-Sudanese men, the authors theorize…

Technologies, Democracy and Digital Citizenship: Examining Australian Policy Intersections and the Implications for School Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moyle, Kathryn

2014-01-01

There are intersections that can occur between the respective peak Australian school education policy agendas. These policies include the use of technologies in classrooms to improve teaching and learning as promoted through the "Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians" and the "Australian Curriculum";…

Minimizing the chaos following the loss of article 59: suggestions for a necessary discussion

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We believe that the decision at the 2011 Melbourne Botanical Congress to suppress the dual nomenclature for pleomorphic fungi was premature since the great majority of fungal genera still remain inadequately typified and need molecularly based revisions. We deplore the move from a clearly rule-deter...

Australian Adult Consumers' Beliefs about Plant Foods: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lea, Emma; Worsley, Anthony; Crawford, David

2005-01-01

This exploratory qualitative study examined consumers' perceived barriers and benefits of plant food (fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds) consumption and views on the promotion of these foods. Ten focus groups were conducted in Melbourne, Australia. Groups consisted of employees of various workplaces, community group members,…

An Institutional Approach to the Evaluation of Educational Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Gregor E.

2003-01-01

Outlines an institutional approach that guides the evaluation of educational technology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). Roles for an internal evaluator and educational technology practitioners are proposed, and a conceptual framework that guides the evaluation process…

The Ethiopian Adolescent and the Effect of Cultural Difference on Immigrant Students' Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bitew, Getnet; Ferguson, Peter

2011-01-01

This article investigates the effect of cultural difference on the secondary school induction and learning of Ethiopian-Australian immigrant students living in Melbourne, Australia. A qualitative methodology was employed using interviews as data-collection instruments. Secondary school students, their teachers, and parents acted as participants in…

Questioning Art: Factors Affecting Students' Cognitive Engagement in Responding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Julia E.; Lummis, Geoffrey W.; Lock, Graeme

2017-01-01

The "Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians" (MCEETYA, 2008) cited confident and creative citizens as a key goal for Australian students. This goal aligns with global research on visual arts, specifically visual literacy. Being visually literate means decoding images, understanding the relationship between image…

Internationalizing the Curriculum: The Implementation Experience in a Faculty of Business and Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosling, Glenda; Edwards, Ron; Schroder, Bill

2008-01-01

Curriculum internationalization is a strategy adopted by many universities as they prepare their graduates for employment in the global economy. This paper is a case study of the organizational change involved in one institution's (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia) attempts to implement curriculum internationalization in the foundation…

Shared Pedagogical Understandings: Schoolwide Inclusion Practices Supporting Learner Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abawi, Lindy; Oliver, Mark

2013-01-01

Educational perspectives that recommend inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream classrooms remain a controversial topic. The Melbourne Declaration declares that all young Australians should be supported to become successful learners; confident and creative individuals; and active and informed citizens. So the question remains how…

Insulated Concrete Homes Increase Durability and Energy Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Building America; Hendron, B.; Poole, L.

2001-06-05

New houses designed by Mercedes Homes in Melbourne, Florida, with technical support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program, save their homeowners money by using energy efficient features such as a high performance heat pump and solar control glazing to reduce cooling costs.

Fusarium agapanthi sp. nov, a novel bikaverin and fusarubin-producing leaf and stem spot pathogen of Agapanthus praecox (African lily) from Australia and Italy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study was conducted to characterize a novel Fusarium species that caused leaf and stem spot on Agapanthus praecox (Agapanthus, African lily) in northern Italy and leaf rot and spot on the same host in Melbourne, Australia. Formally described as Fusarium agapanthi, this pathogen was analyzed usi...

Social Connectedness among International Students at an Australian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, Doreen Anne; Russell, Jean; Thomson, Garry

2007-01-01

A representative sample of undergraduate and postgraduate international students at a large Australian university (n = 979, 64% females) completed a mail-back survey examining their perceptions of social connectedness. Four aspects of social connectedness were investigated: (1) connectedness in Melbourne, (2) social mixing and interaction with…

Absorbing Australian Culture through the Exchange Program at RMIT International University in Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chi, Nguyen Ho Phuong

2013-01-01

This paper outlines a case study of four Vietnamese students who have just completed their exchange semester at RMIT University, Melbourne. Results indicate that the students appreciate multiple benefits brought by this experience, including a developing sense of language use, responsibility, dependence, self-awareness, integration, and…

Historic Australian Conceptualisations of English, Literacy and Multimodality in Policy and Curriculum and Conflicts with Educational Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cumming, Joy; Kimber, Kay; Wyatt-Smith, Claire

2011-01-01

Attainment of functional English literacy skills by all students has been a focus of Australian national policy since the 1989 Hobart Declaration (MCEETYA, 1989). This focus underpins current educational accountability policy enacted through the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The Adelaide and Melbourne Declarations…

The Many-Headed Hydra: Information Networking at LAA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winzenried, Arthur P.

1997-01-01

Describes an integrated computer library system installed at Lilydale Adventist Academy (LAA) in Melbourne (Australia) in response to a limited budget, increased demand, and greater user expectations. Topics include student workstations, cost effectiveness, CD-ROMS on local area networks, and student input regarding their needs. (Author/LRW)

Mechanism for Visual Detection of Small Targets in Insects

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-14

of natural images statistics in biological motion estimation. Lect Notes Comput Sc, 1811, 492–501 Egelhaaf M, Borst A (1985) Are there separate ON...Modulating selective attention in an insect neuron, 30th Annual Meeting of the Australiasian Neuroscience Society, Melbourne, February. 3-6 23

Travelling Drum with Different Beats: Experiencing African Music and Culture in Australian Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Dawn

2005-01-01

This article reports on a study that examined the effectiveness of introducing African music and culture to Australian non-specialist primary teacher education students at Deakin University in Melbourne (Australia). The study demonstrates that African music enhanced the generic musical experiences, learning, motivation, interest, confidence and…

KSC-2012-3174

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Professor Angie Bukley, dean and vice president for Academic Affairs, International Space University, addresses the audience during opening ceremonies for the university's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Seated from left are Anthony J. Catanese, president of Florida Tech NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana Bukley and Dr. Guy A. Boy, chair of the Space Studies Program’s local organizing committee. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3172

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-04

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Anthony J. Catanese, president of the Florida Institute of Technology, participates in the opening ceremonies for the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program session at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. Seated from left are Catanese NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana Professor Angie Bukley, dean and vice president for Academic Affairs, International Space University and Dr. Guy A. Boy, chair of the Space Studies Program’s local organizing committee. The nine-week intensive course is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals during the summer. The program is hosted by a different country each year, providing a unique educational experience for participants from around the globe. NASA Kennedy Space Center and Florida Tech are co-hosting this year's event which runs from June 4 to Aug. 3. This year, there are about 125 participants representing 31 countries. For more information, visit http://www.isunet.edu. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Geographic variation in the eukaryotic virome of human diarrhea

PubMed Central

Holtz, Lori R.; Cao, Song; Zhao, Guoyan; Bauer, Irma K.; Denno, Donna M.; Klein, Eileen J.; Antonio, Martin; Stine, O. Colin; Snelling, Thomas L.; Kirkwood, Carl D.; Wang, David

2014-01-01

Little is known about the population of eukaryotic viruses in the human gut (“virome”) or the potential role it may play in disease. We used a metagenomic approach to define and compare the eukaryotic viromes in pediatric diarrhea cohorts from two locations (Melbourne and Northern Territory, Australia). We detected viruses known to cause diarrhea, non-pathogenic enteric viruses, viruses not associated with an enteric reservoir, viruses of plants, and novel viruses. Viromes from Northern Territory children contained more viral families per sample than viromes from Melbourne, which could be attributed largely to an increased number of sequences from the families Adenoviridae and Picornaviridae (genus enterovirus). qRT-PCR/PCR confirmed the increased prevalence of adenoviruses and enteroviruses. Testing of additional diarrhea cohorts by qRT-PCR/PCR demonstrated statistically different prevalences in different geographic sites. These findings raise the question of whether the virome plays a role in enteric diseases and conditions that vary with geography. PMID:25262473

Evolution of the complications of laparoscopic hysterectomy after a decade: a follow up of the Monash experience.

PubMed

Tan, Jason J; Tsaltas, Jim; Hengrasmee, Pattaya; Lawrence, Anthony; Najjar, Haider

2009-04-01

A retrospective review of medical records was performed to assess the incidence and types of significant complications encountered during laparoscopic hysterectomy which would affect the use of a laparoscopic approach versus other routes of hysterectomy. A total of 526 consecutive patients' medical data between January 1994 and August 2007 were reviewed. Two hundred and thirty-two laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomies and 294 total laparoscopic hysterectomies were performed at Monash Medical Centre, a Melbourne tertiary public hospital, and three Melbourne private hospitals, by or under the supervision of three surgeons. Sixteen significant complications occurred. There were two cases of ureteric fistula, two bladder injuries, two bowel obstructions, four postoperative haematomas, one case of a bladder fistula, four conversions to laparotomy and one superficial epigastric artery injury. Inpatient stay ranged from two to six days. Our complication and inpatient stay rates are consistent with the previously reported rates, although there has been a reduction of incidence of visceral injuries with experience and introduction of new equipment.

Microbiological and meteorological analysis of two Australian dust storms in April 2009.

PubMed

Lim, Natalie; Munday, Chris I; Allison, Gwen E; O'Loingsigh, Tadhg; De Deckker, Patrick; Tapper, Nigel J

2011-12-15

Dust is an important source of bioaerosols including bacteria. In this study, the microbiology and meteorology of specific dust storms in Australia were investigated. The samples were collected from two dust events in April 2009 that were characterised by intense cold fronts that entrained dust from the highly erodible and drought-stricken Mallee and Riverina regions of Victoria and central NSW. In the first storm, the dust travelled eastward over Canberra and Sydney, and in the second storm, the dust travelled east/southeastward over Canberra and Melbourne. Rain fell on both cities during the second dust storm. Dust and rain samples were collected, cultured, and the composition compared using polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Multiple bands were evident on DGGE indicative of a diverse microflora, and identification of several bands confirmed the presence of multiple genera and species representing three phyla. Numerous bands represented Bacillus species, and these were present in multiple dust samples collected from both Canberra and Melbourne. Interestingly, the microflora present in rain samples collected in Canberra during the second dust storm was quite different and the DGGE banding patterns from these samples clustered separately to most dust samples collected at the same time. Identification of several DGGE bands and PCR products from these rain samples indicated the presence of Pseudomonas species. These results indicate that Australian dust and rain have a diverse microflora and highlights the contribution of dust events to the distribution of microbes in the environment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Power of a Single Game to Address a Range of Important Ideas in Fraction Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Doug; Roche, Anne

2010-01-01

As part of the Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics Project (CTLM), the mathematics education team at Australian Catholic University has the privilege of working with principals, teachers, students, and parents in schools in the Melbourne Archdiocese. A particular highlight is the opportunity to work alongside project teachers and…

Professor's Page: Do Demonstration Lessons Work?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Doug

2011-01-01

As part of a large research and professional development project funded by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne (CEOM), called "Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics," the ACU team has been leading demonstration lessons. There is certainly not universal agreement on the worth of demonstration lessons in the mathematics…

Self-Reported and Actual Use of Proactive and Reactive Classroom Management Strategies and Their Relationship with Teacher Stress and Student Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clunies-Ross, Penny; Little, Emma; Kienhuis, Mandy

2008-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between primary school teachers' self-reported and actual use of classroom management strategies, and examined how the use of proactive and reactive strategies is related to teacher stress and student behaviour. The total sample consisted of 97 teachers from primary schools within Melbourne. Teachers…

Resources for Schools: Multicultural Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adelaide Univ. (Australia).

