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Schools are often the first point of contact for young refugees resettling in Australia and play a significant role in establishing meaningful connections to Australian society and a sense of belonging in Australia (Olliff in Settling in: How do refugee young people fair within Australia's settlement system? Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melbourne. http//:. Accessed 21 June 2010, ; Gifford et al. in: Good Starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds: Promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne: La Trobe Refugee Research Centre. . Accessed 4 June 2011, ; Sidhu and Taylor in: Educational provision for refugee youth in Australia: Left to chance? Journal of Sociology, 43(3), 283-300, ). However, too little is known of how refugee youth encounter school in their new country. This article draws upon individual narratives of young former refugee's experiences of high schools. It explores the stories told by the young people of being identified as different and of negotiating ways of belonging in schools both academically and socially. It argues that it is how the school positions the newly arrived refugee students within mainstream school culture that opens up or restricts opportunities for inclusion in all aspects of school (in culture and pedagogy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper describes the rationale for and development of an innovative mental health service for people aged over 65 years living in Northern and Eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Conclusion: The Healthy Ageing Service (HAS) was established in July 2020 to provide care for people aged over 65 years experiencing mild-to-moderate mental health concerns. It embraces a prevention and early intervention model of care. It provides primary consultation and brief intervention, secondary consultation, and capacity building to the primary healthcare sector. This innovative service is a Commonwealth-funded partnership between two tertiary mental health service providers that incorporates the recommendations from two major Royal Commissions. It demonstrates a service that acts as a bridge between primary and specialist mental health care, thereby extending mental health services to target the 'missing middle' and is potentially a model for mental health service provision throughout Victoria and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, there have been several efforts in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to increase the opportunities and improve the experiences of women cyclists in recreational and racing contexts. However, cycling in Victoria and Australia more broadly continues to be a male dominated sport. This study incorporates a digital ethnography of two Melbourne-based women's cycling Facebook groups including 11 interviews with stakeholders over the period of 2017–2018 to analyse how women and girls are harnessing social media to create counter sports spaces to enhance women's cycling. The paper explores the emergence of the "virtual clubhouse" which operates as a digitally networked counterpublic, providing a space for women and gender diverse cyclists to connect, coproduce and engage in knowledge sharing practices, and build a more inclusive culture for cycling that challenges dominant, mainstream narratives of women's sport. The "virtual clubhouse" addresses a gap in the physical bicycle landscape in which cycling and cycling knowledge (including bicycle maintenance) is largely mediated by men and cycling clubs are configured as masculine spaces within Australia. This research adds further depth into a specific localised network of women cyclists to consider how physical and online sports cultures and communities are intertwined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) commonly affects people of working age, yet there is limited data regarding the return-to-work experience in this cohort. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of survivors currently working after completion of radiation therapy and to explore potential facilitators and barriers to working after treatment.Methods: A cross-sectional, single-institutional study was undertaken at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a comprehensive cancer center in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Eligible participants were 18 to 65 years old at diagnosis, were employed at or within the 3 months before diagnosis, and had completed curative treatment for HPV-associated OPC ≥4 months before enrollment. Participants completed a paper-based survey to assess baseline demographics, employment status, and quality of life (QOL; Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Head and Neck). Open-ended questions explored factors affecting return to work. Associations between current employment status and various disease, treatment, and demographic variables and with QOL were examined. Free-text items were analyzed by summarizing content analysis.Results: Of 93 participants approached, 68 responded (73.1%). Mean age was 54.1 years (range, 39-64 years), and 89.7% were male. Most participants (67.6%) had stage II disease and were treated with chemoradiation (85.3%). Mean time after treatment was 2.6 years (range, 0.3-9.1 years). Fifty-eight of 68 participants (85.3%) were working at enrollment; median time to return to work was 6.0 months (interquartile range, 4-10 months); 45 (77.6%) were in the same role and 35 (60.3%) worked the same number of hours. Ten participants were not working, 3 had retired, 5 reported persistent and significant treatment toxicity preventing employment. Survivors currently working reported higher physical, functional, and global QOL scores. Access to leave and support from treating doctors were facilitators for return to work, whereas fatigue was frequently reported as a barrier to returning to work.Conclusion: With time, the majority of participants with HPV-associated OPC will return to work after radiation therapy. Attention to symptom management and support from the workplace may enable more successful return to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Building adaptive reuse plays a critical role in emissions reduction and supports global climate protection. Thus, the designing of future buildings with embedded adaptive reuse potential is a useful criterion for sustainability. This paper describes the development of a new rating tool known as adaptSTAR, which offers holistic and unified design criteria suitable for assessing the adaptive reuse potential of future buildings. The findings show that criteria can be identified and weighted according to physical, economic, functional, technological, social, legal and political categories to calculate an adaptive reuse star rating. In addition, this paper reports on the first stage of the research methodology used in the initial development of the rating tool and concludes with some preliminary observations from 12 selected successful case studies in New South Wales (NSW) and Melbourne, Australia. The use of adaptSTAR in designing future buildings will lead and help promote low carbon built environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose |!|#8211; Career programmes within secondary school curriculum can impact on a young person|!|#39;s sense of direction and meaning in life. The purpose of this paper is to report on an evaluation that was conducted in 2009 of the careers programmes in one secondary college in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The research team utilised a multi-method approach collecting 273 surveys and undertaking both focus groups and interviews, ensuring the voices of young people were at the centre of the work. Findings |!|#8211; Innovative careers and transition programmes create opportunities for young people to plan for their future. Similarly the absence of established careers programmes can compound the disadvantage that some students experience. The findings evidence how important it is for schools to support inclusive classrooms that enable young people to make informed decisions about their career pathways. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The research findings were used to form a model of good practice and highlight the transformational impact of career and transition programmes for young people. The current research explores student knowledge, confidence, attitudes and perceptions while they are still at school. A longitudinal study, tracking these same young people as they progress to tertiary education and/or employment, would enable more definitive evidence on actual transitions and the actual outcomes experienced by young people. Originality/value |!|#8211; This paper is of value to the education sector as it looks to respond to the need to develop a more seamless approach to young people making successful transitions to further education and/or employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For young people with refugee backgrounds, establishing a sense of belonging to their family and community, and to their country of resettlement is essential for wellbeing. This paper describes the psychosocial factors associated with subjective health and wellbeing outcomes among a cohort of 97 refugee youth (aged 11–19) during their first three years in Melbourne, Australia. The findings reported here are drawn from the Good Starts Study, a longitudinal investigation of settlement and wellbeing among refugee youth conducted between 2004 and 2008. The overall aim of Good Starts was to identify the psychosocial factors that assist youth with refugee backgrounds in making a good start in their new country. A particular focus was on key transitions: from pre-arrival to Australia, from the language school to mainstream school, and from mainstream school to higher education or to the workforce. Good Starts used a mix of both method and theory from anthropology and social epidemiology. Using standardized measures of wellbeing and generalised estimating equations to model the predictors of wellbeing over time, this paper reports that key factors strongly associated with wellbeing outcomes are those that can be described as indicators of belonging – the most important being subjective social status in the broader Australian community, perceived discrimination and bullying. We argue that settlement specific policies and programs can ultimately be effective if embedded within a broader socially inclusive society – one that offers real opportunities for youth with refugee backgrounds to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the spatial frames that are mobilised in the discourse and practice of border policing in the Australian context and the ideological content in which those frames are embedded. On the one hand, a deterritorialised frame positions unwanted migrants as a global threat from beyond. On the other, a territorialised frame enables the possibility of sovereign territorial defence. Neither of these frames, I contend, adequately captures contemporary techniques of border policing which increasingly open borders to global market ideology in the very act of their defence. Nor do they capture the strategic opportunities that exist across different places and scales to resist sovereign logics of control. The paper drills down to the level of the city and the experience of asylum seekers in Melbourne in order to further highlight the limits of simplistic spatial frames. I show that both in local sites and at territory's edges, border policing is indicative of a new terrain of sovereign practice. Accordingly, I present an analytical and normative case for a multidimensional approach to spatial framing. I argue for theoretical openness to spatial metaphors that assist in the tasks of empirically investigating and politically unsettling technologies of contemporary border control. Este articulo investiga los marcos espaciales que se han puesto en marcha en el planteamiento y la practica de vigilancia de la frontera en el contexto australiano y contenido ideologico, en los que se han incluido aquellos marcos. Por un lado, un marco de desterritorializacion situa a los migrantes indeseados mas alla de una amenaza global. Por el otro, un marco territorializado habilita la posibilidad de una defensa de soberania territorial. Ninguno de esos marcos, yo sostengo, capta adecuadamente las tecnicas contemporaneas de la vigilancia de frontera, que progresivamente abre fronteras a la ideologia del mercado global al mismo momento de su defensa. Tampoco captan las oportunidades estrategicas que existen a traves de lugares y escalas diferentes, para resistir las logicas soberanas de control. El articulo va hasta el nivel de la ciudad y la experiencia de los buscadores de asilo en Melbourne, para resaltar mas aun los limites de los marcos espaciales simplistas. Demuestro que tanto en los sitios locales, como en los bordes del territorio, la vigilancia de frontera es un indicativo de una practica soberana de un nuevo terreno. Por consiguiente, presento un caso analitico y normativo para un enfoque