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Submission to NSW Government : Digital Inclusion Strategy
No full textSubmission to the the first NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy consultation
[In Press] Automated pavement marking integrity assessment using a UAV platform : a test case of public parking
No full textIntact pavement markings organize the utilization of the pavement surface area, increase the road capacity, and improve traffic safety. However, deterioration occurring over the service life will lead to traffic safety hazards. A detailed inspection is regarded as the central tenet of pavement marking management. Conventional manual assessment approaches are time-consuming, qualitative, and argued to be subjective. Thus, cost reduction, quantitative analysis, and automatization have been the focus of research. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform has been studied wildly in civil tasks due to its low cost and high maneuverability. A UAV-based platform was developed in this research to address the inefficiency, access limitations, and image processing of existing road marking inspection systems. In this research, the resolution of the image is 5472 × 3080 pixels and is captured with a fixed focal length of 8.8 mm. Given intensity differences between pixels of paintings and asphalt backgrounds, the pixels belonging to painting regions are classified using the K-mean clustering algorithm. After detecting all parking lines from images, the Otsu method was employed to determine the threshold of 0.9 as the quantitative indicator of painting quality. The UAV-based platform exhibits expected performance in assessing the pavement markings in a parking area. Future research will explore the deployment in city-scale applications
Cultural considerations in emergency care
No full textThis chapter orients healthcare workers to the importance of culture as a factor that can influence individuals’ experience, and the outcomes, of healthcare. The chapter aims to assist healthcare workers gain an insight into, and appreciation of, some of the issues, concerns and needs of people who belong to the cultural (often) minority groups in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Healthcare workers meet and work with people from diverse cultural and social groups that may be different from the healthcare worker’s own. As a result, healthcare workers must develop and continually build their knowledge and skills in working with cultural differences to provide safe, effective and culturally sensitive care. In this chapter, ‘healthcare workers’ refers to pre-hospital workers, paramedical and ambulance personnel, assistive caregivers, and nurses who work with and care for people and their families in the community, and in the hospital emergency and acute care setting
Abortion experiences and perspectives amongst migrants and refugees : a systematic review
No full text(1) Background: Access to abortion care is a crucial reproductive health right. Refugees and migrants may have restricted access to and utilisation of abortion care, associated with histories of displacement, precarious migrant and citizenship status and difficulty navigating unfamiliar host country healthcare systems. However, there is limited evidence on the abortion experiences and perspectives of refugees and migrants. Moreover, existing research has not been synthesised to identify trends informing sexual and reproductive care access among this marginalised population. This systematic review aimed to address this gap in the cumulative evidence on refugee and migrant experiences and perspectives of abortion in host countries. (2) Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched the following databases for studies on refugee and migrant abortion attitudes, decision making and experiences: Embase, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts, and Scopus. We also searched the grey literature on the same. Inclusion criteria specified qualitative studies involving migrant and/or refugee populations, examining their abortion experiences, attitudes or perspectives, written in English, published between January 2000 and December 2022. Two reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles, resulting in 27 articles included in the review, following consensus checks by two co-authors. The included studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. (3) Results: Abortion was stigmatised and generally considered impermissible and undesirable. However, participants discussed socioculturally determined ‘exceptions’ to this, positing circumstances where abortion was acceptable. There were striking differences in experiences between participants in higher-income settings and those in lower- and middle-income settings. Difficulties accessing care were ubiquitous but were heightened in lower-resource settings and among participants with precarious citizenship, financial and legal statuses. (4) Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for an international convention to guide policy and programming that acknowledges the specific abortion requirements of migrant and refugee communities, with attention to their financial, legal and social precarity
Circular economy assessment using project-level and organisation-level indicators for construction organisations : a systematic review
No full textThe existing Circular Economy (CE) assessment frameworks developed in the construction context are limited due to being confined to assessing one or a few aspects of a construction project or a building, and lacking a holistic perspective. In the construction industry, the main contractor organisations play a significant role by involving in one or several phases of a construction project and directly engaging with multiple stakeholders while handling complex supply chain processes. Therefore, CE assessment in main contractor organisations significantly impacts CE implementation, improvement, and monitoring in the construction industry. Hence, this research aimed to identify CE assessment indicators specific to main contractor organisations covering construction project and organisation levels to develop a holistic and comprehensive CE assessment framework through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. Two SLRs were conducted to achieve the aim of the study, as the majority of construction-specific articles were limited to construction project-level CE indicators, and a second review was undertaken to identify organisation-level indicators from non-construction sources. The study identified eighteen and twenty indicators at the construction project-level and organisation-level, respectively. Sixteen indicators were found to be common to both levels, while two indicators are specific to the construction projects and four indicators are specific to the organisations. The study concluded that assessing CE in main contractor organisations is complex, necessitating a comprehensive approach that addresses both construction project and organisational levels, as their interdependence is indispensable for obtaining a holistic perspective
The sociology of youth