This non-exhaustive, partially annotated booklist of multicultural materials was compiled from library catalogs, reviews published for school libraries, publishers' and booksellers' catalogs, and a search of bookshops in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. It indicates what is currently available in Australia, and provides ideas for an initial school…

Flexible Models for Learning English Are Needed for Refugee Mothers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riggs, Elisha; Block, Karen; Gibbs, Lisa; Davis, Elise; Szwarc, Josef; Casey, Sue; Duell-Piening, Philippa; Waters, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

The importance of English language acquisition for resettlement of refugees is well established, particularly as a pathway to education, employment, health and social connections. A qualitative study was conducted in 2011 in Melbourne, Australia utilising focus groups with 87 refugee background women from Karen, Iraqi, Assyrian Chaldean, Lebanese,…

(20-22) Proposals to add Gerard, FL gallo-Prov. 1761, Kramer, Elench. Veg. 156, and Miller, Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4 1754 to the list of suppressed works in Appendix VI

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants in its current edition, the 2012 Melbourne Code, includes in Art. 34 provisions for the suppression of names in specified publications that are listed in its Appendix VI. Any publication can be proposed for suppression, and if such a...

78 FR 70027 - Senior Executive Service; Performance Review Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

.... SYKES, MERLE L. SYNAKOWSKI, EDMUND J. TALBOT JR, GERALD L. TAYLOR, CHARLES W. THOMPSON, MICHAEL A..., WILLIAM N. BURROWS, CHARLES W. BUTTRESS, LARRY D. CADIEUX, GENA E. CALBOS, PHILIP T. CALLAHAN, SAMUEL N..., JAMES MELBOURN DURANT, CHARLES K. ECKROADE, WILLIAM A. EDWARDS III, ROBERT E. EHLI, CATHY L. ELKIND...

The Knowledge Economy and University Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connell, Raewyn

2015-01-01

This article is a condensed analysis of the developing sustainability crisis of Australian universities. It is based on an address to National Council of the National Tertiary Education Union, Melbourne, 3 October 2014. Thanks to all my fellow-members, who have kept my hopes for the modern university alive.

Building Bridges Rather than Walls: Research into an Experiential Model of Interfaith Education in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCowan, Tim

2017-01-01

This paper examines research findings from an experiential model of interfaith education called the Building Bridges through Interfaith Dialogue in Schools Programme (BBP). The BBP has been operating continuously in Melbourne, Australia since 2004. In the research, participating students were interviewed and surveyed to assess the effect of this…

A Snapshot in Time: Themes, Tags and International Reach--An Analysis of the Journal of International Research in Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pendergast, Donna; Twigg, Danielle

2015-01-01

A thematic content analysis of the seven issues (35 papers and two editorials) of the "International Research in Early Childhood Education" ("IRECE") journal published by Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria was conducted to explore the themes over its five years of publication. Publications were grouped into defined data…

Language and Language Education: Working Papers of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia. Volume 2, Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Language and Language Education: Working Papers of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia, 1992

1992-01-01

Papers included in this compilation are "Late Hebrew Immersion at Mt. Scopus College Melbourne: Towards Complete Hebrew Fluency for Jewish Day School Students" (S. C. Lorch, T. F. McNamara, E. Eisikovits); "Languages in Schools: Policy and Practice" (Roger A. Peddie); "Models and Sociolinguistic Factors in Some Victorian…

The Rediscovered Agents of Change: Librarians Working with Academics To Close the Information Gap.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Sabina; Sullivan, Shirley

This document contains two papers that discuss information provision to customers at the University of Melbourne (Australia) library in light of the merger of the library with information technology (IT) and multimedia education. The first paper addresses the following issues involved in providing this service: content--collection and access…

Who Stays? Who Leaves? An Examination of Sex Differences in Staying and Leaving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Millicent E.; Low, B. C.

The purpose of this study was to examine the major determinants of the "staying" and "leaving" process for samples of Melbourne (Australia) male and female adolescents. Sixty attitudinal statements were obtained from 796 adolescents and factor analysed. The subset of independent variables, together with a set of personality and…

Supporting Component-Based Courseware Development Using Virtual Apparatus Framework Script.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ip, Albert; Fritze, Paul

This paper reports on the latest development of the Virtual Apparatus (VA) framework, a contribution to efforts at the University of Melbourne (Australia) to mainstream content and pedagogical functions of curricula. The integration of the educational content and pedagogical functions of learning components using an XML compatible script,…

Flexible Delivery Is Not Simply a Question of Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodear, Lyn

In 1997, the South West Institute of TAFE (Technical and Further Education) in Victoria, Australia, and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology jointly developed an online workplace delivery model for administrative and clerical workers. The model was aligned with national standards encompassing the formal qualifications for four certificates in…

A CAS Project Ten Years On

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Sue; Pierce, Robyn

2016-01-01

Although research shows that Computer Algebra Systems offer pedagogical opportunities, more than a decade later some teachers are reluctant to change established practices. In 2002, the University of Melbourne in Australia launched a research project to investigate implementation of a senior mathematics course in which students could use a…

Family Intervention Services Program Evaluation: A Brief Report on Initial Outcomes for Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, Warren; Rogers, Helen; Matthews, Jan

2003-01-01

Reports on a preliminary evaluation of the Metropolitan Family Intervention Service at the Victorian Parenting Centre, Melbourne, Australia. It presents an analysis of pre-post data collected from 589 mothers who commenced and completed parenting programs between 1999 and early 2003. Significant improvements were noted in measures of parental…

Internet Use of Polish by Polish Melburnians: Implications for Maintenance and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Michael; Debski, Robert

2006-01-01

The Internet has become an important communication medium and it is having a significant impact on language use. The present study takes a "snapshot" of how the Polish language is currently used with modern communications technologies by Polish-Australians living in Melbourne. Through a questionnaire, it surveys which communications…

Blurred Boundaries: Negotiating a Common Core Subject in a Multi-Faculty Bachelor of Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onsman, Andrys; Newton, Clare

2015-01-01

In 2008, the University of Melbourne rolled out its restructured undergraduate degree program offerings. Rather than offering a multitude of faculty-specific degrees, the University started to offer a limited number of generalist degrees that serve as developmental pathways to specialist masters programs as well as stand-alone employment…

Do Parents Make a Difference to Children's Academic Achievement? Differences between Parents of Higher and Lower Achieving Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Nicky; Harvey, David

2005-01-01

Differences in family factors in determining academic achievement were investigated by testing 432 parents in nine independent, coeducational Melbourne schools. Schools were ranked and categorized into three groups (high, medium and low), based on student achievement (ENTER) scores in their final year of secondary school and school improvement…

Education Policy Reforms of Secondary Education in the Northern Territory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Bill

2004-01-01

An original study of the Ramsay Committee report entitled "Future Directions for Secondary Education in the Northern Territory" (the "Secondary Review") was presented in December 2004 at the ANZCIES National Conference in Melbourne. This was prior to the Northern Territory Government deciding how many of the recommendations of…

Integrated Sensing and Processing in Missile Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-31

Nanoprobes: The Geometry of Processing and Sensing," H. A. Schmitt, et al., 5th Asian Control Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2004, accepted. 17. [CR...Computers, Special session on "Signal Processing for Agile Sensors, Pacific Grove, CA, 7-10 November 2004, accepted. 20. [CI] "Computational Origami for

What's up DOCC? Creating Third Space Courses in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elsden-Clifton, Jennifer; Jordan, Kathy

2015-01-01

There are increasing calls to improve the quality of Teacher Education by reconceptualising the connection between university-based coursework and the teaching practicum. In response, the School of Education at RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria redesigned courses in its first year program to interconnect the two spaces of universities (first…

Pre-Service Teacher Beliefs: Are Musicians Different?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swainston, Andrew; Jeanneret, Neryl

2013-01-01

This paper reviews issues around teacher education and the beliefs students bring to their courses. It considers concerns about current classroom music teaching, preservice teachers' beliefs, and preservice music teachers' identity construction as the foundation for research currently being conducted at The University of Melbourne. The study is…

Environmental Influence on Language Acquisition: Comparing Second and Foreign Language Acquisition of Swedish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakansson, Gisela; Norrby, Catrin

2010-01-01

This article explores the influence of the learning environment on the second language acquisition of Swedish. Data were collected longitudinally over 1 year from 35 university students studying Swedish in Malmo, Sweden, and in Melbourne, Australia. Three areas were investigated: grammar, pragmatics, and lexicon. The development of grammar was…

"Working Your Words": Appraisal in the AFL Post-Match Interview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, David

2009-01-01

This paper explores the language used by Australian Football League (AFL) footballers and Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) journalists in their post-match interviews broadcast on ABC (774 Melbourne) radio. From Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), Appraisal is used to investigate the evaluative language expressed by the AFL footballers in…

Prayer Is a Positive Activity for Children--A Report on Recent Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mountain, Vivienne

2005-01-01

This article reports on Australian research investigating the meaning and function of prayer for children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 primary school participants selected from six different schools in Melbourne, reflecting some of the diverse philosophical and religious traditions found in the Australian society. The three…

The Design and Evaluation of the Lighting Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boldi, B.; Hodanish, S.; Sharp, D.; Williams, E.; Goodman, Steven; Raghavan, R.; Matlin, A.; Weber, M.

1998-01-01

The design and evaluation of the Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD). The ultimate goal of the LISDAD system is to quantify the utility of total lightning information in short-term, severe-weather forecasting operations. To this end, scientists from NASA, NWS, and MIT organized an effort to study the relationship of lightning and severe-weather on a storm-by-storm, and even cell-by-cell basis for as many storms as possible near Melbourne, Florida. Melbourne was chosen as it offers a unique combination of high probability of severe weather and proximity to major relevant sensors - specifically: NASA's total lightning mapping system at Kennedy Space Center (the LDAR system at KSC); a NWS/NEXRAD radar (at Melbourne); and a prototype Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS, at Orlando), which obtains cloud-to-ground lightning Information from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and also uses NSSL's Severe Storm Algorithm (NSSL/SSAP) to obtain information about various storm-cell parameters. To assist in realizing this project's goal, an interactive, real-time data processing system (the LISDAD system) has been developed that supports both operational short-term weather forecasting and post facto severe-storm research. Suggestions have been drawn from the operational users (NWS/Melbourne) in the design of the data display and its salient behavior. The initial concept for the users Graphical Situation Display (GSD) was simply to overlay radar data with lightning data, but as the association between rapid upward trends in the total lightning rate and severe weather became evident, the display was significantly redesigned. The focus changed to support the display of time series of storm-parameter data and the automatic recognition of cells that display rapid changes in the total-lightning flash rate. The latter is calculated by grouping discrete LDAR radiation sources into lightning flashes using a time-space association algorithm

Rewriting "The Road to Nowhere": Place Pedagogies in Western Sydney

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gannon, Susanne

2009-01-01

Negative representations of parts of our cities are endemic in the Australian media, where certain suburbs function as motifs for failure--past, present, and future. Indeed, as one journalist put it after invoking the "interchangeable" triumvirate of Sydney's Mount Druitt, Melbourne's West Heidelberg, and Brisbane's Inala, "geography is destiny"…

Student Preferences for Different Sources of Scientific Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraser, Barry J.; Northfield, Jeffrey R.

