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Patients with non-English language preference:data from an Australian healthcare facility on reported use of professional interpreting services
Get PDFPatients with a non-English language preference (NELP) require services in a language different from that spoken by English-speaking healthcare practitioners. National guidelines advocate professional interpreting services, but little is known about patients’ perspectives and factors that secure interpreting for them. A total of 1,120 NELP patients in Melbourne were surveyed from 2016 to 2020 in their preferred language. Patients report high awareness and utilisation of free interpreting services, predominantly initiated by healthcare staff rather than themselves. This points to cultural competence among healthcare staff as crucial for them to identify the need for interpreters. Alongside this, some patients rely on family members for linguistic mediation. This may result from patients not (self-)reporting their NELP or from contextual considerations. Amongst the latter are patients’ privacy concerns and a lack of understanding that interpreters are bound to observe ethical principles such as confidentiality and impartiality. These responses underscore the need for explicit explanations from healthcare providers and interpreters to patients about their roles and the protocols they observe.</p
Technology for good? Tencent’s corporate social responsibility, institutional chameleon, and the future of platform economies
Get PDFThere have been global regulatory debates and efforts aimed at holding digital platforms accountable for the public interest. Utilizing mixed methods of documentary research and expert interviews, this article examines how the Chinese digital giant Tencent leverages its adaptive capabilities for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in response to increasingly stringent regulation in China. Specifically, it explores Tencent’s organizational restructuring, including the establishment of the sustainable social value (SSV) division, as well as the accompanying corporate practices and discursive strategies aimed at enhancing its legitimacy. As an exemplar of the “institutional chameleon,” Tencent has deftly navigated regulatory waters through organizational metamorphosis. However, while Tencent’s enhanced CSR initiatives have certainly yielded some social benefits, the SSV initiatives are increasingly emerging as a new business frontier for the company, leveraging its vast infrastructural capacities to capitalize on the very social fabric it purports to support. This underscores the complexities and contradictions inherent in its CSR practices and the significance of the intrinsic logic of digital platforms as a modern business.</p
Improved limit of detection for zoonotic <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> and <i>P. cynomolgi</i> surveillance using reverse transcription for total nucleic acid preserved samples or dried blood spots
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Zoonotic P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi symptomatic and asymptomatic infections occur across endemic areas of Southeast Asia. Most infections are low-parasitemia, with an unknown proportion below routine microscopy detection thresholds. Molecular surveillance tools optimizing the limit of detection (LOD) would allow more accurate estimates of zoonotic malaria prevalence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An established ultra-sensitive Plasmodium genus quantitative-PCR (qPCR) assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene underwent LOD evaluation with and without reverse transcription (RT) for P. knowlesi, P. cynomolgi and P. vivax using total nucleic acid preserved (DNA/RNA Shield) isolates and archived dried blood spots (DBS). LODs for selected P. knowlesi-specific assays, and reference P. vivax- and P. cynomolgi-specific assays were determined with reverse transcription (RT). Assay specificities were assessed using clinical malaria samples and malaria-negative controls. The use of reverse transcription improved Plasmodium species detection by up to 10,000-fold (Plasmodium genus), 2759-fold (P. knowlesi) and 1000-fold (P. vivax and P. cynomolgi). The Kamau et al. Plasmodium genus RT-qPCR assay was highly sensitive for P. knowlesi detection with a median LOD of ≤0.0002 parasites/μL compared to 0.002 parasites/μL for P. cynomolgi and P. vivax. The LODs with RT for P. knowlesi-specific PCRs were enhanced for the Imwong et al. 18S rRNA (0.0007 parasites/μL) and Divis et al. real-time 18S rRNA (0.0002 parasites/μL) assays, but not for the Lubis et al. hemi-nested SICAvar (1.1 parasites/μL) and Lee et al. nested 18S rRNA (11 parasites/μL). The LOD for P. vivax- and P. cynomolgi-specific assays with RT were moderately improved at 0.02 and 0.002 parasites/μL, respectively (1000-fold change). For DBS P. knowlesi samples the use of RT also markedly improved the Plasmodium genus qPCR LOD from 19.89 to 0.08 parasites/μL (249-fold change); no LOD improvement was demonstrated in DBS archived beyond 6 years. The Plasmodium genus and P. knowlesi-assays were 100% specific for Plasmodium species and P. knowlesi detection, respectively, from 190 clinical infections and 48 healthy controls. Reference P. vivax-specific primers demonstrated known cross-reactivity with P. cynomolgi. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings support the use of an 18S rRNA Plasmodium genus qPCR and species-specific nested PCR protocol with RT for highly-sensitive surveillance of zoonotic and human Plasmodium species infections.</p