No full textThis edited book project began in 2021 with an invitation from Edward Elgar Publishing to produce a ‘Sociology of Youth’ handbook. At the time we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As scholars working in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), we were in lockdowns: working from home and trying desperately to make do, while also considering the implications of that moment for young people there and around the world. For young people, as for us all, the pandemic produced dramatic changes to our lives as it affected how we worked (or didn’t work), engaged in education, socialised, exercised, and accessed goods and services, and how we understood the world in which we lived. During those years, young people had little if any say, and were among the least considered by governments and policy makers. So, when considering the need for a research handbook on the Sociology of Youth, we thought: ‘what a good idea’. Now, more than ever, we need better ways of describing and explaining what young people are experiencing – and what that might mean for the planet
[In Press] Patient experiences during the planned perioperative care pathway : an integrative review
No full textAims: This integrative review aimed to synthesize evidence about the patients' experiences during the planned perioperative care pathway. Design: Integrative review. Data Sources: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline Ovid, Scopus, and American Psychological Association (APA) PsychINFO. Original, peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2012 and 2023 exploring patient experiences during the planned perioperative care pathway were reviewed. Methods: This review was guided by the Whittemore and Knafl method and followed PRISMA guidelines to search the literature. Twenty-two articles were selected for the final study. Results: Three themes emerged: Sharing of information is empowering; interpersonal relationships are valued by patients, and hospital systems and care co-ordination influence the patient experience. Conclusions: The quality and consistency of the information patients receive can both support and undermine patient confidence in health professionals. The quality of relationships that participants experience and effective communication with health professionals can support or compromise the quality of the patients' perioperative experience. The nature of the hospital systems and care co-ordination in hospital has implications for the quality of recovery from surgery. Impact: This review evaluates whether national and international health services and organizations, adhering to the WHO guidelines, have developed and implemented intentionally focused perioperative care with the aims to achieving effective and sustainable surgical outcomes through increased patient satisfaction. No Patient or Public Contribution: This article is an integrative review and does not include patient or public contribution
The synergy of modular construction and emerging technologies
No full textAustralia's housing sector faces a pressing crisis, marked by skyrocketing prices and a shortage of affordable homes. This challenge calls for innovative solutions, and modular housing emerges as a beacon of hope. Unlike traditional construction methods, modular housing involves prefabricating components in a controlled factory setting and then assembling them on-site. This approach promises not only to alleviate the housing shortage but also to revolutionise the construction industry.
Emerging technologies play a pivotal role in this transformation. By integrating
advancements such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), modular housing can leapfrog traditional limitations. These technologies enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability of modular construction processes, positioning them as a key solution in addressing Australia's housing challenges. This synergy of modular housing and emerging technologies could be the linchpin in solving the housing crisis, reshaping the landscape of Australian urban and rural habitats
Is rewilding twenty-first-century primitivism?
No full textThis essay considers whether the contemporary rewilding movement is a reincarnation of twentieth-century primitivism. Both reject capitalist modernity’s drive to dominate nature, and both idealize an originary or innate natural condition. Both are also galvanized by the perception that the condition they idealize is on the verge of extinction and so must be regenerated through primitivist or rewilding praxis. Where primitivist idealism typically is trained on those forms of human life regarded as “primitive,” rewilders tend to be more concerned with the “wildness” of whole ecologies. Covering a range of articulations of rewilding, from conservation biology to green anarchism, the essay argues that the question of what constitutes “wild” humanity nevertheless shadows all rewilding discourse. This persistently has led rewilding toward the kinds of racialized idealism for which primitivism has so frequently been arraigned. The final part of the essay compares the role of aesthetic practice in primitivism and rewilding by considering recent fictions of rewilding by Sarah Hall, Charlotte McConaghy, and Jeff VanderMeer. Unlike primitivism’s pervasive anti-scientism, we find in these novels the narration of a process by which scientific reason transcends the study of wild things to itself become the wild
International graduate entry nursing students : a qualitative study on engagement
No full textAim: This study aims to elicit graduate entry nursing students' views on factors that enable and constrain their learning engagement. Background: Learning engagement has been associated with student retention/attrition and the achievement of learning confidence and success. While all students are subject to challenges that affect their learning engagement, those experienced by international students who are learning in a foreign and unfamiliar context are of particular concern to academics. An understanding of international graduate entry nursing students’ perspectives on factors that enable and constrain their engagement can inform development of learning and teaching strategies that are more responsive to the needs of this group of students and can support their learning achievement. Design: A qualitative descriptive design conducted in one Australian multi campus university School of Nursing. Participants included first and second-year international students enrolled in a graduate entry Master of Nursing course. Methods: Data, including demographic information, was collected via a theoretically informed online survey consisting of a Likert scale and open- ended questions. This study reports participant responses to open ended questions included in the survey. A thematic analysis was used to interpret findings. Findings: Analysis identified participants’ perspectives on factors that influenced their learning engagement in four theme areas: 1) Availability of study support resources, 2) Opportunities for social interaction, 3) Opportunities to build a sense of belonging, and 4) Constraints on development of a sense of engagement. Opportunities for social engagement emerged as a dominant finding across all themes. Conclusion: This research, which focused on international students’ perspectives on learning engagement, contributed to existing knowledge on student engagement in higher education graduate entry nursing courses. Opportunities for social interaction within and beyond formal course learning experiences were valued by students and identified as key to their learning engagement. These findings have implications for academics and student support services who together, can influence the context of students learning to better meet their engagement needs