1978-01-01

Uses four measures of attitude towards different sources of scientific information, namely experiments, experts, books and teachers, to investigate the relative preferences for the different sources among a sample of 7th grade students in Melbourne. Also explores relationships between student changes in attitude to these sources and a number of…

Developing the Understanding and Practice of Inclusion in Higher Education for International Students with Disabilities/Additional Needs: A Whole Schooling Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supple, Briony; Abgenyega, Joseph

2011-01-01

In this paper we present research on inclusion in higher education using a whole schooling philosophy. We seek insight into the perspectives of international students with disabilities/additional needs, three of whom from this particular research group are from non-English speaking backgrounds and attending the same university in Melbourne,…

Rejecting Ahmed's "Melancholy Migrant": South Sudanese Australians in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Anne; Marlowe, Jay; Nyuon, Nyadol

2015-01-01

This paper draws on related research studies in two urban centres (Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia) with South Sudanese men and women engaged in varying degrees with higher education. The co-authors examine some gendered differences in the process and demands of resettlement, including within employment and education, and its implications for…

Leveraging Work-Integrated Learning through On-Campus Employment: A University-Wide Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Gaon; Kay, Judie

2013-01-01

At Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia, the majority of students engage in paid employment alongside their studies; and, every student has the opportunity to engage with work-integrated learning as a key component of their academic course. This paper explores an innovative structured approach the university has initiated to align these two…

The Self-Taught Career Musician: Investigating Learning Sources and Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Leah

2016-01-01

This article reports early findings from a qualitative study of 10 full-time musicians who are self-taught, to investigate their learning biographies. The aim is to identify, define and explore learning sources and experiences across the musician's learning biography. Conducted in Melbourne, Australia, the musicians were recruited through snowball…

Report on the Development of the University Experience Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radloff, Ali; Coates, Hamish; James, Richard; Krause, Kerri-Lee

2011-01-01

In 2011, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) commissioned a Consortium led by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and including the University of Melbourne's Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) and the Griffith Institute for Higher Education (GIHE) to develop an instrument and…

The Writing Mind: A Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Sara

2017-01-01

It was week three of the first semester of the author's Master of Teaching degree at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and already lecturers were talking about first assignments. In the English method unit, students were required to write a reflective autobiographical narrative inquiring into particular critical incidents from past…

Collaborative Development of Anatomy Workshops for Medical and Dental Students in Cambodia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Jennifer A.; Ivanusic, Jason J.; le Roux, Cara M.; Hatzopoulos, Kate; Gonsalvez, David; Hong, Someth; Durward, Callum

2011-01-01

After Phnom Penh was liberated from the Khmer Rouge in 1979, health science education in Cambodia had to be completely rebuilt. In this article, the authors report the results of a teaching collaboration between the University of Melbourne (Australia), the International University (Cambodia), and the University of Health Sciences (Cambodia). The…

Understanding Temporality and Future Orientation for Young Women in the Senior Year

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duggan, Shane

2017-01-01

This article considers how time is imagined, lived, and desired in young women's lives as they undertake their final year of secondary school studies in Melbourne, Australia. It argues that economic and competitive imperatives have intensified for many young people in recent times, manifesting in an educational apparatus that increasingly defines…

Improving Access to Online Multilingual Resources by Adopting the My Language Portal in the City of Greater Dandenong Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bogdanovic, Marijana; Johanson, Graeme

2007-01-01

This paper reports on the implementation of "My Language Portal" in the City of Greater Dandenong Libraries (CGDL), Melbourne, Victoria, through the development of a "My Language Portal Project Plan" in 2006. It discusses how the aims of the designers of My Language Portal (MLP) are fulfilled in the exceptional, changing…

The SNAP Platform: Social Networking for Academic Purposes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirkwood, Keith

2010-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to introduce an enterprise-wide Web 2.0 learning support platform--SNAP, developed at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Pointing to the evolution of the social web, the paper discusses the potential for the development of e-learning platforms that employ constructivist, connectivist,…

Whole School Initiative: Has Inclusive Education Gone Astray?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agbenyega, Joseph; Klibthong, Sunanta

2013-01-01

Drawing on the social theory concepts of Bourdieu (Field, Capital and Habitus) we explored and gained insights into the perspectives of sub-Saharan African refugee families and preschool educators regarding inclusive education of young children in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The study is informed by two curriculum…

Multilingualism among University Staff: A Case Study of Language Management at an Australian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marriott, Helen

2013-01-01

Employing the language management framework, this paper reports on multilingual use among the staff of a major metropolitan university in Melbourne and covers both simple and organised management. It describes a top-down attempt to survey staffs' (academic and general) background in Languages other than English (LOTE), LOTE usage and evaluative…

Developing a Course on the Law of Peace Operations: Method and Practice--Making Ends Meet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oswald, Bruce M.

2007-01-01

This paper reflects on my personal experience conceptualising and teaching the law of peace operations course at The Melbourne Law School. More specifically, the paper examines some of the key challenges I have faced in developing the most appropriate conceptual framework and teaching methodologies to assist graduate students to better understand…

Multicultural Education and Racism: The Case of Arab-Australian Students in Contemporary Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mansouri, Fethi; Trembath, Anna

2005-01-01

This paper discusses the social and cultural dimensions of the educational experiences of Arab-Australian students. It seeks to explore the cultural attitudes and the social experiences of Arab-Australian secondary school students from two schools situated in Melbourne's northern region. The paper seeks to examine how Arab-Australian students and…

Two-Way Radio in Schools (or, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Learner). An Evaluation of a High Frequency Short Wave, Two-Way Radio Trial.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conboy, Ian

The Country Education Project in Victoria, Australia, tested the use of two-way radios to bring educational resources to isolated children studying correspondence courses in small rural high schools and to increase interaction among rural schools. Eight rural Victoria schools and the Secondary Correspondence School in Melbourne used two-way…

The Sky Is No Longer the Limit for Alice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monge, Louise

2016-01-01

In March 2016, representatives from Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) were invited to BHP Billiton's head office in Melbourne, Australia, to listen to astronautical engineer and NASA New Horizons Mission Operations Manager Alice Bowman discuss her career trajectory and the role her choices in education played in her success. Alice…

National Assessment Program--ICT Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report, 2008

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainley, John; Fraillon, Julian; Freeman, Chris

2010-01-01

Australia's national educational goals place considerable importance on the place of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians of December 2008 asserted that "in this digital age young people need to be highly skilled in the use of ICT" (MCEETYA,…

Classroom Antarctica

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gozzard, David

2017-01-01

Australian company Antarctica Flights runs summer sightseeing trips out of Australian capital cities to tour the Antarctic coast. The Laby Foundation of the University of Melbourne, through its "Classroom Antarctica" program, sponsored Kent Street High School science teacher, Ms Suzy Urbaniak and 18 of her students to take the trip, to…

Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy: Benefits and Complications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zdolsek, Helena Aniansson; Olesch, Christine; Antolovich, Giuliana; Reddihough, Dinah

2011-01-01

Background: Spasticity and dystonia in children with cerebral palsy has been treated with intrathecal baclofen therapy (ITB) at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (RCH) since 1999. Methods: The records of children having received or still receiving ITB during the period September 1999 until August 2005 were studied to evaluate…

A Perspective on Third-Party Providers and Study Tour Programs: A Mixed Method Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hains-Wesson, Rachael; Appleby, Mary

2017-01-01

This article presents an evaluation research outcome that used a mixed method approach. The study evaluated a short-term, study tour unit that was offered as an elective, credit-bearing, work-integrated learning experience for second year undergraduate students at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. The unit of study offered…

Brief Report: The Factor Structure of Mood States in an Early Adolescent Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duffy, Christopher J.; Cunningham, Everarda G.; Moore, Susan M.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of negative mood states among young adolescents. Students (N=216) aged 11-15 years from a secondary school in Melbourne, Australia, completed the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS) [Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1996). "Depression anxiety stress scales." Sydney: The…

Keeping Connected: The Design and Overview of the Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Julianne

2014-01-01

The special issue "Keeping Connected: Identity, Social Connection and Education for Young People" opens with a paper that discusses the research design and overview of a three-year project by a Melbourne (Australia)-based multi-disciplinary team. Over 2007-2009, the Keeping Connected team of 10 researchers investigated the lives of…

When Traditions Become Innovations and Innovations Become Traditions in Everyday Food Pedagogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benny, Helen

2012-01-01

This paper explores the way learning to cook remains important for the maintenance of "ethnic" food traditions and how sharing food knowledge plays a role in intercultural exchanges. Ethnographic data from an ongoing study in Melbourne is presented to highlight how, in everyday practices, both tradition and innovation are involved in…

The Visible Classroom: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skipp, Amy; Tanner, Emily

2015-01-01

The Visible Classroom project aimed to use lesson transcripts to promote effective teaching practice and improve the attainment of pupils in primary school. The approach used "real-time captioning" technology to generate a live transcript of teachers' speech in lessons and was developed by the University of Melbourne and technology…

Integrating Language and Content: Challenges in a Japanese Supplementary School in Victoria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okumura, Shinji; Obara, Yumi

2017-01-01

The Melbourne International School of Japanese (MISJ) is a supplementary Saturday school which offers Japanese language and mathematics taught in Japanese from kindergarten to senior secondary level. Classes are scheduled on Saturdays from 9am to 3pm and approximately half of the program is dedicated to mathematics. While mathematics education…

Showcasing Faculty Experiences with Technology Enhanced Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naidu, Som; Cunnington, David

2004-01-01

This paper describes a research project that seeks to explore the experience of faculty with technology-enhanced teaching and learning. A particular focus of this investigation is on how the use of information and communications technology is influencing teaching practices and students' approaches to learning at the University of Melbourne. This…

Sharing Music and Culture through Singing in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Dawn

2009-01-01

This article discusses the notion of sharing music and culture as an effective platform to celebrate diversity in Melbourne, Australia. My research project "Celebrating Music Making and Finding Meaning" investigates and illustrates a context of diversity, one that promotes respect in a multicultural society sharing music and culture of a…

Intercultural Crossings in a Digital Age: ICT Pathways with Migrant and Refugee-Background Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Mara, Ben; Harris, Anne

2016-01-01

This article problematises the uptake and use of digital technologies by migrant and refugee-background young people, through the lens of a site-based arts pedagogy program, Culture Shack (CS), in Melbourne, Australia. It argues that online pedagogies including animation, Facebook, photoshop, mobile phones and Youtube can be used effectively for…

Using Coaching to Improve the Teaching of Problem Solving to Year 8 Students in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kargas, Christine Anestis; Stephens, Max

2014-01-01

This study investigated how to improve the teaching of problem solving in a large Melbourne secondary school. Coaching was used to support and equip five teachers, some with limited experiences in teaching problem solving, with knowledge and strategies to build up students' problem solving and reasoning skills. The results showed increased…

Adventures in Evaluation: Reviewing a CD-ROM Based Adventure Game Designed for Young People Recovering from Psychosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shrimpton, Bradley; Hurworth, Rosalind

2005-01-01

Recently the Centre for Program Evaluation (CPE) at the University of Melbourne was approached by a mental health agency to undertake the unique and challenging task of evaluating a prototype CD-ROM based adventure game designed for young people recovering from psychosis. This unusual and inventive game, titled Pogo's Pledge, used…

Boys' Music? School Context and Middle-School Boys' Musical Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennetts, Kathleen Scott

2013-01-01

This article focusses primarily on the findings relating to the musical participation of boys in one Melbourne school. As part of a project that investigated boys' attitudes and participation at fifty-one schools, several contextual features were identified that set "Balton Boys" High School' apart from other participating schools,…

Crossing Borders: Evaluating a Work Integrated Learning Project Involving Australian and Vietnamese Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Bernadette; Vo-Tran, Huan; Pittayachawan, Siddhi; Reynolds, Sue

2012-01-01

The value of work integrated learning (WIL) is well-established in the education of information management (IM) professionals. Adding value to WIL through cross-cultural or cross-disciplinary experiences is considered in this article. Using online communication, simulation activities, and onsite work, students from RMIT Melbourne and RMIT Ho Chi…

Rediscovering the Teaching of Geography with the Focus on Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, David; Solem, Michael

2017-01-01

This paper arises from the Keynote we co-delivered at the 2017 AGTA Conference in Melbourne. In the paper, we outline the main theoretical resources that underpin the GeoCapabilities project (www.geocapabilities.org). This project has sought to engage teachers and teacher educators in geography with the principles of "curriculum…

Situational Lightning Climatologies for Central Florida, Phase 2, Part 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III

2007-01-01

The threat of lightning is a daily concern during the warm season in Florida. The forecasters at the Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) at Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston, TX consider lightning in their landing forecasts for space shuttles at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), FL Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). The forecasters at the National Weather Service in Melbourne, FL (NWS MLB) do the same in their routine Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) for seven airports in the NWS MLB County Warning Area (CWA). The Applied Meteorology Unit created flow regime climatologies of lightning probability in the 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-n mi circles surrounding the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and all airports in the NWS MLB county warning area in 1-, 3-, and 6-hour increments. The results were presented in tabular and graphical format and incorporated into a web-based graphical user interface so forecasters could easily navigate through the data and to make the GUI usable in any web browser on computers with different operating systems.

