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Exploring the experiences and perceptions of young people’s recreational nitrous oxide use
No full textPurpose: This exploratory pilot study investigated the experiences and perceptions of young people who use N2O recreationally. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative research conducted in Australia with young people investigating this topic in detail. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore young people’s perceptions, motives and experiences of N2O use by exploring the positive and negative effects of N2O, motives for use, practices and methods and suggested advice to help define targeted harm reduction messages. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were recruited via hard copy posters, social media advertisements and snowball sampling. Seven in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people aged between 18 and 25 years who had used N2O on at least ten occasions. The interview transcripts were analysed thematically. The study was completed in accordance with COREQ for qualitative research. Findings: The findings identified four overarching themes about N2O use: the nature of N2O use; the appeal of N2O; influences on N2O use; and perception of risk and harms of N2O use. Originality/value: Young people in the study described their experiences as being largely pleasurable. However, several identified negative impacts, although harms, were primarily disregarded. Exploration of N2O effects alongside other substance use highlighted how N2O is a unique substance and should be considered as such when developing harm reduction strategies.</p
An Expert Opinion on the Management of Frailty in Heart Failure from the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance National Taskforce
No full textApproximately 50% of all adults with heart failure (HF) are classified as frail. Frailty is a clinical state of 'accelerated ageing' that complicates management and results in adverse health outcomes. Despite recommendations for frailty assessment in HF guidelines, its implementation into routine clinical practice has been slow. Further, evidence to inform models of care and pharmacological treatment for individuals with HF who are classified as frail is lacking. The complexity of management underscores the importance of tailoring models of care that can improve the focus on frailty through multidisciplinary care teams. Frailty can be reduced in some cases through the comprehensive geriatric assessment model of care, integrating treatment pillars such as exercise, nutrition, social engagement and support networks, and optimised medication use. A national agenda for action on frailty in the context of HF is needed to advance policy, practice, education, and research improve health outcomes for individuals affected. In November 2023 the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) facilitated a national workshop on frailty and HF with key experts. This has led to the development of a frailty and HF national taskforce with the aim to address major priorities and unmet needs. This statement is first step for the taskforce in implementing a national agenda for the management of frailty in HF. Here we outline key considerations for policy, practice, education, and research in Australia.</p
"I might be in this community online, but I’m in a room on my own” Exploring the use of digital technology in intervention for perpetrators of domestic and family violence
No full textDomestic and Family violence (DFV) is a global issue that significantly impacts individuals and communities. Decades of research, policy and service provision has attempted to stop DFV, typically by engaging with victim survivors to support their safety. This approach created a systemic lens where victim survivors of DFV are more publicly visible than the perpetrators of violence. To address this, specific policy, research and service provision was introduced in the 1980s and has developed over recent decades that focuses specifically on perpetrators of DFV. This area of focus involves targeted perpetrator intervention, which are services and programs that engage directly with perpetrators of DFV, commonly referred to as Domestic & Family Violence Perpetrator Programs (DFVPPs). DFVPPs are typically group-based programs, delivered in-person at service sites for mostly male participants. In Australia the two main providers of targeted perpetrator intervention are corrective services, meaning attendance to programs is a mandatory component of sentencing, and non- government community-based organisations.The research and practice landscape of perpetrator intervention has not widely embraced digital and online methods of intervention, unlike other intervention areas like healthcare and mental health services. The digital intervention literature reflects the trend in the broader DFV sector, of focusing on digital intervention with victim survivors of violence, rather than perpetrators of violence. The evidence-base for digital perpetrator intervention is limited, with only a few studies investigating the use of technologies like computer simulation, virtual reality and interactive web-modules with perpetrators of DFV. