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Landscape Change and Indigenous Fire Use in the Namadgi Ranges in the Australian Alps over 16,000 years
Get PDFWe assemble an environmental history for three Carex gaudichaudiania fens in the Namadgi Ranges in southeastern Australia through a multi-proxy approach focusing on macrocharcoal and geochemical X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core. Sediment accumulation commenced from 16 ka, following alpine deglaciation and climatic amelioration. The landscape of the terminal Pleistocene, with establishing wetland and forest vegetation interspersed by frequent catchment instability, transitioned to a relatively stable and productive early Holocene environment, from 11.5 – 9 ka, associated with an increased fire frequency. From 9 ka, alternating cycles of detrital influx and organic productivity, with possible gaps in the sediment records, attest to a renewed period of landscape instability, which continued past the mid Holocene Pomaderris phase of Martin (1986). Rapid peat accumulation commenced from 3.4 ka, as did an increase in fire. Through the comparison of the environmental data to local archaeological records, we propose a variable Aboriginal contribution to catchment-specific fire activity during three distinct periods, that is between 8 and 5 ka, between 5 and 3.5 ka, including the utilisation of Nursery Swamp itself around 4ka, and from 2 ka until European occupation
Wonders in the Deep: Sailors and the Imagination in the Poetry of William Wordsworth
Get PDFKeywords: Wordsworth; Poetry; Romanticism; maritime; sailor
The poetry of William Wordsworth is haunted by rootless mariners, filled with elevated powers of imagination and a fervent desire to share their gothic tales. Wordsworth’s sailor poems may be grouped into four classes: those in which a sailor or sailing features prominently throughout the poem (with “The Thorn” as the exemplar case); those in which a sailor or sailing features prominently in one part of the poem; those in which a sailor is missed by his family and friends; and those in which ships are observed, but sailors do not appear. Yet despite sailors’ quasi-poetic abilities, derived from their sublime experiences upon the waves, they are ultimately unable to articulate their experiences. Wordsworth’s sailors are imaginative, yet highly emotional; compelled to repeat their stories, but uninterested in dialogue; and eager to be heard, but incapable of integrating themselves into the community. They possess numerous poetic gifts, but their lyrical potential is stymied by the very qualities that lead them to sea in the first place. Their vast capacity for imagination and disposition to self-expression notwithstanding, sailors’ physical rootlessness and disinterest in community correspond to an inability to ground their words. Much as they wander across land and sea, they drift across the surface of language itself, never settling upon a solid meaning
Internationalisation of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises: The case of the Australia and EU Free Trade Agreement
Get PDFAustralia is a member of many multilateral trade bodies and engages in trade agreements of a multilateral and bilateral kind across most regions. In June 2018, it launched negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) which are still ongoing and since then Australia and the EU have conducted fifteen rounds of negotiations (last one on 28 May 2023 in Brussels). This paper aims to explore the business awareness of the EU amongst Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to analyse the factors that influence their internationalisation. To ascertain this, we reviewed the results of two surveys[1] that were conducted pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic (also coinciding with the Brexit transition period). This paper argues that SMEs in Australia are essentially unaware of the EU as a market and that no significant change in the business perception of the EU and potential international trade opportunities occurred between the pre- and post-COVID-19 political contexts
The effect of an active virtual reality gaming intervention on physical activity and mood in young men with mild to moderate depression; a randomised controlled feasibility trial to improve physical and mental wellbeing during Covid-19.
No full textTitle: The effect of an active virtual reality gaming intervention on physical activity and mood in young men with mild to moderate depression; a randomised controlled feasibility trial to improve physical and mental wellbeing during Covid-19.
Background: Physical activity is shown to improve depressive symptoms, however, depression is associated with low physical activity participation, as motivation, engagement and adherence are particularly challenging. Virtual reality gaming has great potential to increase engagement and adherence to physical activity in young adult males, a hard-to-reach population with low help-seeking rates but high incidence of mental illnesses.
Aims: Our feasibility trial seeks to address the evidence gap in achieving physical activity behaviour change in young men affected by depression using novel digital technology, to help develop innovative interventions for improving physical and psychological health.
