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Two recently identified photographs of living Nullarbor barred bandicoot (Perameles papillon) prior to extinction
No full textTwo photographs of living Nullarbor barred bandicoots, Perameles papillon have been identified in the collections of the Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology at the University of Melbourne. The photographs are of captive animals photographed in the 1920s at the University of Adelaide by anatomist Frederic Wood Jones. In addition to one glass slide held by the South Australian Museum archives, these are the only documented photographs known to exist of P. papillon as a living animal, prior to the species’ extinction in the early 20th century
DIY Publishing Toolkit
No full textAre you interested in publishing a book? Whether you’re thinking of writing a memoir, a children’s book, a novel or an anthology, this DIY Publishing Toolkit will set you up for success. The toolkit is enriched by real examples from Australians who have self-published books, and covers the full array of processes from coming up with ideas, to editing and preparing the book contents, to producing, marketing and distributing your book. The guide has been written by four academics from the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland who have extensive experience with writing and the publishing industry, and who together conducted the Community Publishing in Regional Australia research project
Dual boundary-spanning search and open innovation in China: The mediating role of organizational resilience and the moderating role of big data analytics capability
No full textOpen innovation is crucial for achieving high-quality and sustainable business growth. However, it remains unclear how prospective boundary-spanning search and responsive boundary-spanning search impact organizational resilience and open innovation in the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) new normal. Based on the resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities theory, this paper classifies boundary-spanning search into prospective boundary-spanning search and responsive boundary-spanning search to investigates the impact on open innovation and organizational resilience, and analyze the moderating role of big data analytics capability. The empirical study of 293 Chinese smart manufacturing firms indicates that both prospective and responsive boundary-spanning search have an inverted U-shaped impact on open innovation and organizational resilience. Organizational resilience partially mediates the relationships between prospective boundary-spanning search, responsive boundary-spanning search, and open innovation. Moreover, big data analytics capability moderates and flattens the inverted U-shaped relationships between prospective and responsive boundary-spanning search, and organizational resilience. This study explores the intrinsic mechanism of prospective and responsive boundary-spanning search on open innovation through organizational resilience. The findings enrich and expand the research on the antecedents of open innovation
Studies on contemporary China in Indonesia: A snapshot of the current knowledge landscape
No full textIn recent decades, China’s rise as a global economic and political force has sparked significant interest and scholarly inquiry worldwide. Understanding China’s multifaceted impact has become imperative not only for developed nations, which have traditionally spearheaded the study of China, but also for countries in the Global South, which have heightened engagement with China. As China assumes a more prominent role in international affairs, its policies, actions, and cultural influence reverberate globally, necessitating a deeper comprehension of its dynamics and implications
Beyond Traditional Risk Scores: Tackling LS/CMI Offender Misclassifications with Machine Learning
No full textObjectives: This paper investigates the accuracy of offender risk assessment scoring methods. We study the degree of misclassification resulting from the conventional practice of aggregating individual items to derive risk scores and categories. We document which types of offenders are prone to misclassification, particularly in relation to age and gender.
Methods: We use a machine learning algorithm to leverage the rich set of information available in the LS/CMI. Using all 45,535 assessments conducted between 2008 and 2015 in Quebec (Canada), we estimate probabilities from a random forest algorithm to predict individual risks of recidivism over a two-year follow-up. We compare the resulting probabilities to those inferred from the risk scores or categories to document the extent of misclassification. We devise a simple algorithm to construct alternative risk categories that reduce misclassification relative to the LS/CMI total scores and categories.
Results: The probabilities obtained from the random forest approach accurately predict individual probabilities to reoffend. Compared with these predictions, the traditional aggregation of items into risk scores or categories yields substantial misclassification for certain groups of offenders. In particular, we find that the risk associated with older individuals when using the LS/CMI risk categories is overestimated by about 10 percentage points. Our alternative risk categories, devised from our machine learning predictions, successfully avoid such misclassification.