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were emerging online perpetrator intervention programs in Australia, both in corrective services and non- government organisations. However, the catalyst for online programs occurred in 2020 when the pandemic, and the subsequent public health restrictions, meant that in-person programs were stopped, and services had to provide remote methods of service delivery. For the first time, the perpetrator intervention sector widely accepted the use of digital and online methods of service delivery, with several programs in New South Wales (NSW) delivering online versions of their programs.This thesis draws primarily on a qualitative approach to explore the use of digital perpetrator intervention and the experiences of practitioners and perpetrators in programs. The methodological framework for this research incorporates phenomenological methods of inquiry, with a constructionist feminist lens. Quantitative data provided a breadth of understanding about the extent and nature of digital perpetrator intervention in NSW. Together, the data enabled a detailed understanding of digital perpetrator intervention to create evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice.This thesis argues that digital perpetrator intervention programs offer unique opportunities for expanding the reach of services, and risk assessment and management, by gathering more information about the personal context of perpetrators compared to in-person program delivery. The expansion of service is linked to programs being situated in the homes of perpetrators for the first time. This thesis presents findings that indicate online programs have higher completion rates compared to in person programs (43.7% compared to 36%). Online programs also create opportunities for certain groups of perpetrators, who experience geographical and social isolation; an amplified sense of stigma and shame, and limited access to resources and support services (Gray et al 2020, Helps et al 2023, Walter & Chung 2020). For example, a key finding from this thesis is that online programs engaged a higher proportion of female offenders in corrective services compared to in person programs (8.2% of sample compared to 0.8%).Additionally, this thesis captures the significant role of relationship-based practice in therapeutic intervention with perpetrators and highlights the differences and similarities in how the facilitator/participant and peer relationships are formed and managed in digital intervention. However, barriers limit the effectiveness of DFVPP, most notably, poor technical infrastructure in programs has a significant impact on the quality of digital programs. To innovate perpetrator intervention with technology the current funding model needs to shift to include longer-term, sustainable funding, to foster program innovation and development.There is a need to innovate and develop targeted perpetrator interventions as they play an important role in stopping DFV. Digital programs can extend the reach of current programs and provide unique opportunities for therapeutic intervention and risk management.</p
Marine pilots and the choreographic work of seaport mobilities
No full textResearch on cargomobilities has emphasised containerisation, algorithmic management, and the cost-driven calculus of logistics firms. Less visible is the necessary human labour that coordinates cargomobilities in challenging environments—for example, those workers who manoeuvre ships at seaports. In response, we take to the water to learn how ports function as spaces of everyday mobilities work. We follow a day in the working life of marine pilots—a specialist, locally-based workforce who board foreign flagged ships to dock them safely. Their labour process is, we argue, a form of choreography: executing motions in correspondence with other workers, infrastructures, vessels, and environmental forces. Increasingly volatile oceanic conditions require technical knowledge of ships and guiding equipment, plus deep place-based knowledge of port idiosyncrasies and responsiveness to elemental forces—working with rather than against swell and wind, tides, channels, and weather. While global shipping becomes ever more cutthroat in pursuit of efficiencies, marine pilots choreograph mobilities with respect for earthly forces and the bulk and power of ships and seas, and thus perform the necessary infrastructural labour that offsets risk. Amidst worsening environmental hazards, we offer choreography as an analytical frame to centre the work, workers, collaboration, and more-than-human interactions underpinning mobilities.</p
Ups and Downs on the ESG Journey
No full textThis thesis is presented in the form of three studies addressing the impact of ESG activities on firm risk and value. Each study explores both the downside risk and upside potential of ESG activities. As part of ESG, this thesis also examines exposure by firms to the physical and transitional aspects of climate change and climate risk. The results show that ESG activities overall, and especially social activities in S&P 500 firms, reduce downside risk and upside reward, resulting in increased firm value. Examining the physical and transitional aspects of climate change exposure, the results show that increases in these forms of risk encourage environmental innovation in firms, leading to decreases in downside risk although upside rewards are limited. However, this relationship weakens when climate policy uncertainty is high. The physical risk of extreme heat events brought about by climate change leads to changes in operational performance by reducing labour productivity and increasing electricity expenses. For depreciation, the results contradict with the arguments. However, engaging in environmentally innovative activities, such as building green buildings or acquiring clean technology, counters the negative effect of extreme heat exposure for firms. The findings from this thesis provide important evidence for managers, policy makers, and governments to consider when supporting and funding green investments to maintain firm value, employment, and economic growth.</p
Are nest boxes a viable conservation management strategy as supplementary habitat for greater gliders?