Methods: Participants engaged in an eight-week intervention of physically active virtual reality gaming at home. Heart rate, session duration and frequency were tracked, and outcomes include feasibility (recruitment, motivation, engagement), mood, adherence and lifestyle behaviours.
Results:
Preliminary data analysis showed strong feasibility results; a 23.2% recruitment rate (eligibility out of those who applied), 100% enrolment rate, and a 93.3% retention rate.
There was a statistically significant decrease in depression and stress, and increase in Energy, Role functioning /Emotional scores, physical activity levels and Stage of Change. There was a statistically significant moderate negative correlation between depression scores and both number of gaming sessions >30 mins over the eight weeks and total number of sessions.
Conclusion: This investigation will provide randomised controlled evidence and translational outcomes for feasibility, acceptability, and adherence to inform future research and practice in recommending virtual reality gaming for physical activity and mood in young men affected by depression
Measures of socioeconomic advantage are not independent predictors of support for healthcare AI: subgroup analysis of a national Australian survey
No full textBackground: Applications of Healthcare Artificial Intelligence (HCAI) have the potential to improve aspects of healthcare. However, studies have shown that HCAI also has the potential to perpetuate existing inequities, performing less effectively for marginalised populations. Studies on public attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) outside of the healthcare field have shown higher levels of support for AI amongst socioeconomically advantaged groups that are less likely to be sufferers of algorithmic harms.
Aims: We aimed to examine the sociodemographic predictors of support for scenarios related to HCAI.
Methods: The AVA-AI survey was conducted in March 2020 to assess Australians’ attitudes toward artificial intelligence in healthcare. An innovative weighting methodology involved weighting a non-probability web-based panel against results from a shorter omnibus survey distributed to a representative sample of Australians. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationship between support for AI and a suite of sociodemographic variables in various healthcare scenarios.
Results: Where support for AI was predicted by measures of socioeconomic advantage such as education, household income, and SEIFA index, the same variables were not predictors of support for the HCAI scenarios presented. Variables associated with support for HCAI across all three scenarios included being male, having computer science or programming experience, and being aged between 18 and 34 years. Other Australian studies suggest that this group have a higher level of perceived familiarity with AI
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that while support for AI in general is predicted by indicators of social advantage, these same indicators do not predict support for HCAI
“I desperately need to know what to do.” Addressing cyberscams in acquired brain injury (ABI): A qualitative exploration of the experiences and approaches of Australian clinicians and service providers.
No full textBackground: Anyone can be scammed, however, post-injury cognitive and psychosocial consequences experienced by people with ABI may place them at higher risk. Scams result in financial loss and deleterious psychological impacts such as shame and mistrust, and also interfere with neurorehabilitation. Despite these significant consequences, there are no available psychological treatments tailored to cyberscam recovery. Little is also known about how the current workforce is addressing cyberscams in people with ABI.
Aim: To understand the perspectives and needs of ABI clinicians and service providers in addressing cyberscams in people with ABI.
Methods: Qualitative study design. Eighteen Australian multi-disciplinary clinicians and service providers were recruited through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews explored current treatments, effectiveness of interventions used and recommendations for future cybersafety recovery interventions.
Results: Reflexive thematic analysis identified eight themes related to scam vulnerabilities and impacts: “Really? I didn’t see that: Executive Difficulties”; “CyberAbility”; “Financial Stress and Independence”; “Not Coping with the Loss of it All”; “Strong Reactions of Trusted Others”; “Scammer Influence”; “Presence/Absence of Trusted Relationship”; and “Nothing Structured To Do”. Each theme directly related to clinical recommendations such as providing psychological and cognitive support, upskilling in financial and cybersafety management, increasing meaningful social engagement, and working collaboratively with families and clinical support teams.
Conclusions: Treatment recommendations specific to each vulnerability and impact highlight the need for a flexible approach towards cyberscam recovery and treatment in people with ABI. These findings will inform intervention development through a planned co-design phase
Embedded Randomised Control Trial Implementation in the Australian Paediatric Hospital Setting
No full textBackground: Embedded trials are randomised trials embedded into electronic medical record (EMR) systems. These trials utilise existing patient data within the EMR. They have high translational value as information routinely collected within the EMR reflects real world, clinically relevant evidence1.They are inexpensive, require no extra data collection, and can facilitate consent using the clinical team. Embedded trials using Epic EMR are being piloted by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH).