The Italian Job: Reforming a Beginners' Italian Curriculum at University Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Absalom, Matthew

2012-01-01

In 2008, the Faculty of Arts at The University of Melbourne embarked upon a major overhaul of curriculum in nine languages: Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese in the Asia Institute; and French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish in the School of Languages and Linguistics. This article details the changes to the beginners' Italian…

Web-Based Teaching: The Beginning of the End for Universities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyatt, Ray

This paper describes a World Wide Web-based, generic, inter-disciplinary subject called computer-aided policymaking. It has been offered at Melbourne University (Australia) from the beginning of 2001. It has generated some salutary lessons in marketing and pedagogy, but overall it is concluded that Web-based teaching has a rosy future.…

Learning between Schools and Hospitals--Young People and a Curriculum of (Dis)connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Mary

2014-01-01

As noted in other papers in this volume, a group of health and education researchers and practitioners came together to further develop their understanding of the situation of young people, who were clients of The Royal Children's Hospital Education Institute in 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The resultant research project, funded by the Australian…

Students' Attitudes toward Introductory Physics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demirci, Neset

2004-01-01

The problem examined in this study deals with students' attitude toward physics among the freshmen and sophomore students who were taking first introductory physics course. In the study there were 176 students, and they were chosen sample of convenience from Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida. 125 subjects were male students, and…

Research 1972.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tisher, R. P., Ed.

Presented in this monograph are 10 articles read at the Third Annual Conference of the Australian Science Education Research Association which was held in Melbourne in May, 1972. The articles are given under the following headings: A Model for Curriculum Evaluation; The Australian Science Education Project as a Stimulus for Research--A Progress…

"Every Family": A Population Approach to Reducing Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Children Making the Transition to School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Matthew R.; Ralph, Alan; Sofronoff, Kate; Gardiner, Paul; Thompson, Rachel; Dwyer, Sarah; Bidwell, Kerry

2008-01-01

A large-scale population trial using the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program (TPS) was evaluated. The target population was all parents of 4- to 7-year-old children residing in ten geographical catchment areas in Brisbane (intervention communities) and ten sociodemographically matched catchment areas from Sydney (5) and Melbourne (5), care as…

Early School Experiences: Gender Differences in Mathematics Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leder, Gilah C.

This study of gender differences in mathematics learning examined two 4-year-olds who attended a Melbourne, Australia preschool. The study traces the experiences of the students, one female and one male, during their first formal exposure to mathematics in kindergarten. Of particular concern was how the preschoolers interacted with their teacher,…

Teaching Mixed-Mode: A Case Study in Remote Delivery of Computer Science in Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Sheila; Harris, Michael; Wilkinson, Simon; Zuluaga, Catherine; Voutier, Paul

2004-01-01

In February 2003, RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, commenced delivery of a Computer Science diploma and degree programme using mixed mode delivery to 250 university students in sub-Saharan Africa, through a World Bank funded project designed for the African Virtual University (AVU). The project is a unique experience made possible by…

Prevalence and Stability of Active Play, Restricted Movement and Television Viewing in Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hesketh, Kylie D.; Crawford, David A.; Abbott, Gavin; Campbell, Karen J.; Salmon, Jo

2015-01-01

This study describes engagement in and stability of physical activity and sedentary behaviours in early life, and assesses associations with sex, maternal education and developmental stage. Maternal-report data at child age 4, 9 and 20 months were collected from 542 families in the Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial Program.…

Educational Contexts for the Development of Children's Spirituality: Exploring the Use of Imagination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mountain, Vivienne

2007-01-01

As a Chaplain working in the Anglican school system in Melbourne, Australia, my concern is with the spiritual development of students. This year I have been trialing the educational application of activities used in creative arts therapy. Continuing the theme of my recent doctoral studies in children's spirituality, I am concerned that education…

Teaching Purposes, Learning Goals, and Multimedia Production in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, John; Love, Kristina

2003-01-01

The authors of this article coordinate and teach different core subjects within a course of preservice teacher education in the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia. Both subjects are obligatory, and are taught to the same cohort of students. The first author coordinates the subject Learning and Teaching; the second author…

Peered and Tiered Learning: Action Research as Creative Cultural Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Anne

2013-01-01

This article presents and problematizes a peered and tiered model of creative and educational knowledge transfer piloted in Culture Shack, a community-based arts education program in Melbourne, Australia. Drawing on Eisner and Sefton-Green and Soep, I argue the value of this approach as a potential new pedagogical strategy in both secondary…

Education and Environmentalism: Ecological World Views and Environmentally Responsible Behaviour.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaikie, Norman

1993-01-01

Examined a subsample of students from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to determine the extent to which an Ecological World View (EWV) has been adapted, an EWV related to environmental behavior, and the role education plays in the type of EWV adapted. Includes the Ecological World View Scale. (Contains 21 references.) (MDH)

Bilateral Learning and Teaching in Chinese-Australian Arts and Architecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joubert, Lindy; Whitford, Steven

2006-01-01

A collaborative design-based, cross-cultural exchange between the Chinese School of Architecture, Tsinghua University of Beijing, and the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne is the case study presented in this article. Two design studios were conducted: one in the Master of Urban Design program, and the…

Academic Literacy and Cultural Familiarity: Developing and Assessing Academic Literacy Resources for Chinese Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Fiona; Whitelaw, Paul A.

2013-01-01

Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, is a chronic problem. This paper reports the results of a project undertaken at a public funded university in Melbourne, Australia, in partnership with colleagues from a public funded university in Beijing, China, to combat this and other problems associated with academic literacy. The prime focus of the…

Newly homeless youth typically return home.

PubMed

Milburn, Norweeta G; Rosenthal, Doreen; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Mallett, Shelley; Batterham, Philip; Rice, Eric; Solorio, Rosa

2007-06-01

Newly homeless adolescents from Melbourne, Australia (n = 165) and Los Angeles, United States (n = 261) were surveyed and followed for 2 years. Most newly homeless adolescents returned home (70% U.S., 47% Australia) for significant amounts of time (39% U.S., 17% Australia more than 12 months) within 2 years of becoming homeless.

Prepare-Participate-Connect: Active Learning with Video Annotation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colasante, Meg; Douglas, Kathy

2016-01-01

Annotation of video provides students with the opportunity to view and engage with audiovisual content in an interactive and participatory way rather than in passive-receptive mode. This article discusses research into the use of video annotation in four vocational programs at RMIT University in Melbourne, which allowed students to interact with…

Enhancing the First Year Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McInnis, Craig; James, Richard; Beattie, Kate; McNaught, Carmel; Simmons, Clare; Ferber, Sarah

In 1992, a study at the University of Melbourne (Australia) investigated the experiences of 1,108 freshman students in the schools of arts, economics, and commerce. Based on the results, areas for improvement in curriculum design and faculty development were identified. The three faculties were then invited to develop teaching and curriculum…

77 FR 43108 - Endangered Species; Marine Mammals; Receipt of Applications for Permit

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-23

... applicant over a 5-year period. Applicant: Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, Syracuse, NY; PRT- 79875A... rosalia) to the Melbourne Zoo, Australia, for the purpose of enhancement of the species through captive breeding. Applicant: Utah's Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT; PRT-79305A The applicant requests a permit to...

Performance Related Pay in Australian Universities: The Case of Swinburne University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harkness, Peter; Schier, Mark

2011-01-01

Performance related pay is not common in Australian universities. A number of Australian universities have begun to show interest in implementing more individualised pay arrangements. Swinburne University of Technology, in Melbourne, has chosen, contrary to the wishes of many of its staff, to be a path-breaker and has introduced a performance…

The RMIT Wuhan Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silver, Alan

In March 1995, Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology began offering Australian and Chinese students an Associate Diploma of Business in International Trade at the Wuhan Yejin University of Science and Technology, in China. The course is offered at the University's China Iron and Steel Industry Training Centre, a joint project between…

Embracing Digital Technologies in Classroom Practice: The Impact of Teacher Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbott, Rosemary

2016-01-01

It is often perceived that learning in 21st century classrooms will involve extensive use of digital technologies. This paper, based on a qualitative research investigation at a private girls' college in Melbourne, explores the impact of teacher subjectivities on the need to change through the integration of digital technologies into classroom…

Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William; Crawford, Winifred; Watson, Leela; Wheeler, Mark

2011-01-01

This Quarter's Highlights incllude: completion of the second phase of verifying the performance of the MesoNAM weather model at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). (1) The data was delivered to the 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) and the final report was distributed (2) Staff completed modifying and updating lightning c1imatologies for KSC/CCAFS and other airfields around central Florida. We delivered the tool to the National Weather Service in Melbourne and 45 WS and distributed the final report (3) Staff completed modifying the AMU peak wind tool by analyzing wind tower data to determine peak wind behavior during times of onshore and offshore flow. This was delivered the to the 45 WS and distributed the final report.

Assessment of ambient background concentrations of elements in soil using combined survey and open-source data.

PubMed

Mikkonen, Hannah G; Clarke, Bradley O; Dasika, Raghava; Wallis, Christian J; Reichman, Suzie M

2017-02-15

Understanding ambient background concentrations in soil, at a local scale, is an essential part of environmental risk assessment. Where high resolution geochemical soil surveys have not been undertaken, soil data from alternative sources, such as environmental site assessment reports, can be used to support an understanding of ambient background conditions. Concentrations of metals/metalloids (As, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were extracted from open-source environmental site assessment reports, for soils derived from the Newer Volcanics basalt, of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A manual screening method was applied to remove samples that were indicated to be contaminated by point sources and hence not representative of ambient background conditions. The manual screening approach was validated by comparison to data from a targeted background soil survey. Statistical methods for exclusion of contaminated samples from background soil datasets were compared to the manual screening method. The statistical methods tested included the Median plus Two Median Absolute Deviations, the upper whisker of a normal and log transformed Tukey boxplot, the point of inflection on a cumulative frequency plot and the 95th percentile. We have demonstrated that where anomalous sample results cannot be screened using site information, the Median plus Two Median Absolute Deviations is a conservative method for derivation of ambient background upper concentration limits (i.e. expected maximums). The upper whisker of a boxplot and the point of inflection on a cumulative frequency plot, were also considered adequate methods for deriving ambient background upper concentration limits, where the percentage of contaminated samples is <25%. Median ambient background concentrations of metals/metalloids in the Newer Volcanic soils of Melbourne were comparable to ambient background concentrations in Europe and the United States, except for Ni, which was naturally enriched in the basalt-derived soils of

A comparison of air particulate matter and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in some tropical and temperate urban environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panther, B. C.; Hooper, M. A.; Tapper, N. J.