Conclusions: Traditional methods of aggregating items from risk assessments into scores may lead to substantial misclassification, especially for older offenders. Misclassification arises from 1) items not being equally risk-relevant; 2) information collected by the LS/CMI being excluded or overly simplified when constructing scores; and 3) age being omitted from risk scores. Machine learning algorithms avoid these pitfalls and can be used to construct less biased categories
Outcomes of the Fontan Operation in Patients with Ebstein’s Anomaly: Findings from a Binational Fontan Registry
No full textObjectives: We sought to review the outcomes of patients with Ebstein’s anomaly (EA) after the Fontan operation.
Methods: Patients with EA were identified from a large binational registry about the Fontan operation. Data were collected from hospital records, registry data, and clinical correspondence.
Results: Of the 1601 patients who underwent a contemporary Fontan operation from 1991 to 2023, 34 patients had EA. Seven patients (21%) had concomitant congenitally-corrected transposition of great arteries (ccTGA). Prior Starnes procedure was performed in 18 (53%) patients. Survival after Fontan operation in patients with EA was 92% (95%CI: 70%-98%) and freedom from Fontan failure was 80% (95%CI: 53%-92%) at 10 years. Patients with EA had worse long-term survival (p=0.01) after Fontan operation and lower freedom from Fontan failure (p=0.004) compared to other patients with left-ventricle dominance. Patients with EA, who underwent prior Starnes procedure, had 100% survival and freedom from Fontan failure, albeit at a shorter follow-up (median 4.2 years, range 13 days – 17.7 years), with no difference between patients with prior Starnes and patients with tricuspid atresia (p=0.76 and p=0.69, respectively), although comparison was hindered by low numbers.
Of the 7 patients with ccTGA and Ebstein’s anomaly, there were no mortalities, however, 2 patients had Fontan failure at 7.0 and 9.8 years post-Fontan.
Conclusion: Patients with EA have worse long-term outcomes after the Fontan operation, as compared to other patients with left ventricular dominance. Patients with a prior Starnes procedure appear to have good post-Fontan outcomes, although bias may occur due to small numbers
Aligning Consensus Statements: A Harmonised Guide for the Classification and Glycaemic Treatment of T1D, T2D & LADA
No full textMangrove living shorelines: Hybrid approaches, ecological insights, and public perceptions
No full text© 2025 Amanda HsiungCoastal areas are facing increasing threats from the impacts of climate change (i.e., sea-level rise, storms), making nature-based solutions such as mangrove living shorelines critical for coastal resilience. Hybrid approaches that integrate ecological and engineered elements may enhance mangrove survival in eroding environments, but their effectiveness and feasibility remain understudied. This thesis examines how ecologically engineered structures may influence mangrove survival, while considering socio-cultural factors that affect implementation feasibility.
Through field experiments at coastal sites experiencing erosion in Victoria, Australia, and Singapore, I evaluated the role of eco-engineered mangrove pods in facilitating the survival of planted mangrove propagules and seedlings. In Chapter 2, I tested two designs of pods and planted mangroves (propagules and seedlings) inside and onshore of the pods across three sites in Victoria. The effectiveness of the pods differed across sites, likely due to environmental factors such as sediment dynamics and/or the presence of other vegetative species. Following these findings, the pods were modified (in shape and/or configuration) and examined for their ability to match the facilitative processes provided by natural mangroves and for their effectiveness in a tropical context. In Chapter 3, hybrid approaches were compared to planting within the edge of an expanding mangrove forest and bare substrate. All approaches enhanced survival over bare substrate only when seedlings were planted, but only planting onshore of the pods was able to match the survival of the mangrove forest, suggesting that hybrid approaches may not fully replicate facilitative processes provided by natural systems. In Chapter 4, several ecological factors that might influence mangrove survival were manipulated. The pods were effective at enhancing mangrove survival, and planting seedlings, reducing wrack accumulation, and deploying the pods at a higher elevation further increased survival. Findings from all three chapters highlight the importance of identifying site-specific conditions and understanding life-stage-specific survival thresholds when implementing hybrid living shorelines. In Chapter 5, I conducted a public survey in Singapore to understand how public perceptions may affect the implementation of nature-based coastal protection. There was high awareness of potential climate change impacts and high support for nature-based coastal protection. However, they may not necessarily be prioritised over human-made structures, especially if they required trade-offs. Incorporating public perceptions when performing a spatial analysis of existing land use may allow for the prioritisation of coastal areas for nature-based coastal protection.
