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Evaluating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing services:A collective case study in Far North Queensland
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Access to a coordinated range of strengths-based, culturally appropriate community-led primary mental health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing services is critical to the mental health and wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and is a policy commitment of the Australian government. However, complex and fragmented service networks and a lack of standardised service data are barriers in identifying what services are available and what care they provide.METHOD: A standardised service classification tool was used to assess the availability and characteristics of Social and Emotional Wellbeing services for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in two regions in Queensland, Australia.RESULTS: We identified a complex pattern of service availability and gaps in service provision. Non-Indigenous non-governmental organisations provided a significant proportion of services, particularly 'upstream' support, while Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations were more likely to provide 'downstream' crisis type care. Most services provided by the public sector were through Child Safety and Youth Justice departments.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate the complexity of current networks, and show that non-Indigenous organisations are disproportionately influential in the care received by young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, despite community goals of self-determination, and government commitment to increasing capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to support their local communities. These findings can be used to support decision making and planning.</p
Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021:a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
No full textBackground: Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. Methods: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model—a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates—with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality—which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. Findings: The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2–100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1–290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1–211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4–48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3–37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7–9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. Interpretation: Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.</p
Green Grass in Urban Parks Are a Necessary Ingredient for Sedentary Recreation
No full textPublic health research tends to focus on park amenities that promote physical activity as an indicator of healthy community design. The leisure disciplines argue for a broader approach highlighting the physiological, psychological, and social benefits of park-based activities. We hypothesize that parks offering avenues for active recreation may be better utilized if they offer opportunities for relaxation before/after physical activity, as a standalone leisure activity, or other amenities for adults accompanying active children to relax and socialize. To test this hypothesis, in May 2016, we observed sedentary recreation (such as reading, lying down, or sitting) in a centrally located park based on colonial landscapes within the City of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia using the validated System for Observing Play and Recreation in a Community (SOPARC) protocol; and an accompanying high-resolution landcover dataset to explore correlates of sedentary recreation. Specifically, we were interested in the demographic characteristics, the time, the place within the park, and landcover features of the places where people engaged in sedentary recreation. We found that 68% of adults visiting the park were engaged in sedentary recreation which peaked between 12-2 p.m. We also found that sedentary recreation was significantly associated (p<0.05) with a greater percent of grass in an area. Our findings are consistent with the propositions of attention restoration and socialization theories of greenspace utility. We conclude that parks should be designed to offer adequate amenities for leisure in addition to physical activity perhaps through the provision of adequate greenspaces.</p
The EMPOWER Occupational e-Mental Health Intervention Implementation Checklist to Foster e-Mental Health Interventions in the Workplace:Development Study
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Occupational e-mental health (OeMH) interventions significantly reduce the burden of mental health conditions. The successful implementation of OeMH interventions is influenced by many implementation strategies, barriers, and facilitators across contexts, which, however, are not systematically tracked. One of the reasons is that international consensus on documenting and reporting the implementation of OeMH interventions is lacking. There is a need for practical guidance on the key factors influencing the implementation of interventions that organizations should consider. Stakeholder consultations secure a valuable source of information about these key strategies, barriers, and facilitators that are relevant to successful implementation of OeMH interventions.OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a brief checklist to guide the implementation of OeMH interventions.METHODS: Based on the results of a recently published systematic review, we drafted a comprehensive checklist with a wide set of strategies, barriers, and facilitators that were identified as relevant for the implementation of OeMH interventions. We then used a 2-stage stakeholder consultation process to refine the draft checklist to a brief and practical checklist comprising key implementation factors. In the first stage, stakeholders evaluated the relevance and feasibility of items on the draft checklist using a web-based survey. The list of items comprised 12 facilitators presented as statements addressing "elements that positively affect implementation" and 17 barriers presented as statements addressing "concerns toward implementation." If a strategy was deemed relevant, respondents were asked to rate it using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from "very difficult to implement" to "very easy to implement." In the second stage, stakeholders were interviewed to elaborate on the most relevant barriers and facilitators shortlisted from the first stage. The interview mostly focused on the relevance and priority of strategies and factors affecting OeMH intervention implementation. In the interview, the stakeholders' responses to the open survey's questions were further explored. The final checklist included strategies ranked as relevant and feasible and the most relevant facilitators and barriers, which were endorsed during either the survey or the interviews.RESULTS: In total, 26 stakeholders completed the web-based survey (response rate=24.8%) and 4 stakeholders participated in individual interviews. The OeMH intervention implementation checklist comprised 28 items, including 9 (32.1%) strategies, 8 (28.6%) barriers, and 11 (39.3%) facilitators. There was widespread agreement between findings from the survey and interviews, the most outstanding exception being the idea of proposing OeMH interventions as benefits for employees.CONCLUSIONS: Through our 2-stage stakeholder consultation, we developed a brief checklist that provides organizations with a guide for the implementation of OeMH interventions. Future research should empirically validate the effectiveness and usefulness of the checklist.</p
Artificial Intelligence-Defined Wireless Networking for Computational Offloading and Resource Allocation in Edge Computing Networks
Get PDFThe advent of the Internet of Everything and new Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) services has resulted in an exponential growth in data demands at the network's edge. To meet the stringent performance requirements of evolving 5G (and beyond) applications, deploying dedicated resources closer to mobile users is essential. Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) is a promising technology for bringing computational resources closer to users. However, the distributed and limited MEC resources must be effectively optimized to maximize the number of mobile users benefiting from low-latency MEC services at each time slot in highly congested, large-scale, and dynamic wireless network scenarios. In this research, we propose and evaluate a novel Artificial Intelligence-Defined Wireless Networking (AIDWN) approach that builds on conventional Software-Defined Networking (SDN), implementing a new AI-defined application plane for computational offloading and resource allocation in MEC-enabled wireless networks. The AIDWN approach implements a deep reinforcement learning framework and deep neural networks that dynamically adapt optimal computational offloading and wireless resource allocation decisions while considering the handover, mobility, and coordinated resource allocation challenges in highly dynamic and mobile multi-MEC server environments. Compared to recent state-of-the-art proposals, the proposed AIDWN demonstrates a substantial performance improvement, utilizing more than 90% of MEC resources per time slot across all MEC servers. It also accommodates significantly more mobile users in highly congested wireless network scenarios. We identified various future research directions highlighting the potential of the AIDWN approach in simplifying the management of next-generation wireless networks.</p
A Federal Budget to celebrate:Is this the moment Labor self-destructs?
