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Workforce impacts of subsidised mental healthcare:evidence on supply, geographic distribution, and earnings
No full textTo improve access to affordable mental healthcare, Australia introduced a national, publicly-funded program in 2006 to subsidise psychological services, which were previously privately funded. Theory suggests that by increasing demand, subsidies should incentivise providers to expand supply, either by entering the workforce or by increasing hours. However, expansion depends on supply constraints, particularly in non-metropolitan areas with pronounced workforce shortages. This study examines the program’s effects on the size, work hours, demographic composition, location, and earnings of psychologists. Using an event-study design with administrative tax records and census data, we find that the program: (1) increased the supply of psychologists, with minimal effect on average hours worked per psychologist; (2) increased the likelihood of psychologists working in non-metropolitan areas, supporting broader access to mental healthcare; and (3) raised psychologists’ annual personal incomes.</p
A novel method for assessing chemical leaching from surface water-pavement interactions applied to recycled-tyre reuse products
No full textGlobally, recycling of otherwise waste materials into new products is desired. End-of-life tyres are increasingly incorporated into new pavement materials but leaching of entrained chemicals from such products is not well quantified. Chemical concentrations in runoff from pavements may pose environmental and human health risks. High liquid–solid ratio, batch-agitated leaching is standard practice for assessing leachability and hazards of chemicals-of-potential-concern in contaminated soil and wastes but is not reflective of important exposure scenarios and may mislead. A new static surface leaching procedure (SSLP) is introduced that is more representative of chemical leaching from pavement reuse materials whilst in contact with rainfall/runoff water. SSLP was evaluated over 2–14 d intervals against batch-agitated leaching for two rubberised pavement products containing 10-fold different proportions of crumbed end-of-life tyres. Although, batch leaching showed high mass removal of 1,3-diphenylguanidine (1,3-DPG, 34%) and hexamethoxymethylmelamine (HMMM, 30%), both batch- and SSLP-leached concentrations of 1,3-DPG, HMMM and N1-(4-methylpentan-2-yl)-N4-phenylbenzene-1,4-diamine quinone (6PPD-Q) were below ECOSAR-predicted toxicity thresholds for fish and daphnids. SSLP highlighted differences in chemical leachability based on rubber content of pavement products and offers a method applicable to other scenarios, such as PFAS leaching from concrete/asphalt pavements. The SSLP was shown to approximate one-dimensional leaching from the surface of the pavement and to be dominated by diffusive processes, thus yielding a simple repeatable approach
Hybrid network governance:methodologies of studying online and offline networking in global climate education policy
No full textPolicy networks connect policy actors across spaces and organizations to advance policy agendas. While much is known about forms of network governance, there is still a lack of research to date on how networks work across online and offline spaces, and the ways that this hybridity of networking arrangements may be influencing policy agendas. In the field of climate communication and education, a range of actors are involved in the network governance of United Nations policy programs through both online and offline networks. In this paper, we examine policy actors’ online and offline hybrid network governance activity. We compare social network analysis of Twitter/X data with broader network ethnography analysis to consider how the focused inclusion of online spaces in network analysis can contribute to a different understanding of the role and functionality of actors in network governance. This paper highlights the value of integrating network ethnography and social network analysis to understand hybrid network governance and actor dynamics in global education policy.</p
Photographing Biblical Modernity:Frank Scholten in British Mandate Palestine
No full textPhotographing Biblical Modernity offers the first in-depth appraisal of the photographic archive of Frank Scholten (1881–1942), a queer Dutch photographer and Catholic convert whose work in Palestine between 1921 and 1923 provides a remarkable lens on the intersecting dynamics of modernity, religion, colonialism, and visual culture. Drawing on over 26,000 photographs, it situates Scholten’s work within transnational religious, colonial, and nationalist networks. Employing a relational methodology, Photographing Biblical Modernity treats photography not merely as visual documentation but as a site of layered cultural encounters shaped by the movements of people, ideas, and ideologies. It interrogates biblical visuality, the performance of indigeneity, intercommunal relations, and the gendered politics of labour and nationalism. Through interdisciplinary engagement with visual culture, Middle East studies, and gender theory, this book considers how Scholten’s positionality offers insights into both the granular details of Palestinian society and broader macro-historical shifts during a period of profound transition. Rather than framing Palestine as a biblical relic, Scholten’s photographs reveal a socially and politically complex society under early British Mandate rule. Ultimately, this book positions Scholten’s archive as a vital historical source for understanding the layered and contested narratives that have defined Palestine’s modern history.