Integrating the balanced scorecard and enterprise risk management:exploring the dynamics between management control anchor practices and subsidiary practices
Get PDFThis paper analyses the interplay between the balanced scorecard (BSC) and enterprise risk management (ERM) by employing a longitudinal case study of a large energy corporation (Global Energy). In contrast to prior research largely focusing on the ‘why’ question of BSC-ERM integration (i.e., benefits and potential pitfalls), we shift our attention to the ‘how’ question – unpacking processes underlying BSC-ERM integration over time, and the potential difficulties experienced by organisational actors during such processes. At the heart of our empirical findings was a hierarchically arranged management control infrastructure. The BSC served as the management control anchor practice (Ahrens, 2018), which was highly visible, including at the local business unit level. ERM, in comparison, assumed the role of a subsidiary practice struggling to gain visibility and traction, especially at the local level. BSC-ERM integration efforts spurred antagonistic social relationships among different actors, with our case highlighting two key additional factors – organisational structure and common mindset – that were of importance in analysing how BSC-ERM integration played out. Whilst prior work cautions that integration between ERM and other control practices may suppress alternative and potentially useful perspectives on risk, we found no such ill effects. Instead, ERM as a subsidiary control practice significantly increased its impact in Global Energy when integrated with the more established and impactful BSC anchor practice. We also extend prior literature on management control anchor practices by showing how ERM, as the subsidiary practice, did not simply execute predefined scripts determined by the anchor practice, but substantially influenced and changed the BSC anchor practice. The literature generally assumes that the anchor practice remains stable. However, in our case, input from ERM managers and the ERM practice led to significant changes in BSC performance evaluation.</p
Why do ‘so’ much behind the wheel? How obsessive-compulsive symptoms, mindfulness, and anxiety influence distracted driving behaviours
Get PDFDriver Distraction Behaviour (DDB) contributes significantly to motor vehicle crashes, psychological factors playing a crucial role in its occurrence. This study aimed to examine the impact of Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms (OCS), mindfulness, and driving-related anxiety on DDB, as well as the roles of Perceived Safety (PS), Perceived Risk (PR), and Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC). A total of 539 participants (53.6 % female; mean age = 39.6 years, SD = 8.5, range = 21–66 years) completed an online survey assessing self-reported DDB and the six aforementioned factors. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to examine the relationships among psychological factors, while one-way ANOVAs assessed the effects of individual characteristics on psychological variables. As expected, the SEM results revealed significant positive correlations between OCS, driving-related anxiety, PS, PBC, and DDB, while mindfulness showed a significant negative correlation with DDB. PR had no significant association with DDB. These findings suggest that mindfulness practices may help reduce DDB, whereas anxiety may exacerbate it. OCS, a prevalent negative psychological symptom, may impair mindfulness and, in turn, increase DDB. One-way ANOVA results showed that gender, age, education level, and driving characteristics (i.e., driving age, driving frequency, and annual mileage) significantly influenced some latent variables. With the fast pace of modern life, more individuals engage in non-driving-related tasks while driving. Therefore, further research is needed to explore how mindfulness interventions and strategies to alleviate OCS and anxiety can mitigate DDB and reduce traffic risks. Additionally, traffic safety agencies should implement targeted education programs to address drivers’ overestimation of their control over DDB, reinforce awareness of its risks, and ultimately decrease its prevalence.</p
A geochemical survey of the Antas Valley, Sardinia:Medieval metallurgy and modern slag recycling?