A 12 month study of urban concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSP) and 20 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was carried out in Seoul (South Korea), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Melbourne (Australia). Concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere varied widely between the cities over the course of the study, ranging from a low of 24.1 μg m -3 in Melbourne during the winter to a high of 376.2 μg m -3 in Jakarta during the dry season. Seasonal variations in both TSP and PAH were observed in the tropical cities in the study with higher concentrations during the dry season and lower concentrations during the wet season. TSP and PAH concentrations are correlated with each other in these cities, suggesting that they have related sources and sinks for these cities. In the temperate cities of Melbourne and Seoul, PAH concentrations were higher during the cold winter season and lower during the warm summer. However, TSP was quite variable over the years in these latter cities and no clear seasonal trend was observed. A number of factors have been investigated which could be contributing to seasonal variations in pollutant levels. In the temperate climates, increased emissions due to the use of fossil fuels for heating in the winter is evident. However, an interrogation of the database with respect to the other factors such as (1) increased photolytic degradation during the summer, (2) transport of pollutants from other sources, (3) removal of PAH via wet deposition and in-cloud scavenging mechanisms and (4) volatilisation of lower molecular weight species during periods of high temperature indicates the importance of multiple processes. Even though there are clearly much lower levels of both particulates and PAH in the wet season of the tropical climates, no statistically significant correlations have been observed between rainfall levels and pollutant concentrations.

From the Campus to the Cloud: The Online Peer Assisted Learning Scheme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaumont, Tim J.; Mannion, Aaron P.; Shen, Brice O.

2012-01-01

This paper reports on an online version of Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), also known as Supplemental Instruction (SI), which was trialled in two subjects in the University of Melbourne in 2011. The program, named the Online Peer Assisted Learning (OPAL) scheme, was implemented with the aims of extending the benefits of a successful peer…

An Embedded Professional Paired Placement Model: "I Know I Am Not an Expert, but I Am at a Point Now Where I Could Step into the Classroom and Be Responsible for the Learning"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lang, Catherine; Neal, Deborah; Karvouni, Maria; Chandler, Debbie

2015-01-01

We present a sustainable and innovative model for pre-service teacher paired professional placements called the Teaching School model. The Teaching School model was piloted initially in partnership with a Metropolitan University and a P-12 College located in Melbourne's northern suburbs in 2013. It was expanded in 2014 to capitalise on an existing…

Theorising "Geo-Identity" and David Harvey's Space: School Choices of the Geographically Bound Middle-Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowe, Emma

2015-01-01

This paper draws on David Harvey's theories of absolute and relational space in order to critique geographically bound school choices of the gentrified middle-class in the City of Melbourne, Australia. The paper relies on interviews with inner-city school choosers as generated by a longitudinal ethnographic school choice study. I argue that the…

Singing and Companionship in the Hawthorn University of the Third-Age Choir, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Dawn; Southcott, Jane

2015-01-01

The international University of the Third Age (U3A) embodies the principles of lifelong learning and personal fulfilment amongst members. The research reported in this article focused on the Choir of the U3A Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia and the benefits perceived by members undertaking this active music engagement in non-competitive choral…

Reaching for the Arts in Unexpected Places: Public Pedagogy in the Gardens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelosi, Ligia

2015-01-01

What constitutes public pedagogy? The term is broad and can be applied in so many situations and settings to the learning that occurs outside of formal schooling. In this article, the author explores how a community event--a painting competition held in a Melbourne suburb's botanic gardens--constitutes public pedagogy. The event centres on…

Aptitude Sensitive Instruction: The Role of Media Attributes in Optimizing Transfer of Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Margaret

The supplantation approach of this study hypothesized that media attributes may serve to bridge the processing link between learner aptitude capacity and the demands of a concept attainment task. Subjects were 492 males aged 16-21, drawn from a College of Technical and Further Education in Melbourne, Australia. All subjects were trade apprentices,…

Secondary School Science Predictors of Academic Performance in University Bioscience Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Rod; Brown, Elizabeth; Ward, Alex

2009-01-01

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from [approximately]50 to 99 in…

Curriculum Reform in 3D: A Panel of Experts Discuss the New HPE Curriculum in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hickey, Chris; Kirk, David; Macdonald, Doune; Penney, Dawn

2014-01-01

This paper was developed at the request of the Organising Committee for the 27th Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation International Conference, in Melbourne, 2013. Its genesis was as a feature forum, wherein a panel of curriculum experts were bought together to discuss the emergence of the Australian Health and Physical…

Skilling and Reskilling for Our (Greener) Future. Conference Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karmel, Tom

2010-01-01

This paper was presented at the 2009 Economic and Social Outlook Conference, November 5-6 at the University of Melbourne. It takes a sceptical view of the push for "green skills", arguing that skills required in the labour market evolve relatively slowly, and that the way business operates is driven by changing costs, new technologies…

Address Pronouns in French: Variation within and outside the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Jane

2006-01-01

This article examines speakers' perceptions of and attitudes towards address pronoun usage in Paris and Toulouse. The data on which this article is based come from a comparative project based at the University of Melbourne, "Address in some western European languages, and were generated in focus groups in both Paris and Toulouse, as well as…

Faculty Perspectives on the "3+3+4" Curriculum Reform in Hong Kong: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Cecilia K. Y.; Luk, Lillian Y. Y.

2013-01-01

Curriculum reform in higher education has been taking place in many countries, with much attention paid to many such as the national-level Bologna process in Europe, institutional-level Melbourne Model in Australia and discipline-level Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000). This paper gives a detailed account of the reform initiatives taking place in…

Uncovering the Secrets behind the Successful Integration of GIS into the Core Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beeson, P. A.

2006-01-01

Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) is a 130-year-old independent girls' school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Teaching students from ages 4 to 18, PLC has a reputation for academic excellence. Geography is a separate subject taught as a part of the core curriculum in the secondary school. The College, which uses principally Macintosh…

Learning Engines - A Functional Object Model for Developing Learning Resources for the WWW.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fritze, Paul; Ip, Albert

The Learning Engines (LE) model, developed at the University of Melbourne (Australia), supports the integration of rich learning activities into the World Wide Web. The model is concerned with the practical design, educational value, and reusability of software components. The model is focused on the academic teacher who is in the best position to…

Jewish Holocaust Histories and the Work of Chronological Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silverstein, Jordana

2012-01-01

This article examines the ways that, in Holocaust education in Jewish schools in Melbourne and New York at the beginning of the 21st century, knowledge of the Holocaust is transferred to students in chronological form. It begins by asking: What work do chronological narratives do within the Holocaust historical narratives offered within Jewish…

Applied Linguistics and Measurement: A Dialogue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNamara, Tim

2011-01-01

The paper by Wilson and Moore (this volume), based on the Messick Lecture delivered in 2006 at the annual Language Testing Research Colloquium in Melbourne, may present a familiar challenge to some language testers: of reading outside one's comfort zone. The distinctive character of language testing lies in its combination of two primary fields of…

Observing Children When Using Computers with a Focus on Their Self-Esteem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatzigianni, Maria; Margetts, Kay

2010-01-01

Children are born into a rich technological environment and by the time they attend preschool they already have accumulated a wide variety of technological experiences, skills and knowledge. This paper reports on part of a project undertaken in Melbourne, Australia, which had as a primary aim to explore the existence or not of a relationship…

Developing a Peace Education Curriculum for Vietnamese Primary Schools: A Case Study of Participatory Action Research in Cross-Cultural Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conley Tyler, Melissa H.; Bretherton, Diane; Halafoff, Anna; Nietschke, Yung

2008-01-01

In 2003, the International Conflict Resolution Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia, produced a primary school teaching manual for UNESCO Vietnam. The finished manual included lesson plans and materials for a five year, 50 lesson peace education course. The manual is one of the first examples of a systematic core national curriculum in…

Can VET Help Create a More Inclusive Society?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buddelmeyer, Hielke; Polidano, Cain

2016-01-01

This publication provides a summary of a program of research undertaken for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research between 2011 and 2014. Comprising six projects, the body of work focuses on the impact of education and training on social inclusion and on the…

A Space for Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charman, Karen

2015-01-01

In this article I examine the possibilities of reparation in an era of privatisation and de-industrialisation. I examine the effect of a recent project Sunshine Memory Space, a space, designed to evoke memories of a de-industrialised urban Melbourne suburb Sunshine. This project offered the opportunity for the effects of industrial change to be…

The Babushka Project: Mediating between the Margins and Wider Community through Public Art Creation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Bronwen Lucie

2012-01-01

This article discusses the theoretical and social contexts of a community art project that took place at a public housing estate located in Melbourne, Australia. The art intervention was aimed at increasing the residents' health and well-being through the empowerment of their own cultural creations. Three sculptures in the form of giant babushka…

Dog Ownership, Dog Walking, and Children's and Parents' Physical Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmon, Jo; Timperio, Anna; Chu, Binh; Veitch, Jenny

2010-01-01

This study aimed to determine cross-sectional associations of dog ownership, dog walking, and physical activity (PA) among children and their parents. Objective measures of PA were obtained for children ages 5-6 and 10-12 years from 19 primary schools across Melbourne, Australia. Parents self-reported their PA, dog ownership, and frequency of dog…

Watermarks within the Middle Eastern Manuscript Collection of the Baillieu Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewincamp, Sophie

2012-01-01

The University of Melbourne's Middle Eastern Manuscript collection housed at the Baillieu Library was acquired by Professor John Bowman in the 1950s as part of a teaching collection to promote greater learning of Middle Eastern culture and civilisation (Pryde 2007, 3). The collection is a rare example within Australia and represents many different…

Building Future Directions for Teacher Learning in Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Kathy; Lindsay, Simon

2016-01-01

In 2013, as part of a process to renew an overall sector vision for science education, Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) undertook a review of its existing teacher in-service professional development programs in science. This review led to some data analysis being conducted in relation to two of these programs where participant teachers were…

Changes in the TRMM Version-5 and Version-6 Precipitation Radar Products Due to Orbit Boost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liao, Liang; Meneghini, Robert

2010-01-01

The performance of the version-5 and version-6 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) products before and after the satellite orbit boost is assessed through a series of comparisons with Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR)-88D ground-based radar in Melbourne, Florida. Analysis of the comparisons of radar reflectivity near the storm top from the ground radar and both versions of the PR indicates that the PR bias relative to the WSR radar at Melbourne is on the order of 1dB for both pre- and post-boost periods, indicating that the PR products maintain accurate calibration after the orbit boost. Comparisons with the WSR-88D near-surface reflectivity factors indicate that both versions of the PR products accurately correct for attenuation in stratiform rain. However, in convective rain, both versions exhibit negative biases in the near-surface radar reflectivity with version-6 products having larger negative biases than version-5. Rain rate comparisons between the ground and space radars show similar characteristics

The influence of the full moon on the number of accessions to an animal emergency centre.

PubMed

McAlees, T J; Anderson, G A

2007-10-01

To test the hypothesis that the number of animal emergency centre accessions is associated with the time of the full moon. Retrospective study. A comparison was made of the number of accessions to the University of Melbourne Animal Emergency Centre in the period February 2003 to January 2006 on full moon and non-full moon days, adjusted for day of the week and public holiday. A three day period with the day of the full moon as the middle day was taken to be a full moon period. A total of 12,102 animals were presented to the Centre in this time. An adjusted count ratio of 1.048 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.14; P = 0.26) for accessions on full moon days compared with those on non-full moon days indicated that there was no significant association between the full moon and the number of accessions per day. There was no significant difference between the number of animals presented to the University of Melbourne Animal Emergency Centre on full moon days and non-full moon days.

