59974 research outputs found
Sort by
Water isotope ratios reflect convection intensity rather than rain type proportions in the pan-tropics
Get PDFAgainst the traditional view, a recently published theory argued that isotope ratios are higher in convective precipitation but lower in stratiform precipitation and proposed that isotope ratios reflect rain type proportions. This theory has been widely cited despite some early reservations. Whether the theory represents a faithful reflection of signals of water isotope ratios remains unclear. Here, we reassess its validity from different timescales and broader observations from the pantropics. Unexpectedly, our findings contradict the theory on daily, monthly, and even annual timescales. Pantropical precipitation isotope ratios remain strongly correlated to convection intensity but are independent of rain type proportions because stratiform precipitation isotope ratios cover a large range of values. We find that the theory has many serious weaknesses related to preferential data selection and suggest that new theories need to be validated at more locations on different timescales before gaining widespread acceptance
Integrating social work into general practice in Australia: Protocol of an intervention study
No full textPurpose- This study protocol provides an overview of research aimed to evidence social work contributions to General Practitioner [GP] clinics and evaluate the value of social workers and students in such settings. The research will facilitate and evaluate 12 months service delivery by social workers and students who will be employed in North Queensland GP clinics.
Design/methodology/approach- The study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase will involve developing partnerships and contractual arrangement to co-fund social workers to be employed in GP clinics. In the second phase social workers and social work students will be practicing in GP settings and systematically record basic demographics about their patients, areas of health and interventions. This data will be collated and correlated. Patient feedback surveys and a pre- and post- wellbeing scale will be applied to evaluate the outcomes of interventions. In the final phase feedback about the value and contribution for social work in GP setting will be sought from key GP practice stakeholders via an online survey tool to evaluate the research.
Discussion- Further data needed to evidence the contribution and outcomes of social work practice in Australia and elsewhere. It is important that social work and GPs work together to evidence and evaluate the outcomes and contribution of social work to develop sustainable funding pathways for embedding social work in GP clinics.
Originality/value- This is an innovative study design that will use various data sources to identify, quantify and evaluate the contribution of social work in general practice. It allows for stakeholders feedback that can contribute to policy review and the development of funding pathways to advance the inclusion of social work in integrated team care
Reduced productivity and carbon drawdown of tropical forests from ground-level ozone exposure
Get PDFElevated ground-level ozone, a result of human activity, is known to reduce plant productivity, but its influence on tropical forests remains unclear. Here we estimate how increased ozone exposure has affected tropical-forest productivity and the global carbon cycle. We experimentally measure the ozone susceptibility of various tropical tree species, and then incorporate these data into a dynamic global vegetation model. We find that current anthropogenic-derived ozone results in a substantial decline in annual net primary productivity (NPP) across all tropical forests, with some areas being particularly impacted. For example, Asia sees losses of 10.9% (7.2–19.7%) NPP. We calculate that this productivity decline has resulted in a cumulative loss in carbon drawdown of 0.29 PgC per year since 2000, equating to ~17% of the tropical contemporary annual land carbon sink in the twenty-first century. We also find that areas of current and future forest restoration are disproportionately affected by elevated ozone. Future socioeconomic pathways that reduce ozone formation in the tropics will incur benefits to the global carbon budget by relieving the current ozone impacts seen across both intact forest and areas of forest restoration, which are critical terrestrial regions for mitigation of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide
Reconceptualising Higher Education Programs in Music for a Rapidly Changing Global Creative Industries Sector: An Australian Perspective
No full textThis chapter adopts chaos theory as a framework to examine the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on music and higher education. It describes a future where freelance and portfolio careers will become more commonplace in the performing arts. It also advocates for a new conceptual model of self-guided pedagogy, where students acquire knowledge across several domains, including agency, practice, industry engagement, well-being, critical thinking, and peer learning
Upscaling ecosystem studies on coral reefs
Get PDFLucas Lutzenkirchen explored multiple coral reef functions across broad scales using geospatial and modelling approaches. He assessed traditional coral reef methods of gauging stressor impacts across scales, studied global reef growth drivers, and explored factors influencing herbivorous fish contributions to coastal small-scale fisheries in the Western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific
Preventing beach goers from drowning: analysis of geomorphological and human data to better understand factors leading to surf rescues
Get PDFGlobally rip currents are the primary physical hazard facing swimmers on surf beaches. However, beach swimmers also face other hazards such as large waves, tidal influenced currents, and shorebreak waves. The aim of this study was to investigate factors leading to the increased likelihood of surf lifeguard rescues. Rescue data from Surf Life Saving Queensland’s Lifesaving Incident Management System and Operations Console for 54 wave dominated beaches in South–East Queensland, Australia, from July 1st, 2016 to October 6th, 2021 was linked with wind speed and direction, air temperature, phase of tide, wave height and period, beach type, beach hazard rating, and beach swimmer numbers. Stepwise regression was performed to find independent predictors of rescue. There were 8515 rescues, with 3345 (39.3%) females and 5109 (60.0%) males (61 sex not recorded). There were no independent predictors of surf rescue but swimming outside the lifeguard patrol area was nine times more likely to result in rescue than swimming inside the patrol area. Increased rescues were noted at periods of increased rip activity. Rip currents (2992/6523, 45.8%) were the most frequently recorded contributing factor. Rescues occurred most frequently (5902, 69.3%) during the six hours of lower tide levels and during onshore winds (5463, 64.2%). Surf rescues increased with increasing wave height and period, air temperature, and wind speed but decreased as average values for each variable were surpassed. Beaches protected from the prevailing wave direction by headlands had a stronger relationship between rescues and wave height. Beaches adjacent to inlets with tidal flow had a stronger relationship between rescues and the ebb tide. Beach morphology, and hazard rating did not have a relationship with ratio of rescues per 100,000 swimmers. We found no independent predictors for surf rescue, however this study has, for the first time we believe, quantified the increased risk (× 9) posed by swimming outside the patrol area. Open beaches, beaches protected by headlands and beaches with tidal inlets all had different relationships between rescues, tides and wave size. Our findings suggest that lifeguards may need to adopt new approaches to prevent rescues adjacent to the patrol area, as well as a revision of the general hazard rating being required