No full textSouthern greater gliders (Petauroides volans) and other arboreal mammals in Australia and worldwide face escalating threats from habitat loss, climate change and stochastic events. In particular, the decline of hollow-bearing trees poses a substantial threat to these arboreal mammals and other hollow-dependant species. Therefore, there is a growing focus on proactive and reactive measures to aid in the conservation of these species. Nest boxes have been implemented extensively as a conservation management strategy to counteract the widespread decline of old-growth forests. Although widely implemented, nest box programs often lack robust experimental design, and concerns have arisen regarding the thermal properties of the boxes being inadequate for the greater glider, a heat-susceptible species. This thesis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of nest boxes installed as a supplementary habitat for southern greater gliders and other arboreal mammals at Seven Mile Beach National Park (SMBNP), NSW.34 nest boxes were installed and 16 tree hollows that were known to be used by greater gliders were monitored to investigate their use and determine their thermal properties. The activity patterns and use of the nest boxes and hollows were monitored via motion sensor cameras placed facing the entrance of the dens to allow for continuous monitoring. 53% of the nest boxes in this study remained unused. Five of the nest boxes were used by the target species, southern greater gliders, and 11 boxes were used by common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and a sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) also used two separate nest boxes. It took 6-months for a box to be first used by a greater glider, however, two boxes were occupied by brushtail possums within 20 hours. Den sharing between two greater gliders was observed in both nest boxes and the hollows, plus den swapping between two arboreal mammal species was observed in multiple nest boxes. A larger percentage of the photos taken from hollows depicted birds compared to the photos taken from nest boxes. Furthermore, it was observed on multiple occasions that birds would alter the entrances of the nest boxes and hollows, although they were ultimately never used as nests. One nest box was overrun by european honeybees (Apis mellifera), and an observation was recorded where the bees caused a greater glider to abandon a nest box.All of the nest boxes used by greater gliders were in an area of known low abundance of the species. Logistic regression models were used to determine that if nest boxes were placed in areas with fewer natural tree hollows, there was a higher likelihood of use by greater gliders. Where the nest boxes were placed in a tree (height above ground, orientation within the tree, canopy cover, and DBH of the tree) did not alter the probability that a nest box was used by a greater glider. There was a strong peak in activity at the entrance of the nest boxes and hollows directly after sunset, with a less distinct peak as the gliders returned to the before sunrise. The average time of activity around the entrance of the nest boxes and hollows ranged between 42 min to 195 minutes after sunset and 107 to 222 minutes before sunrise, depending on the season.Temperature data loggers were placed within the nest boxes and hollows to analyse the internal thermal environment. It was found that both nest boxes and hollows experienced internal temperatures above 30 °C, including when they were occupied by southern greater gliders. The results from linear mixed models used in this thesis demonstrated that the maximum internal temperatures of nest boxes were higher than hollows during hotter days and lower than hollows during cooler days. However, it was modelled that both nest boxes and hollows have a lower internal temperature than the external ambient temperature on hotter days. Data showed that the ambient external temperature had a greater effect on the internal ambient temperature of the nest boxes, with tree hollows having less fluctuation throughout the day. However, it was concluded that tree hollows took longer to decrease in temperature as compared to the nest boxes. It was found that the orientation of nest boxes and hollows in this thesis had a considerable effect on the internal temperature. For both the nest boxes and hollows, the westerly-facing dens had the greatest maximum internal temperatures. It was determined through logistic regression models that as the daily temperature increased, there was a higher probability that a southern greater glider would not return to the same den the following night. The results from models in this thesis also predicted that the ambient humidity had a lesser but significant influence on the use of nest boxes by greater gliders.The key findings of this study indicate that nest boxes can provide a supplementary habitat for greater gliders in areas lacking high-quality tree hollows. However, it remains essential to preserve hollow-bearing trees, as greater gliders exhibit a preference for natural tree hollows when they are available. Moreover, should there be an increased reliance on nest boxes for greater gliders and other arboreal mammal conservation management in the future, further research is needed to improve the thermal properties of the boxes, especially as climate change becomes a growing concern.</p
Topology Design Algorithms for Maximizing Flows in Multi-Hop UAVs Networks
No full textThanks to the rapid advancements in wireless communications, sensors, and electronics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become more and more popular in communication systems. In particular, motivated by their versatility, low deployment cost, and networking capability, a swarm of UAVs can construct a multi-hop wireless network to connect remote or isolated ground users to the Internet, and thereby improve the coverage of existing communication networks. In addition to improving the capacity and coverage of communication networks, UAVs can also provide in-situ computing services. For example, UAVs can act as mobile servers in Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) systems. Moreover, with the advancement of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology, UAVs can host Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) to process incoming traffic that belongs to different users.Henceforth, this thesis aims to address topology construction problems where it considers placing UAVs to create a wireless backhaul that meets the following objectives: (i) maximum flow, or (ii) maximum computed flow. Objective (i) concerns the maximum amount of traffic between one or more source-destination pairs. In this respect, this thesis considers two scenarios. The first scenario contains homogeneous quad-rotor UAVs. The problem at hand is to determine the hovering location of a set of quad-rotor UAVs to create a multi-hop wireless backhaul that maximizes the flow rate between a source and destination ground node pair. In this regard, it outlines a mixed integer linear problem (MILP) to select the optimal location of UAVs and determine the amount of flow on each constructed link. Further, it presents a heuristic algorithm to place UAVs according to their distance to the destination node. Moreover, a distributed solution based on Gibbs sampling is also introduced to allow each UAV to learn its location independently. The simulation results show that the proposed heuristic algorithm and the distributed solution achieve respectively 85% and 72% of the optimal maximum flow.</p