The First Year Experience in Australian Universities: Findings from Two Decades, 1994-­2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baik, Chi; Naylor, Ryan; Arkoudis, Sophie

2015-01-01

This report provides an analysis of trends over a twenty year period in the attitudes and experiences of first year students in Australian universities. It is based on the national survey of first year students undertaken by the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education at five-yearly intervals since 1994. Dramatic changes have taken…

Make a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sakurai, Hiro

2010-01-01

This article is the edited text of the presentation made by the author at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, Australia, 3-9 December 2009. The session was titled "Healing the Earth with Care and Concern: Religious Responses to the Earth Charter". The article highlights some of the efforts that the Soka Gakkai International (SGI)…

City Beats: A Creative Community Partnership Initiative at ArtPlay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeanneret, Neryl; Brown, Robert

2012-01-01

The City of Melbourne's ArtPlay is open to children and young people aged 3-13 years, and provides a wide range of artist-led programs that serve a broad community within and outside the municipality. Its sister facility, Signal, caters for young people 13-22 years. An Australia Council of the Arts funded Creative Community Partnership Initiative,…

Family History and the History of Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selleck, R. J. W.

2004-01-01

The State Library of Victoria, which opened its doors in Melbourne in 1856, was designed and built in a confident and expansive decade. Even as war clouds gathered in 1913 the Library's confidence remained strong and it added a magnificent domed reading room, designed with the British Museum Library very much in mind. In the Library's genealogical…

EPortfolios, Professional Development and Employability: Some Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodley, Carolyn; Sims, Rob

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore business students' views about using ePortfolios at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne. It also examines the extent to which students present ePortfolios to prospective employers in applying for jobs. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on the literature on ePortfolio use and the role…

RMIT Vietnam and Vietnam's Development: Risk and Responsibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilmoth, David

2004-01-01

To help bridge the gap between demand and supply for tertiary education, Vietnam has opened to direct, foreign providers, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) International University Vietnam is the first of this category. By sponsoring a large project in a country that some see as risky, RMIT Vietnam needs to be triply viable.…

Predictors of Close Family Relationships over One Year among Homeless Young People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milburn, N.G.; Jane Rotheram-Borus, M.; Batterham, P.; Brumback, B.; Rosenthal, D.; Mallett, S.

2005-01-01

Predictors of perceived family bonds were examined among homeless young people who initially left home one year earlier. Newly homeless young people aged 12-20 years who had recently left home were recruited in Los Angeles County, United States (n=201) and Melbourne, Australia (n=124) and followed longitudinally at 3, 6, and 12 months (follow-up…

Zebra Crossing: Walking in Two Continents Sharing and Celebrating Difference through Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Dawn

2011-01-01

I use the metaphor "zebra crossing" in my reflective narrative to describe my plight and struggle as a non-white person growing up and working in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the apartheid era. This article considers and compares the notions of culture, diversity and identity as I now work in a tertiary institution in Melbourne,…

Victoria's Leading Edge: Australian State Puts Human Capital at the Heart of its Improvement Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Frank, Valerie

2013-01-01

Principal Wilma Culton's professional development in the last few years has had her setting out for Singapore, conferencing in Canada, and bopping over to Berlin to check out what experts and the best educators around the world know about helping kids learn. The head of a primary school just outside Melbourne, Australia, Culton is a prime example…

Influencing the Influencers: The Role of Mothers in IT Career Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stockdale, Rosemary; Keane, Therese

2016-01-01

This paper reports on the outcomes from a pilot study targeted at mothers of school children in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of the study was to engender a positive view of technology in the participants and to introduce the concept of Information Technology (IT) as a potential career. Mothers were given the opportunity to develop basic IT skills…

Youth Research Centre Annual Report, 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melbourne Univ. (Australia). Youth Research Centre.

This report details the activities of the Youth Research Centre (YRC) at the University of Melbourne in 2002 in research project work involving a balance between the completion of projects, the development of new areas, and the continuation of longer-term projects as well as the supervision and teaching of a range of postgraduate health and…

A Case Study of Progressing Geography Fieldwork Skills over Years 7-10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolhouse, Julian

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the teaching of fieldwork skills over the course of a student's geography education from Years 7 to 10. Relevant research is considered, and findings and discussion are drawn from a case study of the fieldwork program at an independent school in Melbourne. The rationale for this study is that a geography teacher will be…

Students' Conflicting Attitudes towards Games as a Vehicle for Learning Mathematics: A Methodological Dilemma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bragg, Leicha

2007-01-01

Mathematics games are widely employed in school classrooms for such reasons as a reward for early finishers or to enhance students' attitude towards mathematics. During a four week period, a total of 222 Grade 5 and 6 (9 to 12 years old) children from Melbourne, Australia, were taught multiplication and division of decimal numbers using calculator…

Research in Language Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoch, Ute

2017-01-01

Since its inception in 1990, the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) at the University of Melbourne has earned an international reputation for its work in the areas of language assessment and testing as well as program evaluation. The mission of the centre is: (1) to carry out and promote research and development in language testing; (2) to…

Identity, Masculinity and Spirituality: A Study of Australian Teenage Boys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engebretson, Kathleen

2006-01-01

This paper presents data on the construction of masculinity among 965 boys aged 15-18 years, in six schools, in Melbourne, Australia. The data are part of a much larger research project on teenage boys and spirituality, and this paper presents data within the component of spirituality, which in the research is termed "connectedness with the…

Wilderness Adventure Therapy in Adolescent Psychiatry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crisp, Simon; O'Donnell, Matthew

The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week…

A Defining Time for Physical Education Futures? Exploring the Legacy of Fritz Duras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirk, David

2014-01-01

This paper explores the legacy of Dr Fritz Duras in order to address the issue of whether the implementation of a new curriculum for health and physical education in Australia represents a defining time for the subject. Dr Duras was Director of the first physical education teacher education course at the University of Melbourne during an earlier…

Audacious Beginnings: The Establishment of Universities in Australasia 1850-1900

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tully, Kaye; Whitehead, Clive

2009-01-01

There have been various published histories of Australasian universities but none as rich as the two most recent relating to the universities of Sydney (1991) and Melbourne (2003). The latter, in particular, was the catalyst for this exploratory study. How was it that at a time when many major British cities lacked a university institution, towns…

Young People and the Environment in Australia: Beliefs, Knowledge, Commitment and Educational Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connell, Sharon; Fien, John; Sykes, Helen; Yencken, David

2014-01-01

There is a paucity of research in Australia on the nature of young people's attitudes, knowledge and actions. This paper reports on the findings from one such study of Australian high school students. The research was based on a survey of 5,688 students form Melbourne and Brisbane. These young people identified protection of the environment as the…

"After Hours" Schools as Core to the Spatial Politics of "In-Betweenness"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsolidis, Georgina; Kostogriz, Alex

2008-01-01

In this article the authors draw on a larger study in which their overall concern is to illustrate how diasporic identifications develop through a range of scales related to self, family, community, nation and beyond. They consider the Melbourne Greek community as an exemplar of diasporic experience and use it as a case study for their…

Changes in Coverage of Sun Protection in the News: Threats and Opportunities from Emerging Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scully, Maree; Makin, Jennifer; Maloney, Sarah; Wakefield, Melanie

2014-01-01

This study aimed to determine whether there have been shifts in news coverage of sun protection issues over a 12-year period in the context of an evolving skin cancer prevention agenda. A content analysis was performed on all relevant articles (N = 552) published in the two metropolitan daily newspapers in Melbourne, Australia, from 2001 to 2012.…

DCAA Contract Audit Manual. Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 11

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-01-01

Office de Carvalho, Jenny Alexandria Branch Office Davids, Steve J. Melbourne Branch Office Dean, Clay Defense Contract Audit Institute Desert Valley...Justice DOL Department of Labor DOT Department of Transportation DPRO Defense Plant Representative Offices EAC Estimate At Completion (Cost) EDP...in the Department of De - vide accounting and financial advisory fense- services regarding contracts and subcon- tracts to all Department of Defense

Astrophysical and Geophysical Flows as Dynamical Systems. 1998 Summer Study Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

Jerusalem, ISRAEL University of Miami Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Brown University University of Chicago University Politecnica de Catalunya...University Politecnica de Catalunya, SPAIN - Resonant Mode Interactions in Rayleigh-Benard Convection 2:30 pm Ian Melbourne, University of Houston... Transport in a Porous Layer 2:30 pm Michael Proctor, University of Cambridge, UK - Noise Sensitivity in Travelling-Wave Instabilities Week of July

Giving Movement History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Virginia

2003-01-01

This paper represents an attempt to document some of the methods and processes involved in creating a new dance work. I observed, over a 5-week period, the making of a contemporary dance piece with a group of 19 3rd-year BA dance students at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. The choreographer was Melbourne-based Dianne Reid, who…

A Brain-Machine-Brain Interface for Rewiring of Cortical Circuitry after Traumatic Brain Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

Oral presentations (Dr. Nudo):  Invited Speaker, Neuroprosthetic tools for repair of the injured brain, American Society for Neurorehabilitation... Neuroprosthetic tools for repair of the injured brain, Neurobiology of Disease Course, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas...Congress of NeuroRehabilitation, Melbourne, Australia, May 17, 2012.  Invited Speaker, Novel neuroprosthetic tools for repair of the injured brain

2012 Year-End Report on Neurotechnologies for In-Vehicle Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

signals. • Alternative feature extraction methods have been proposed based on matching pursuit and wavelet analysis . Examining specific features of...locally networked PCs. 4.3 Arduino- Based Simulation Synchronization Time synchronization across measurement devices in neuroscience experiments is...steering behavior; the Optalert† (Optalert, Melbourne, Australia) system, which predicts fatigue based on eye-tracking measures ; or the SafeTraK (Takata

Oscar.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lied, Nils

The true story of Oscar, an Arctic husky who had been a sledge dog in Antarctica, is told for readers aged 10 to 12 years. The author, Oscar's long-time master, visits Oscar at the Melbourne zoo as the story begins. He recounts some of his memories of Oscar, including a number of expeditions, and Oscar's fight to remain "king dog" of the…

Abuse of Foster Children in Nineteenth-Century Australia: Why Did It Happen Then, and Why Does It Matter Now?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musgrove, Nell

2016-01-01

A three-year-old boy, born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1892, lived the final months of his life in an abusive foster home. His death barely made a ripple in the press, and the system proved unable or unwilling to deal with much of the most disturbing evidence about the perpetrators of abuse. This article argues that cases like this one are more…

Widowed Families with Children: Personal Need and Societal Response. Working Paper No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenman, Linda; And Others

The death of a parent can cause economic and emotional stress for the surviving family members. As part of a larger survey of widowed men and women, living in Melbourne, Australia, data on needs of children who had experienced a parent's death were collected from 126 widowed parents with at least one child under the age of 18. Parents reported…

Situational Lightning Climatologies for Central Florida: Phase IV: Central Florida Flow Regime Based Climatologies of Lightning Probabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III

2009-01-01

The threat of lightning is a daily concern during the warm season in Florida. Research has revealed distinct spatial and temporal distributions of lightning occurrence that are strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric flow regimes. Previously, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) calculated the gridded lightning climatologies based on seven flow regimes over Florida for 1-, 3- and 6-hr intervals in 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-NM diameter range rings around the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and eight other airfields in the National Weather Service in Melbourne (NWS MLB) county warning area (CWA). In this update to the work, the AMU recalculated the lightning climatologies for using individual lightning strike data to improve the accuracy of the climatologies. The AMU included all data regardless of flow regime as one of the stratifications, added monthly stratifications, added three years of data to the period of record and used modified flow regimes based work from the AMU's Objective Lightning Probability Forecast Tool, Phase II. The AMU made changes so the 5- and 10-NM radius range rings are consistent with the aviation forecast requirements at NWS MLB, while the 20- and 30-NM radius range rings at the SLF assist the Spaceflight Meteorology Group in making forecasts for weather Flight Rule violations during Shuttle landings. The AMU also updated the graphical user interface with the new data.