Teachers who stay in hard-to-staff schools:school responses to the teacher shortage crisis
No full textIn this paper, we report on some early findings from a project that explores the experiences of teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools in Australia. We provide an in-depth account of the experiences of teachers who remain at schools characterised by unfilled vacancies, high staff turnover and a limited casual relief workforce. These experiences are often overlooked because most studies concerning teacher shortages typically analyse such issues through a labour market lens, concentrating on supply and demand and the extent and causes of the shortages. We use a work-storied approach that includes data from purposeful conversations, walking interviews, work-shadowing and journals, to examine the impact of teacher shortages on schools with low scores on the index of community socio-educational advantage across rural and metropolitan. This research explores how school leaders and teachers who remain in their roles respond to the challenges of teacher shortages. It examines the strategies they respond to these issues, focusing on how they adapt and modify organisational structures and norms to manage the impacts. We demonstrate how teacher shortages cause ripple effects across schools that create challenges beyond filling vacancies: the hard-to-staff schools in our study must simultaneously manage high teacher turnover, attrition, induction, out-of-field teaching, teacher workload capacity, and student behaviour issues. Ultimately, the current workforce conditions force strategic responses to unfilled vacancies and high teacher turnover in ways that intensify the already high-pressure working conditions for teachers and school leaders.</p
Can global talent management be good for society?
No full textCurrent approaches to global talent management (GTM) tend to prioritize high-potential and high-performing employees and performance-focused goals realized inside organizational boundaries, with relatively little attention to societal impacts. We argue for an inclusive approach to GTM and focus on the social context for GTM and outcomes for society at large. We identify four types of GTM and draw direct links between GTM and social cohesion. Finally, we identify actionable recommendations for firms to implement in order to maximize the benefits of GTM and to reach beyond work settings to have a positive impact on the communities in which they operate.</p
University student disclosures of crime, violence, and trauma:findings from a survey of criminology educators across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textThis study explores the findings from a survey-based questionnaire investigating the prevalence and predictors of student disclosures of crime, violence, and trauma to criminology educators working at Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand universities. Responses show student disclosures are common, with educators receiving an average of three to four disclosures in the preceding two years. While gender did not predict the number of disclosures received, teaching subjects discussing domestic and family/whānau and/or sexual violence increased the likelihood of disclosures. The study’s findings can help inform the development of university interventions, systems, and resources to improve support for students and staff, enhancing classroom and campus safety.</p
Analytics of Learner-Centered Feedback:A Large-Scale Case Study in Higher Education
No full textFeedback plays a crucial role in guiding students towards achieving their learning goals. The conceptualization of feedback has shifted from teacher-centered to learner-centered approaches, underscoring the evolving role of educators and students in educational settings. Despite the growing emphasis on learner-centered feedback frameworks, there remains a gap in understanding how these frameworks are implemented in actual teaching practices. This case study addresses this gap by examining the alignment of current feedback practices with learner-centered feedback principles in the Computer Science School at an Australian higher education. We gathered feedback data from the Master of Data Science and Bachelor of Computer Science program that were communicated through the Learning Management System. The dataset included feedback from 4959 students, provided by approximately 200 instructors across 95 courses. To ensure a representative sample, 10% of feedback entries from each course were analyzed, resulting in 16,408 feedback sentences. The findings reveal a pronounced emphasis on the sensemaking dimension, particularly in evaluating students’ strengths and weaknesses to help them understand their performance. Feedback patterns varied by student performance, with high achievers receiving affirmations, medium achievers receiving actionable suggestions, and low achievers receiving comprehensive evaluations. Feedback in the Master's program prioritized future impact by offering actionable guidance for advanced tasks, while the Bachelor's program emphasized fostering agency through active student engagement and participation.</p
Cortical stability and chaos during focal seizures:insights from inference-based modeling
No full textObjective. Epilepsy affects millions globally, with a significant subset of patients suffering from drug-resistant focal seizures. Understanding the underlying neurodynamics of seizure initiation and propagation is crucial for advancing treatment and diagnostics. In this study, we present a novel, inference-based approach for analyzing the temporal evolution of cortical stability and chaos during focal epileptic seizures. Approach. Utilizing a multi-region neural mass model, we estimate time-varying synaptic connectivity from intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) data collected from individuals with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Main results. Our analysis reveals distinct preictal and ictal phases characterized by shifts in cortical stability, heightened chaos in the ictal phase, and highlight the critical role of inter-regional communication in driving chaotic cortical behaviour. We demonstrate that cortical dynamics are consistently destabilized prior to seizure onset, with a transient reduction in instability at seizure onset, followed by a significant increase throughout the seizure. Significance. This work provides new insights into the mechanisms of seizure generation and offers potential biomarkers for predicting seizure events. Our findings pave the way for innovative therapeutic strategies targeting cortical stability and chaos to manage epilepsy.</p
Relational Cybercrimes:A New Way Forward in Classifying Cybercrimes
No full textCybercrimes are classified as either cyber-dependent or cyber-enabled. We present an alternative classification by introducing a cluster referred to as relational cybercrimes—which includes offences, such as romance scams, cyberstalking, sextortion, and radicalization—hoping this classification may lead to prevention breakthroughs.</p