Conscientious archaeologies
Get PDF[Extract] Over several decades, there have been ongoing developments in the operation of many aspects of Australian archaeology, including working in deeper ways with First Nations peoples. How do practitioners build on this to cultivate honourable and collaborative engagements spanning all aspects of practice? Here I write wearing two hats—as a taphonomist interested in developing research methods, and as a museum curator. Experiences in both roles, and recent changes in the latter, have shaped the views on the ongoing practical work that needs to be done as a practitioner in the face of sometimes confounding institutional structures and practices. Here ‘First Nations’ is used to reflect the diversity of Australia’s First Peoples; ‘Peoples’ is used when specifically referring to First Nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups; and ‘Community’ is used to refer to non-First Nations groups. Best practices that apply to First Nations engagements also apply to non-First Nations communities and groups
Digital Competencies for Health Service Managers: Educating for Transformation
Get PDFHealthcare in the 21st century is experiencing tumultuous times of turbulent and tortuous change, characterised by an aging population, an increasing chronic disease burden, and inadequate workforce capacity to meet this burgeoning demand. The development of digital capabilities for health service managers of today and tomorrow requires an approach that transcends traditional adult learning education and training trajectories. A five-step process for developing an andragogical approach to health service management competency development in the digital context is proposed. This process includes qualifying the capabilities required of health service managers in the digital age and expediating digital transformation within the Australian healthcare environment, informed by empirical research; linking teaching approaches for digital health using the five tenets of adult learning; and coalescing the competencies needed to contextualise knowledge and skills development requirements for the 5th Industrial Revolution. Importantly, formal and informal education and training for health service managers should focus on competency transferability, which requires trainers and educators to understand the transforming context and challenges facing health service managers in the healthcare industry. It is incumbent on the digital health community to build capacity and enable workforce development to inculcate sustainable influence for lasting change in the healthcare system
Deciphering the complete genome sequence of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli strain Hakim RU_GHWS isolated from ladies' hall sewage water in Bangladesh
Get PDFThis report details the genome sequence of Escherichia coli strain Hakim RU_GHWS, isolated from sewage water. The assembled genome comprises 5.022 Mb with 77.675× coverage, depicting an average GC content of 50.50%. This genome contains 10 CRISPR arrays, 14 prophages, 65 antibiotic resistance genes, and 28 virulence factor genes
Prenatal testing technologies in Australia: Unintended clinical and emotional complexities in underprepared systems
Get PDFThe past decade has seen technological advances in prenatal screening technologies rapidly integrated into clinical practice. These technologies have revolutionised healthcare and raised complex socio-ethical issues such as equitable access, medical commercialisation, and new eugenics. However, the important issue of the impact of these technologies on healthcare professionals is receiving less attention. Exploring this issue in the Australian context, we conducted a survey from August to November 2022, targeting health and allied health professionals who work with parents in the perinatal period who have received a fetal diagnosis. We received 75 substantive responses from a diversity of professionals, including sonographers, midwives, genetic counsellors and medical providers.
In this article, we consider the unintended impacts of prenatal screening technologies on healthcare workers, drawing from Ziebland et al., ’s 2021 unintended consequences framework. Our reflexive thematic analysis produced three key themes: “Unintended Clinical Complexities”, “Adapting Work Practices to Keep Up in Systems that Lack”, and “Unintended Intensification of Emotional Labour”. Prenatal testing technologies have intentionally increased early testing and fetal information, offering veiled promises of increased certainty in pregnancy. However, our analysis highlights that these advancing technologies also generate more ambiguous results, creating unintended clinical and emotional complexities for healthcare providers. Workers must manage increased clinical uncertainty and constant change, creating intensified emotional labour in under-prepared systems. We conclude by identifying the need to recognise the impacts of advancing prenatal screening technologies on healthcare workers and for targeted professional training to prepare healthcare professionals for the complexities introduced by these new technologies.In this article, we consider the unintended impacts of prenatal screening technologies on healthcare workers, drawing from Ziebland et al., ’s 2021 unintended consequences framework. Our reflexive thematic analysis produced three key themes: “Unintended Clinical Complexities”, “Adapting Work Practices to Keep Up in Systems that Lack”, and “Unintended Intensification of Emotional Labour”. Prenatal testing technologies have intentionally increased early testing and fetal information, offering veiled promises of increased certainty in pregnancy. However, our analysis highlights that these advancing technologies also generate more ambiguous results, creating unintended clinical and emotional complexities for healthcare providers. Workers must manage increased clinical uncertainty and constant change, creating intensified emotional labour in under-prepared systems. We conclude by identifying the need to recognise the impacts of advancing prenatal screening technologies on healthcare workers and for targeted professional training to prepare healthcare professionals for the complexities introduced by these new technologies