Monitoring Elite Soccer Players' External Loads Using Real-Time Data.

PubMed

Barrett, Steve

2017-11-01

To assess the validity of measuring locomotor activities and PlayerLoad using real-time (RT) data collection during soccer training. Twenty-nine English soccer players participated. Each player wore the same MEMS device (Micromechanical Electrical Systems; S5, Optimeye; CatapultSports, Melbourne, Australia) during 21 training sessions (N = 331 data sets) in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. An RT receiver (TRX; Catapultsports, Melbourne, Australia) was used to collect the locomotor activities and PlayerLoad data in RT and compared with the postevent downloaded (PED) data. PlayerLoad and locomotor activities (total distance covered; total high-speed running distance covered, >5.5#x00A0;m/s; total sprinting distance covered, >7 m/s; maximum velocity) were analyzed. Correlations were near perfect for all variables analyzed (r = .98-1.00), with a varied level of noise between RT and PED also (0.3-9.7% coefficient of variation). Locomotor activities and PlayerLoad can use both RT and PED concurrently to quantify a player's physical output during a training session. Caution should be taken with higher-velocity-based locomotor activities during RT compared to PED.

Bus accident analysis of routes with/without bus priority.

PubMed

Goh, Kelvin Chun Keong; Currie, Graham; Sarvi, Majid; Logan, David

2014-04-01

This paper summarises findings on road safety performance and bus-involved accidents in Melbourne along roads where bus priority measures had been applied. Results from an empirical analysis of the accident types revealed significant reduction in the proportion of accidents involving buses hitting stationary objects and vehicles, which suggests the effect of bus priority in addressing manoeuvrability issues for buses. A mixed-effects negative binomial (MENB) regression and back-propagation neural network (BPNN) modelling of bus accidents considering wider influences on accident rates at a route section level also revealed significant safety benefits when bus priority is provided. Sensitivity analyses done on the BPNN model showed general agreement in the predicted accident frequency between both models. The slightly better performance recorded by the MENB model results suggests merits in adopting a mixed effects modelling approach for accident count prediction in practice given its capability to account for unobserved location and time-specific factors. A major implication of this research is that bus priority in Melbourne's context acts to improve road safety and should be a major consideration for road management agencies when implementing bus priority and road schemes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High prevalence of asymptomatic vitamin D and iron deficiency in East African immigrant children and adolescents living in a temperate climate

PubMed Central

McGillivray, George; Skull, Susan A; Davie, Gabrielle; Kofoed, Sarah E; Frydenberg, Alexis; Rice, James; Cooke, Regina; Carapetis, Jonathan R

2007-01-01

Objectives Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is common in immigrant children with increased skin pigmentation living in higher latitudes. We assessed the pattern of and risk factors for VDD in immigrant East African children living in Melbourne (latitude 37°49′ South). Study design A prospective survey of 232 East African children attending a clinic in Melbourne. Data were collected by questionnaire, medical assessment and laboratory tests. Results Low 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OHD) levels (<50 nmol/l) occurred in 87% of children, and VDD (25‐OHD <25 nmol/l) in 44%. Risk factors included age <5 years, female gender, increased time in Australia, decreased daylight exposure and winter/spring season. Anaemia (20%), vitamin A deficiency (20%) and iron deficiency (19%) were also identified. Conclusions Asymptomatic VDD is common in East African immigrant children residing at a temperate latitude. Risk factors for VDD limit endogenous vitamin D production. Screening of immigrant children with increased skin pigmentation for VDD, anaemia, iron and vitamin A deficiency is appropriate. VDD in adolescent females identifies an increased risk of future infants with VDD. PMID:17768148

Aircraft Accident Investigation at ARL: The First 50 Years

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

monoplane with vee strut bracing. Designed by De Havillands as the DH . 80A, it proved highly successful; two hundred and sixty were built in the UK...3 4. THE PUSS MOTH ACCIDENTS ............................................................ 5 5. THE DH .86 ACCIDENTS...Melbourne and just as the royal procession was turning from St Kilda Road into the grounds of Government House, two DH .9 aircraft of the RAAF flypast collided

Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Financial Report. The Nation’s Total Force: At the Right Place, At the Right Time, All the Time

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

for ship movement planning ● Improves collaboration with the University of Melbourne, Kenyan and Indian scientific organizations Self - Healing ...broken capsules forms a waxy, water-repellant coating across the exposed steel that protects against corrosion While many self - healing paints are...The DON also participated in the first Guam Exercise (GUAMEX) with the Japanese Maritime Self -Defense Force to enhance the interoperability of the

A Computerized Wear Particle Atlas for Ferrogram and Filtergram Analyses

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

A Computerised Wear Particle Atlas for Ferrogram and Filtergram Analyses Jian G. Ding Lubrosoft P/L P 0 Box 2368, Rowville Melbourne VIC 3178...Australia (61-3) 9759-9083 Abstract: A new computerised wear particle atlas has been developed for identification of solid particles and...differentiation of wear severity of lubricated equipment. This atlas contains 892 images of representative solid particles selected from thousands of filtergram

High Speed Aerodynamic Characteristics of the GAF0PH Aerofoil

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-01

upper surface of the aerofoil for angles of incidence greater than 210. POSTAL ADDRESS: Chief Superintendent, Aeronautical Research Laboratories, Box...kCLAERO-.NOTE3 98 -AR-002-223 -LEVEL m DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE 00 DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANISATION AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES...MELBOURNE, VICTORIA AERODYNAMICS NOTE 398 ’,\\ HIGH SPEED AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GAFPH AEROFOIL by ~B D :, . , .IR-© Approved for Public Release

Preliminary Anthropometric Specification for Land Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-01

Conducted at 1 BDE Melbourne. Gordon, C. C. (2002). Multivariate anthropometric models for seated workstation design . Contemporary Ergonomics . Gordon...Ideally, the vehicle should safely accommodate (both as operator and passenger ) a large proportion of ADF personnel. Historically, when designing ...key advantage of using human subjects in the ergonomic assessment of a vehicle design is that a full range of tasks, such as vehicle ingress/egress

KSC-04pd1253

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-06-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, KSC Firefighter Chris Maupin (left) takes equipment from Lt. Keith Abell. They and other KSC firefighters teamed up with task forces from Satellite Beach, Malabar, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Patrick Air Force Base and Brevard County to help fight wildfires in the Palm Bay and Malabar areas that threatened homes and property during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

KSC-04pd1252

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-06-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, KSC Firefighter Chris Maupin puts away a piece of equipment. He and other KSC firefighters teamed up with task forces from Satellite Beach, Malabar, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Patrick Air Force Base and Brevard County to help fight wildfires in the Palm Bay and Malabar areas that threatened homes and property during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Great horned owls are released at CCAFS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

A great horned owl flies to freedom after its release at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Complex 25/29. The owl is one of two found in June on the floor of CCAFS Hangar G, where their nest was located. They were treated at a local veterinary hospital and then taken to the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne for care and rehabilitation before release.

ONRASIA Scientific Information Bulletin, Volume 15, Number 4, October-December 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

31 (2) Food industry- yogurt fermentation , flesh Biotechnology Master Plan comprising some (particularly fish) freshness estimation, food $60 million...used in making polymer fibers strains or mutants to determine the role of of high modulus and high strength. In TSUKUBA FERMENTATION ...Development Laboratories 4-105 Tsinghua University, Beijing 1-030 Tsukuba Fermentation Institute 4-003 University of Melbourne 4-121 University of New England

Observing urban forests in Australia

Treesearch

E.G. McPherson

2009-01-01

From February 13 to 28, 2009 I had the good fortune of visiting Australia, and touring urban forests in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, and Melbourne. My visits were only a day or two in each city, so in no case did I get an in-depth view of the urban forest resource or its management. The following observations are based on rather superficial field assessments and brief...

Molecular Signatures and Diagnostic Biomarkers of Cumulative, Blast-Graded Mild TBI

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

Kirk, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne FL 32901 January 3 rd , 2013 2. Prima V...induced Neurotrauma “Neuro-glial and systemic mechanisms of pathological responses in rat models of primary blast overpressure compared to "composite...inflammation biomarkers such as L-selectin and s-ICAM involved in molecular mechanisms of blast-induced injury. The FIT prototype sensor (version 1) to

KSC-00pp0968

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-06-07

A great horned owl flies to freedom after its release at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Complex 25/29. The owl is one of two found in June on the floor of CCAFS Hangar G, where their nest was located. They were treated at a local veterinary hospital and then taken to the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne for care and rehabilitation before release

KSC00pp0968

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-06-07

A great horned owl flies to freedom after its release at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Complex 25/29. The owl is one of two found in June on the floor of CCAFS Hangar G, where their nest was located. They were treated at a local veterinary hospital and then taken to the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne for care and rehabilitation before release

Evaluation of the 29-km Eta Model. Part I: Objective Verification at Three Selected Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manobianco, John; Nutter, Paul

1998-01-01

A subjective evaluation of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction 29-km (meso-) eta model during the 1996 warm (May-August) and cool (October-January) seasons is described. The overall evaluation assessed the utility of the model for operational weather forecasting by the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron, National Weather Service (NWS) Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) and NWS Office in Melbourne, FL.

Water supply infrastructure planning under multiple uncertainties: A differentiated approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, S.; Strzepek, K.

2017-12-01

Many water planners face increased pressure on water supply systems from increasing demands from population and economic growth in combination with uncertain water supply. Supply uncertainty arises from short-term climate variability and long-term climate change as well as uncertainty in groundwater availability. Social and economic uncertainties - such as sectoral competition for water, food and energy security, urbanization, and environmental protection - compound physical uncertainty. Further, the varying risk aversion of stakeholders and water managers makes it difficult to assess the necessity of expensive infrastructure investments to reduce risk. We categorize these uncertainties on two dimensions: whether they can be updated over time by collecting additional information, and whether the uncertainties can be described probabilistically or are "deep" uncertainties whose likelihood is unknown. Based on this, we apply a decision framework that combines simulation for probabilistic uncertainty, scenario analysis for deep uncertainty, and multi-stage decision analysis for uncertainties that are reduced over time with additional information. In light of these uncertainties and the investment costs of large infrastructure, we propose the assessment of staged, modular infrastructure and information updating as a hedge against risk. We apply this framework to cases in Melbourne, Australia and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Melbourne is a surface water system facing uncertain population growth and variable rainfall and runoff. A severe drought from 1997 to 2009 prompted investment in a 150 MCM/y reverse osmosis desalination plan with a capital cost of 3.5 billion. Our analysis shows that flexible design in which a smaller portion of capacity is developed initially with the option to add modular capacity in the future can mitigate uncertainty and reduce the expected lifetime costs by up to 1 billion. In Riyadh, urban water use relies on fossil groundwater aquifers and

Factors influencing food choice of athletes at international competition events.