‘An urgent thing to do right now’: everyday learning and environmental remittances among Vietnamese university students in Australia
No full textAustralia has a flourishing international education business to support its growth, but air travel associated with international student movement generates a significant amount of carbon emissions. These environmental impacts are often neglected in universities’ sustainability reports and plans as this perspective might negatively impact their reputation as advocates for a sustainable future for all. Acknowledging this impact, this research focuses on the potential for international education to transfer innovative mindset and behaviours about environmental protection from the host country back home as the international students move across borders and argues that this can be conceptualised as a form of social remittance. I conducted a photovoice research with twenty-four Vietnamese students, including international students or international alumni in Australia and three studying in Vietnam. Findings from this small-scale participatory research suggest that even when Australian universities do not focus in their curriculum on environmental knowledge or encouraging environmentally aware behaviours, they do so indirectly by bringing the students here and exposing them to new kinds of everyday knowledge and behaviours. Furthermore, having learned new behaviours, students then find ways to talk about them to family and friends at home.</p
Consumer Engagement, Empowerment, and Wellbeing in Online Mental Health Communities: An Empirical Investigation
No full textTechnology-mediated social platforms now offer exponential opportunities for consumer interactions across various aspects of life. This has led to the emergence of online consumption communities, where consumers engage with each other, service providers and professionals based on shared interests. Consumer Engagement (CE) has become a significant concept in marketing literature, shaped by motivational drivers and impacting various outcomes. In commercial settings, CE is crucial for businesses and brands, influencing key performance indicators. However, there is limited research on CE in consumer-oriented health contexts, particularly in Online Mental Health Communities (OMHCs). This thesis aims to address this gap by examining CE in OMHCs, focusing specifically on its dimensions and outcomes. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Psychological Empowerment Theory (PET), the research model proposes three dimensions of CE (Social Engagement, Platform Engagement, and Individual Engagement) and two outcomes (Empowerment and Wellbeing). All dimensions and subdimensions in the research model were identified using a comprehensive literature review and thematic analysis. Using a positivist, quantitative approach, the study validates the hypotheses through data collected from online questionnaires (n=274) and analysed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that CE in OMHCs is influenced by Platform Engagement, Social Engagement, and Individual Engagement, with Platform Engagement having the strongest relationship with CE. Additionally, CE positively impacts Empowerment and Wellbeing, with Empowerment playing a crucial role in generating Wellbeing in OMHCs. Extending SET and PET, this study contributes to the literature by highlighting the CE-Empowerment-Wellbeing nexus and extends the current understanding of the dimensions and outcomes of CE in OMHCs. This study offers managerial implications for OMHC managers, moderators, and digital mental health practitioners, offering suggestions for platform design, content moderation, and social engagement strategies. OMHCs can provide accessible and affordable mental health support, reducing the burden on the healthcare system and contributing to the greater wellbeing of communities and society. This research also has implications for digital mental health policy in Australia, specifically enhancing consumer and provider trust in digital mental health services, offering insight into CE, Empowerment, and Wellbeing in the digital mental health context.</p
The Geomorphic Evolution of Oceanic Volcanoes in the Southwest Pacific
No full textThis thesis examines the post-eruptive geomorphic evolution of oceanic volcanoes in the southwest Pacific, specifically, the Tasmantid Seamount Chain, Norfolk Island, and its surrounding shelf. These volcanoes are compared with the Lord Howe Seamount Chain and geomorphic processes are investigated at both regional and local scales. Volcanoes erupting in a submarine environment form a seamount; if they build above sea level, they develop into a volcanic island. Over time, a volcanic island will be eroded to form a flat-topped truncated submerged volcano known as a guyot, except in lower latitudes when protected by a carbonate reef.Geomorphic mapping is undertaken on nineteen volcanoes in the Tasmantid Seamount Chain. High-resolution bathymetric data reveals the geomorphic detail of the northern volcanoes (~30 Ma), whereas lower-resolution data enables morphometric analysis of the southerly volcanoes, including the three southernmost guyots (~6 Ma). Volcanoes erupted sequentially as the Australian plate moved northwards. Subsidence rate of each volcano varies based on age and type of supporting lithosphere; faster on oceanic (Tasman seafloor) and slower on continental lithosphere (Zealandia). Marine erosion is estimated to have truncated the guyots at a rate of 2.45 kmMyr-1. A conceptual model of the volcano evolution within the Tasmantid Seamount Chain from the Oligocene to the present is generated, illustrating that the evolution of each volcano is the product of erosion, carbonate accretion in the Mid-Miocene and drowning in the Late-Miocene.</p