By integrating ecological insights with socio-cultural considerations, this research provides a framework for assessing hybrid mangrove rehabilitation strategies for coastal protection. The comparison between Victoria and Singapore highlights the need for adaptive spatial planning—balancing environmental suitability with socio-economic constraints. These findings contribute to the broader topic of coastal management, offering evidence-based recommendations for designing site-specific interventions that enhance mangrove resilience in urbanised and eroding coastlines
Conspiracy Theories in Context: A Discursive Analysis of COVID-19 Conspiracy Narratives in Australia
No full text© 2025 Alexander John ShermonCOVID-19-related conspiracy theories prompted considerable social disruption in Australia yet remain relatively under-studied. This thesis uses a particularist-discursive qualitative methodology to analyse the role played by conspiracy theories in the COVID-19 pandemic through four case studies: the national anti-lockdown movement; two right-wing populist political parties, and a pay TV news channel. Taking a criticalist approach that aims to critique harmful ideologies and contribute to a broader project of social justice, it draws on data from YouTube, Telegram, and transcripts of political advertisements and speeches to reveal ideological continuities between the four case studies, and that their conspiracy narratives reflected a Manichean, populist worldview anxious about the loss of traditional Western values. This analysis reveals the complex nature of conspiracy theories, demonstrating how they exhibit discursive equivalences and yet are adapted to local contexts, thus problematising a generalist approach which often obscures these nuances. By showing how conspiracy theories are not monolithic but are adapted and reframed according to their sociopolitical context, the thesis argues for a contextual understanding of conspiracy theories, emphasising their diverse articulations and their specific social and political implications
Maternal Metabolic Health and Mother and Baby Health Outcomes (MAMBO): Protocol of a Prospective Observational Study
No full textBACKGROUND: Metabolic disease is increasingly impacting women of reproductive age. In pregnancy, uncontrolled metabolic disease can result in offspring with major congenital anomalies, preterm birth, and abnormal fetal growth. Pregnancy also accelerates the complications of metabolic diseases in mothers resulting in an increased risk of premature cardiovascular events. Despite the convincing evidence that preconception care can largely mitigate the risks of metabolic disease in pregnancy, there are few data about how to identify the highest-risk women so that they can be connected with appropriate preconception care services. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine the maternal phenotype that represents the highest risk of having adverse neonatal and maternal pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: This will be a prospective cohort study of 500 women recruited in early pregnancy. The primary outcome is a composite of offspring born small for gestational age (SGA) or large for gestational age (LGA) (customized birthweight ≤10th and ≥90th centile for gestational age). Secondary outcomes are (1) composite of adverse neonatal birth outcomes (SGA, LGA, major congenital abnormalities, preterm birth [<37 weeks' gestation]) and (2) composite of new maternal metabolic outcomes (gestational diabetes, diabetes in pregnancy, type 2 diabetes [T2D] or prediabetes; gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia or new essential hypertension after pregnancy; and gestational weight gain ≥20kg or new overweight/obesity at the 12-18 months postpartum visit). A multivariable logistic regression analysis will be conducted to identify candidate predictors of poor pregnancy outcomes due to metabolic disease. From this model, model coefficients and the associated 95% CIs will be extracted to derive the risk score for predicting the delivery of LGA/SGA offspring (primary outcome) and composites of adverse neonatal outcomes and maternal outcomes (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: Seed funding for the project was acquired in November 2022 and subsequent funding was acquired in May 2024. The first participant was recruited on March 23, 2023. At the time of manuscript submission, 402 participants have been recruited. Data analysis has not yet been performed. Results are expected to be published in the first half of 2027. CONCLUSIONS: This is a prospective observational cohort study that intends to identify the metabolic disease risk factors, or combination of factors, that are most likely to cause adverse maternal and fetal health outcomes. These characteristics will be used to develop a risk calculator which will assist in identifying the highest risk women and in triaging them to appropriate services. The study has been approved by the institutional Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/90080/MH-2022). TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12623000037606; https://tinyurl.com/yeytsxtp. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/72542