Aims: The EMR can be used for patient identification, randomisation, treatment allocation, and data extraction. Reviewing the steps taken to implement and optimise these trial procedures ensures embedded trials are an effective, efficient, and realistic option for future investigator researchers.
Methods: The first embedded trial at RCH opened in November 2021. This trial started with a staggered enrolment of patients to identify potential issues with the trial workflow. Any issues and optimisations throughout the implementation of the trial were addressed and logged. A review of the first 20 patient’s data was conducted to ensure completeness and accuracy.
Results: All the Epic EMR prompts performed as expected, however as implementation and recruitment progressed optimisations were identified and actioned. Data for the trial was successfully produced and extracted.
Conclusions: Embedded trials have minimal ongoing costs but require substantial upfront work and expertise to implement. Embedded trials with limited research contact with patients offer an exciting cost-effective and COVID safe trial design. This approach enabled investigators to be able open new RCTs affordably, it also permits monitoring of the trial remotely in real-time
Remote assessment of gait and balance of people with Parkinson’s disease – a reliability study
No full textBackground: Due to COVID-19, the use of telehealth increased exponentially. However, despite this increase in the use of telehealth, clinicians lack reliable tools to assess the balance and gait of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Aims: investigate the reliability of balance and gait assessments undertaken remotely via telehealth in people with PD.
Methods: 29 people with PD performed 14 tests of balance and gait twice: (i) face-to-face, and (ii) remotely, via videoconference (which was also recorded) between 7 and 14 days after. The tests included items from the Berg Balance Scale, Functional Gait Assessment, and the Timed-Up-And-Go. We compared face-to-face and live videoconference performance to obtain assessment reliability. One assessor rated the recording at least two weeks after the live videoconference to obtain intra-rater reliability. Another assessor rated the recording in order to obtain inter-rater reliability. Reliability was measured using either intraclass correlation (ICC) two-way mixed with absolute agreement (continuous measures) or Fleiss multi-rater Kappa test (ordinal measures).
Results: Most tests showed moderate to very good assessment reliability between face-to-face and live telehealth (ICC=0.505-1), between face-to-face and recorded telehealth (ICC=0.503-1) and for the inter-rater reliability between the recorded telehealth assessments (ICC=0.557-1). Reliability appeared to be higher in tests involving quantitative rather than qualitative measures of performance. A ceiling effect was noted in some tests where all participants completed tests with maximum scores in both face-to-face and remote assessments.
Conclusions: This study supports the feasibility of some remote assessments via telehealth for people with PD
Linked health data: Dealing with demographic data discrepancies
No full textBackground: Data linkage custodians tolerate error rates of ≤0.5%, which still represent 10,000s of records in large datasets. Demographic variables are important covariates in digital health studies, and discrepancies can influence analysis. It is inadequate to simply discard cases with errors, as errors may not arise from the linkage process, but may be inherent in data prior to linkage, and may thus exceed the error rate. Also, removing cases from multiple datasets compounds the impact.
Aims: Develop an approach to detecting, classifying, and correcting demographic data discrepancies in large linked datasets.
Methods: Using demographic variables sex, birthdate, death date from two data linkage studies (ASHLi and PAVLOVA) as examples, methods are presented for defining within- and between-dataset discrepancies in single-record-per-case and multiple-record-per-case datasets. The difference in dealing with categorical (e.g., sex) and date data is illustrated. Methods are presented for resolving:
- partially missing data
- choosing most common option from a value set
- resolving date boundary errors
- using surrounding date information to resolve date conflicts
Results: Our methods minimise the impact of data errors, retaining a significant proportion of cases (depending on the nature of the variables and the number of variables). A SAS macro which automates the work is presented.
Conclusions: While these strategies are not applicable to all demographic variables, our work shows that researchers can improve the quality of their data without having to discard all discrepant cases. Our automation of these processes will further improve access of these strategies to researchers