PubMed

Pelly, Fiona E; Burkhart, Sarah J; Dunn, Peter

2018-02-01

Although the nutrient requirements and dietary intake of athletes have been thoroughly investigated, little is known about the influences on their food choice, particularly prior to and during competition. This study sought to investigate factors that influence food selection of athletes at two similar international competition events: the Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. A secondary aim was to explore differences in these factors between at each event given the culturally diverse locations. A survey developed for this study was distributed to athletes in the village dining hall at both events. Athletes scored a selection of factors influencing food choice on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). A total of 769 individuals completed the questionnaire in total, with 351 (46%) from Delhi and 418 (54%) from Melbourne. Overall, athletes rated nutrient composition (M = 4.22), stage of competition (M = 4.09), time of day (M = 4.02) and familiarity of the food (M = 4.07) higher than sensory properties (smell M = 3.88; visual appearance M = 3.22) when making a food selection. Visual appearance (p = 0.01), stage of competition (p < 0.001) and time of day (p = 0.01) had greater influence in Delhi than Melbourne. Overall, a significantly higher proportion of female athletes rated smell (p < 0.001) and familiar food (p < 0.001) as important compared to males. The stage of competition and nutrition composition was rated as very important by the greatest proportion of athletes from weight category sports (61.9%) and endurance sports (57.9%) respectively. The influence of the coach and team mates was less of an influence than other factors, but more so for athletes from Non-Western regions. Further investigation of the various determinants and motives for food section of athletes from a range of sports and cultures is warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Inter-Cultural Communication in Melbourne Factories: Some Research in Progress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clyne, Michael

1991-01-01

This paper reports on research conducted in the Language and Society Centre of the National Languages Institute of Australia, Monash University, into interaction in English between non-native speakers from different ethnolinguistic backgrounds. The project emphasizes two aspects of verbal interaction where language-specific rules are closely…

Challenges in managing a school-based measles outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, 2014.

PubMed

Gibney, Katherine B; Brahmi, Aicha; O'Hara, Miriam; Morey, Rosemary; Franklin, Lucinda

2017-02-01

To identify barriers to control of a Victorian primary school-based measles outbreak. Confirmed measles cases notified in Victoria in 2014 were reviewed. Surveillance data, correspondence, and investigation notes for the school-based outbreak were assessed regarding timeliness of diagnosis and notification, and adequacy of school-based immunisation records. Twenty-three (31%) of the 75 measles cases notified in 2014 were school-aged (5-18 years); three had documentation of measles vaccination, 17 were unvaccinated, and three had unknown vaccination history. Eight measles outbreaks were identified, including a primary school-based outbreak with ten cases. Of the six unvaccinated pupils in the affected school, five (83%) contracted measles. The proportion of the school's prep students with documented vaccination records, as required by law, ranged from 39% in 2013 to 97% in 2014. Inadequately vaccinated students constitute a vulnerable population and schools are a potential site for measles outbreaks. Inadequate enforcement of school-based immunisation records impact the management and control of school-based measles outbreaks. Implications for Public Health: There is a need to educate clinicians on measles diagnosis and notification, and schools on the requirement to maintain up-to-date vaccination records. School entry is an opportunity to review student vaccination history and offer immunisations. © 2016 The Authors.

Prevalence, correlates and attitudes towards sexting among young people in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Yeung, Timothy H; Horyniak, Danielle R; Vella, Alyce M; Hellard, Margaret E; Lim, Megan S C

2014-09-01

Background 'Sexting' is the exchange of sexually explicit material via communication technologies. Despite significant media attention, there has been little examination of sexting in the Australian setting. This study aimed to provide insight into sexting behaviours and attitudes among young Australians. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of people aged 16-29 years attending a music festival (n=1372). Correlates of lifetime sexting were determined using multivariate logistic regression. Attitudes towards and perceived consequences of sexting were explored in focus group discussions (FGDs) with 39 young people. Forty percent of survey participants reported that they had ever sent or received a sext (48% of males, 36% of females), most commonly with a regular partner. Lower levels of education, greater recreational spending, greater number of sexual partners, inconsistent condom use with a regular partner, identifying as being nonheterosexual and risky alcohol consumption were all independent correlates of sexting. FGD participants made a clear distinction between consensual creating, sending and possessing of sexts, and nonconsensual sharing of sexts. Positive outcomes of consensual sexting included flirting and sexual experimentation, with sexting perceived as a normalised aspect of sexual interaction. Sexting is a common and normalised practice among young Australians. Our findings highlight the distinction in young people's minds between consensual sexting and the nonconsensual sharing or circulation of sexts, which is not currently well recognised in sexuality education, the media or the law.

Singing in "La Voce Della Luna" Italian Women's Choir in Melbourne, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southcott, Jane; Joseph, Dawn

2015-01-01

Australia is a country of ongoing migration that embraces diversity, creative expression and cultural activity. Membership of community music groups by older people can enhance life quality, and may provide a space through which cultural and linguistic identity may be shared and celebrated. This qualitative phenomenological case study explores…

PREFACE: Proceedings of the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Melbourne, 25-29 February 2008) Proceedings of the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Melbourne, 25-29 February 2008)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, Mike; Russo, Salvy; Gale, Julian

2009-04-01

image The International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is held bi-annually in Australia, supported by the Australian Research Council and Australian Nanotechnology Network. The purpose of the conference is to provide a forum for discussion about all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, to enable young Australian researchers a chance to meet and engage with leading global scientists in the field, and to set up the exchange mechanisms and collaborations that will enable the field to continue to develop and flourish. The second conference in this series co-chaired by Professor Paul Mulvaney and Professor Abid Khan attracted over eight hundred participants from across academia, industry, government and schools, with 8 plenary talks, 32 invited talks and more than 420 oral and poster papers spread across 6 parallel symposia. These symposia presented the status of international research from nanoelectronics to nanobiotechnology, a stream dedicated to commercialization issues and showcasing Australian success stories, and a final symposium discussing regulatory, environmental and health issues, and the next stage of the nanotechnology roadmap. The development of efficient algorithms and availability of computing power has seen calculation play a crucial role in the progress of nanoscience and nanotechnology, providing a window onto processes occurring at the molecular level that are not easily accessed by experiment alone. Consequently, a symposium was dedicated to nanocomputation, containing contributions ranging from first principles atomistic simulations of nanostructures to classical models of nanotube motion. The papers in this special issue are contributions to this symposium co-chaired by Salvy Russo, Julian Gale and Mike Ford.

Digital Database Development and Seismic Characterization and Calibration for the Middle East and North Africa.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-07-31

RR.ERS - 052 M5 - -2,12 .55.ERR . .0.73 0 MEE - .0 mEE -ER. 034 MS - 4,25 MROS-EA 1.10 MRE..ER - 1.4 M"E -3.j01 O - 4.3 NUM-STA - NREC - 10 o IUT As4...INC. DIVISION OF STATISTICS 445 PINEDA COURT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA MELBOURNE, FL 32940 DAVIS, CA 95616-8671 SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORY LOS ALAMOS

DCASR (Defense Contract Administration Services Region) Atlanta Total Quality Management (TQM) Strategic Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) STATEMENT OF APPRECIATION We wish to thank the following private companies and Department of Defense organizations for their...Systems Sector , P.O. Box 37, Melbourne, FL 32902 Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, NC 28533-5030 Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA 23709-5000...Corporation, Government Systems Sector ; Mr. Jack Adams and Mr. Fred Davenport of the TQM Office, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point; and Captain E.S

A Survey of Blasting Activity in the United States

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-05-16

Drive, Suite 1212 California Institute of Technology Reston, VA 22091 Pasadena, CA 91125 Mr. William J. Best Prof. F. A. Dahlen 907 Westwood Drive...Maxwell Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 P.O. Box 1620 La Jolla, CA 92038-1620 Proi. William Menke Prof. Charles G. Sammis Lamont-Doherty Geological...of Geological Sciences 445 Pineda Court Austin, TX 78713-7909 Melbourne, FL 32940 Prof. Roy Greenfield William Kikendall Geosciences Department

Optimal Mass Transport for Statistical Estimation, Image Analysis, Information Geometry, and Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-10

Metric Uncertainty for Spectral Estimation based on Nevanlinna-Pick Interpolation, (with J. Karlsson) Intern. Symp. on the Math . Theory of Networks and...Systems, Melbourne 2012. 22. Geometric tools for the estimation of structured covariances, (with L. Ning, X. Jiang) Intern. Symposium on the Math . Theory...estimation and the reversibility of stochastic processes, (with Y. Chen, J. Karlsson) Proc. Int. Symp. on Math . Theory of Networks and Syst., July

A Study of Bird Ingestions Into Large High Bypass Ratio Turbine Aircraft Engines.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-09-01

Amrican Sparrovhawk (Kestral) 4 -- 2 5K26 Falco cherrug - Saker Falcon 36 (26-46) 1 5K54 GALLIFORNES - CHICKEN -LIKE BIRDS PHASIANIOAE - QUAILS, PHEASANTS...Palmas, Canary Is. LUX Luxembourg, Luxembourg LYS Lyon, France NAA Madras, India MAD Madrid, Spain MEL Melbourne, Australia MEX Mexico City, Mexico ...Minnesota, USA MSY New Orleans, Louisiana, USA MTY Monterrey, Mexico MYO Montevideo, Uruguay MWH Moses Lake, Washington, USA MXP Milan, Italy - Malpensa

KSCO 2002: Second International Conference on Knowledge Systems for Coalition Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-05-01

investigate the characteristics of women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer , features of cancer tissue on X-ray/MRI/PET images and correlation of the...research findings with oncologist data. There is a need to design of image processing techniques for the diagnosis and monitoring of cervical cancer at...Jim MacGovern RMIT University, Melbourne Dr Kailash Narayan and Rod Hicks Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute This paper will

Translations on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Number 314.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-08-15

Control Statistics 16 THAILAND Police General Talks on Narcotics Trade Methods (Chumphon Lohachala Interview; Bangkok Domestic Service, 27 Jul 77...two men drove oft - ■ The Australasian Seed is published by Noxious Weed Press Pty Ltd in Melbourne. It is the descendant of the Australasian ...34. brief Supreme Court fieärmg, the Austra- lasian Weed was correctly gazetted. Soon afterwards the Australasian Seed appeared and it is this

An Application of the Finite Element Method to the Solution of Low Reynolds Number, Incompressible Flow Around a Joukowski Aerofoil, with Emphasis on Automatic Generation of Grids.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-01

Library Universities and Colleges Sydney Dr G.P. Steven, Dept. of Aeronautical Engineering SPARES (10 copies) TOTAL (50 copies) * 1’ Department of...ORGANISATION AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES MELBOURNE, VICTORIA AsZodynaiLcs Tecbhical ismiro a 349 AN APPLICATION OF THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD TO THE...SOLUTION OF LOW REYNOLDS NUMBER, INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW AROUND A JOUIKOWSKI AEROFOIL , WITH EMPHASIS ON ALJTOMATIC GENERATION OF 6RIDS T. TDTIC SELECTED SEP29

Lightning Technology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-04-01

greatly intensify the thermoelectric effect by providing a source of warm particles in a freezing environment. The presence of contaminants can...Organization Code 7. Autor~s)8. Performing Organization Report No. F~ AA en2 L13666 9. Performing Organization Name and Address50 -4-30 NAS5A Langley...Publication National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20546 and Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL

KSC-04pd1255

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-06-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Lt. Keith Abell (left) hands equipment to KSC Firefighter Chris Maupin for storage. They and other KSC firefighters teamed up with task forces from Satellite Beach, Malabar, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Patrick Air Force Base and Brevard County to help fight wildfires in the Palm Bay and Malabar areas that threatened homes and property during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

KSC-04pd1254

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-06-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Lt. Keith Abell (left) and KSC Firefighter Chris Maupin store equipment on the fire truck. They and other KSC firefighters teamed up with task forces from Satellite Beach, Malabar, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Patrick Air Force Base and Brevard County to help fight wildfires in the Palm Bay and Malabar areas that threatened homes and property during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Proposed Modifications for the RAAF Airtrainer CT-4A Cockpit.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

training effectiveness and improve flying safety. DTIC ELECTE COMWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 1984 1A POSTAL ADDRESS: Director, Aeronautical Research Laboratories...P.O. box 4331, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, Australia . Ib’I CONTENTS PAGE NO. 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. CT-4A COCKPIT PROBLEMS 1 3. USE OF AUSTRALIAN...use. However, many of the space difficulties appear to be the result of inadequate consideration of anthropometry in the design. For example the