multidimensional, a una enmarcacion espacial. Yo sostengo una apertura teorica, a las metaforas espaciales que colaboran con las tareas de la investigacion empirica y las tecnologias politicamente desestabilizantes del control de frontera contemporaneo. [image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the data from a sample of women converts to Islam residing in Melbourne, Australia, and the difficulty they face in accessing mosques. Although conversion requires structure and support through the performance of religious rituals, Muslim women converts are hindered in their ability to freely access and enjoy mosques. This is despite historical freedom for women to access the Prophet's mosque. It appears that the trend to exclude women from mosques has been imported into the Australian context due to the strong ethnic identification of mosques with immigrant communities that are used to greater degrees of sex segregation than is generally practiced in Australia. The paper briefly reviews the role of the mosque in Muslim community life and its importance for new converts in facilitating their transition as a source of support after conversion. After examining the pattern of attendance at the various mosques in the greater metropolitan area, the paper reviews the historical debate over women's presence in the mosques; analyses the challenges of gender discrimination posed by culture, ethnicity and exclusion; and relates it to the hardship for new women converts to Islam in Australia, prompting some of them to a passive boycott. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Master planned estates have grown in number Australia and internationally as a favoured form of development in new and infill estates. This paper explores the use of legal entities known in the state of Victoria as owners' corporations to hold communal assets in private ownership for the exclusive use of those living in master planned estates. The privatization of assets that would normally be held by municipal government has been associated by some with heightened conflict in estates, greater costs for residents and increased separation from the larger community. This paper seeks to investigate the motivations and attitudes of both local government planners and developers in utilizing forms of private collective ownership in residential estates in a major city of Australia, Melbourne. This empirical investigation demonstrates that developers generally utilize these ownership structures in order to provide a different, but not necessarily better, standard of facilities as a means of market differentiation. Planners, on the other hand, are more diffident in their endorsement of privatized community ownership and demonstrate a degree of concern about their changed relationship to residents in such estates. The research suggests that issues relating to this choice of ownership of community assets have not been fully considered by local government, particularly in terms of protecting the long-term interests of residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goldrush colony of Victoria, Australia, was a favoured destination for aspirational emigrants from nineteenth-century Britain. Yet the persistence of high rates of infant mortality blighted the happiness of many first and second generation immigrant families alone in a new land. Drawing on birth, death and inquest records this paper interrogates the experience of infant death amongst the poorest families in the capital city popularly known as 'Marvellous Melbourne' during the second half of the nineteenth century. Although few infants died alone, the familial and community networks in which they were enmeshed were not always committed to their survival. While the paper argues that there was a hierarchy of value which determined the degree to which the death of a child would be welcomed or mourned, it also contests popular notions that evil baby farmers and unfeeling mothers were a major cause of infant death. ☆ This paper derives in part from research undertaken for a project funded by the Australian Research Council. The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of co-researchers Professors Janet McCalman and Ruth Morley, and research assistants Cecile Trioli and Jo Townsend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Privileged' Jews include those prisoners in the camps and ghettos who held positions which gave them access to material and other benefits. Subject to extreme levels of coercion, these victims were compelled to act in ways that have been judged as both self-serving and harmful to fellow inmates. Such situations, which exemplify what influential theorist Lawrence Langer terms 'choiceless choices', are the chief concern of Primo Levi's paradigmatic essay on the 'grey zone'. In light of these key conceptualizations of the ethical dilemmas of Holocaust victims, the paper analyses the representation of 'privileged' Jews in several videotestimonies recorded at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre (JHMRC) in Melbourne, Australia. It will be shown that judgements of victims in extremis cause considerable problems for attempts to testify to the complex situations and experiences of 'privileged' Jews. The role of the interviewer is a crucial factor in this, particularly when interviewers are themselves Holocaust survivors. The paper reveals that while it might be argued that moral evaluations of 'privileged' Jews should be suspended, judgements are often imposed on Holocaust testimonies in various ways and have a significant impact on their content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1990s, urban planning in Melbourne changed from prescriptive regulation to a place-based performance framework with a focus on existing or desired 'urban character'. This paper is a case study of a contentious urban project in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy: a highly valued place characterised as an irregular and transgressive mix of differences: between building types, functions, forms, heights and people. Contrasting conceptions, experiences and constructions of 'character' are explored from the viewpoints of residents, architect/developer and the state. To what degree does the regulation of 'character' open or close the city to creative innovation? Can it become camouflage for creative destruction? How to regulate for irregularity? The paper concludes with a discussion of theories of place (Massey vs Heidegger) and the prospects of concepts such as habitus (Bourdieu) and assemblage (Deleuze) for the