Get PDFGeochemical surveys of the Antas Valley in Sardinia, Italy, have revealed significant zinc and lead concentrations along the Antas River floodplains, suggesting the presence of medieval ore-processing workshops which are otherwise hard to detect. While the zinc concentrations were found to be dispersed and probably related to the erosion of zinc-rich dolomite, the lead concentrations were more localised on the banks of the river, suggesting an anthropogenic origin. Three large concentrations of lead were found to coincide with deposits of black glassy slag, a by-product of ore processing. Analysis of the slag revealed a high lead content (around 75%) and very low zinc content, which along with historical research suggests either medieval ore processing for silver and/or 19th-century slag recycling. The near absence of zinc in the slag supports the 19th-century recycling hypothesis, as this period saw an increased demand for silver, lead and zinc and the development of processes to extract it from older slag. Further research, including dating of the slag and excavation of the lead-enriched areas, is required to confirm the origin of the slag deposits.</p
Five Top Issues for Young Voters in The 2025 Federal Election:Insights from The Australian Youth Barometer
Get PDFDrawing from CYPEP’s Australian Youth Barometer and other recent surveys of young people, this report summarises the key issues identified by young Australians that we believe should inform political parties’ policy platforms in the run-up to the 2025 Australian federal election. Numerous surveys in Australia have identified a variety of issues that overlap in significant ways. For example, The Salvation Army’s 2021 Social Justice Stocktake asked Australians to reflect on social justice in their communities. The top five issues Australians wanted addressed were mental health (53.9%), housing affordability (52.4%), alcohol and drug misuse (42.6%), family violence (35.4%), and homelessness (35.1%). According to Mission Australia, young people aged 15–19 identified the most important issues in Australia today as the cost of living, climate change and the environment, violence, safety and crime, and mental health. Our own survey of young people aged 18–24, the 2024 Australian Youth Barometer, found the top five issues that young people think needed immediate action in Australia were affordable housing options for young people (73%), employment opportunities for young people (52%), climate change (40%), race relations and racial inequality (32%), and gender inequality at work and in public places (29%).This paper focuses on the following five issues identified by young people across several surveys:1. Housing affordability2. Employment and finances3. Climate change4. Inequality and discrimination5. Health and mental health∗In our discussion of each issue, we highlight the significant findings that should inform any policy responses
Rural-urban migration and household transportation expenditures:a causal exploration method using Indonesian panel data
Get PDFDespite extensive studies on the interaction between transport and land use, the literature has largely overlooked whether exposure to significantly denser environments after relocating from low-density settings influence mobility outcomes. This study addresses this gap by proposing a causal framework to estimate the impacts of rural–urban migration on household transportation expenditures. Using the longitudinal Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), Difference-in-Differences (DiD) models are estimated to a balanced panel dataset, comprising households that relocated to urban areas (exposed group) and similar households that migrated to rural areas (comparison group) identified through Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The results suggest statistically insignificant reduction in the share of transportation expenditures attributed to the cumulative exposure to dense and mixed-use urban environments.</p
Complex regimes – regulatory overlap in Australia’s cloud services sector
Get PDFRobust cyber security protection is essential to cloud services and government and private sector customers. In Australia, cloud services have undergone a significant regulatory reset, in part due to reforms to the critical infrastructure (‘CI’) legislative framework, including amendments to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (Cth) (‘SOCI Act’). Shifts in industry practice, such as the increased uptake of cloud services by businesses and government agencies and the advent of new security threats, have accentuated these changes.While Australian governments and regulators have implemented numerous legislative, policy, and guidance instruments to bolster cyber security measures, many of these attempts are not well-aligned. The outcome is an unclear and difficult-to-navigate regulatory ecosystem. We argue this complex regulatory landscape will likely result in increased costs, variable compliance, and decreased confidence in providing cyber security services unless careful attention is paid to mitigating the detrimental effects of ‘regulatory overlap’.This article identifies and critically examines key elements of existing statutory, regulatory and guidance instruments imposing cyber security and CI obligations on cloud services providers, as well as agencies and institutions holding key regulatory roles. These elements are examined in the context of cloud services providers subject to direct legal obligations, such as being responsible entities for CI assets and/or systems of national significance under the SOCI Act and other cloud services entities that form part of the supply chain for other providers with such obligations
Robust and efficient estimation of potential outcome means under random assignment
Get PDFWe study efficiency improvements in randomized experiments for estimating a vector of potential outcome means using regression adjustment (RA) when there are more than two treatment levels. We show that linear RA which estimates separate slopes for each assignment level is never worse, asymptotically, than using the subsample averages. We also show that separate RA improves over pooled RA except in the obvious case where slope parameters in the linear projections are identical across the different assignment levels. We further characterize the class of nonlinear RA methods that preserve consistency of the potential outcome means despite arbitrary misspecification of the conditional mean functions. Finally, we apply these regression adjustment techniques to efficiently estimate the lower bound mean willingness to pay for an oil spill prevention program in California.</p