Get PDFThis year’s Federal Budget is a grifter’s paradise. It sets up all of socialism’s worst economic ideas in a contest against the Reserve Bank of Australia to see who is right: the socialist Treasurer or the Reserve Bank Governor – a person who knows our economy cannot thrive on lollipops and rainbows alone.This is a Budget to celebrate because it will see the end of the worst government in Australian history. And it couldn’t come soon enough
Supporting Adolescents Bereaved by Suicide or Other Traumatic Death:The Views of Counselors
No full textAdolescents bereaved by suicide and other traumatic death may experience strong grief reactions and increased risks of mental health problems and suicidal behaviour. As timely access to professional help can be critical, it is essential to understand how counselors perceive suicide bereavement in adolescents and how they work with this population. This study aimed to examine the perspectives of counselors (N = 34). Eleven participated in an individual semi-structured interview and 23 others in group interviews. Thematic analysis yielded three themes: (1) Building a relationship with the bereaved adolescent, (2) Offering support tailored to the needs of the grieving adolescent, and (3) Offering strengths-based and sustainable support. Counselors’ skills, attitudes, content-related expertise, and approaching the adolescent’s grief within their developmental context were deemed essential for building a therapeutic relationship and offering viable support. The findings may inform good practices in counseling bereaved adolescents to facilitate positive mental health outcomes.</p
A Review on AI-based Modeling of Empathetic Conversational Response Generation
No full textEmpathy is a complex psychological concept consisting of affective and cognitive aspects. It plays a crucial role in human communication. Dialogue systems are designed to interact with people in natural language. Integrating empathy into dialogue systems is valuable to enhance user experience, although it is a challenging task. Existing studies in Empathetic Conversational Response Generation (ECRG) have made notable advancements. However, their focus has mainly been on specific facets of empathy, such as mimicking the user’s emotions and integrating commonsense knowledge to enhance cognitive empathy. This leaves opportunities for further exploration in areas such as enhancing self-other awareness. This paper will conduct a comprehensive review of empathy theories to bridge this gap, offering a theoretical understanding of empathy in various dimensions. Additionally, it critically reviews existing studies on ECRG, including algorithms, methods to address affective empathy and cognitive empathy, datasets, and evaluation methods. By highlighting the technical challenges and opportunities, this review provides guidance for researchers on AI research for modeling empathy in dialogue systems by investigating empathetic response generation for conversational AI modeling
Irreconcilable knowledges?:A way forward
No full textThis article considers the realm of knowledge in early childhood education (ECE); what knowledge is valued, and how different types of knowledge position children and educators. To this end, two different examples of practice informed by different types of knowledge are provided: one from an educator working in a long day care service (Duncan) and a second, a national assessment of young children’s development, the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The two examples reflect practices that one might see in Australian ECE settings, and due to governance and regulations, both illustrations could be evident in the same context. Using a dialogic approach we provide an insight into the requirements of the everyday work of educators and the disparate and often irreconcilable understandings of knowledge that inform their everyday work. We conclude with some suggestions for more equitable approaches and identify some of the challenges of attempting to do this.</p
'Foley, Clare Bridget (1913–1998)'
No full textClare Bridget Foley (1913–1998), solicitor, was born on 9 September 1913 at Ipswich, Brisbane, fifth of six children and youngest of three daughters of Queensland-born parents Edward Joseph Pender, solicitor, and his wife Katherine, née Nolan. A daughter of two Irish pioneering families in Queensland, Clare grew up in a home where there was a strong commitment to education and Catholicism. She initially attended the nearby St Mary’s Convent School before becoming a boarder at Stuartholme Convent of the Sacred Heart (1924–29), Toowong, Brisbane, where she was a diligent student and consistently won prizes. In 1930 she passed the senior certificate in English, French, intermediate Latin, mathematics, modern history, and ancient history