interpretation of a progressive sense of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a recent resurgence in Australian spatial planning has been superseded by a resort to infrastructure to address urban problems. The paper uses case studies of the Melbourne and South East Queensland (Brisbane) metropolitan regions to chart the renewal of new spatial planning, after a period of neglect. This paper then shows this spatial planning renewal has given way to a new emphasis on urban infrastructure planning as the primary mode of intervention in these cities. The infrastructure turn raises important questions about the spatial planning and infrastructure of cities within a new era of global strategic challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports the findings of survey research recently completed in Melbourne, Australia, among a sample of 455 club and rave festival patrons. This research aims to provide a clearer account of the prevalence of drug driving within such settings in Melbourne, as well as identifying relevant ‘predictors’ of this drug driving. Just under half of the sample (48%) indicated that they had driven a motor vehicle within four hours of consuming an illicit substance at least once in the past year; 22% of respondents reported driving while ‘knowingly intoxicated’ in the previous year. Fifteen percent reported such behaviour ‘several times’ or more in this time. Relatively permissive attitudes towards drug driving, coupled with higher than average prevalence of drug driving in one's peer group, were found to be significant predictors of drug driving. So too was the reported frequency of the use of cannabis and ecstasy, and the propensity to use these substances in ‘rave’ and ‘party’ settings. Given the levels of drug driving revealed in this study, the paper closes with a series of recommendations regarding the design and delivery of more effective anti-drug-driving strategies within rave and club settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved understanding of both community attitudes toward tourism and host–guest interaction is vital for the sustainable development of tourism. However, there are significant research deficiencies and gaps in these two related research areas. This conceptual paper looks into these glaring research gaps through a review of literature and attempts to provide solutions suggested by an ongoing research project being conducted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In particular, while this paper addresses the impacts of personality and ethnicity on community attitudes toward tourism and points to the urgent need for a well-established theoretical framework in order to understand and predict host–guest interaction, it also highlights the above issues in the context of the urban–rural fringe, the bordering region connecting neat ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic information systems (GIS) are a rapidly evolving technology that has recently been integrated into undergraduate and postgraduate learning. GIS is also a multidisciplinary technology that has important relevance beyond its traditional disciplinary homes. This paper describes an initiative developed by the Department of Geomatics at the University of Melbourne, Australia, to create multimedia-based self-learning modules for teaching GIS to undergraduate and postgraduate students. The modules are designed to complement rather than replace existing approaches to learning such as formal lectures, practical laboratory assignments and major project requirements. The learning modules have been developed using Macromedia Director and are delivered interactively via the Internet. This paper examines the pedagogical issues of learning that accompany technological advancement and practical issues of module development. It discusses results from preliminary student evaluations and examines the broader learning opportunities associated with flexible delivery mechanisms such as the Internet. Further details and access to all modules are available at http:// www.geom.unimelb.edu.au/gisweb/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper provides a synopsis of the current regulatory and institutional arrangements that pertain to the urban water and wastewater sector in Australia. A short and selected institutional history of the urban water sectors in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne is outlined, followed by an analysis of the relative effectiveness of the institutional structures in enabling the sector to respond to the challenges faced by the sector in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hospital grounds in Melbourne, Australia, before World War I resembled imposing residential sites with grand mansions surrounded by shrubberies, circular drives and tennis courts. By World War II hospitals had become multi-storey buildings surrounded by car parks and grass. Although there have been numerous studies that link the changing built environment of hospitals to social, medical and architectural narratives, there has been little emphasis on the impact of these changes on the experience of the hospital as a place, and its identity as an institution. The broader meanings for staff and patients are not explored. This paper then investigates the outdoor grounds of hospitals as places before World War II in Melbourne, Australia. This analysis illuminates a hitherto neglected aspect of hospital history that not only enriches an understanding of this period but provides insights into the role of outdoor grounds that has implications for twenty-first century hospitals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper uses an auto-ethnographic approach to map how two Melburnians of Anglo-Indian heritage make sense of their belonging through connections to cities within the South Asian diaspora, in particular, Lahore, Kolkata and London. As diasporic writers of mixed descent working within the disciplines of geography and visual culture, we use food and images of public space as entry points to explore our everyday experiences as translocal subjects who inhabit several spaces simultaneously. The exploration of such stories of intercultural encounter is interesting and significant in the field of diaspora studies because as South Asians we were historically an ‘out-of-place’ group of mixed descent in a colonial context, a community without a regional home in independent India/Pakistan, and an imagination that we were entitled to a home in Britain and Australia by virtue of our whiteness and Anglo-ness. Our stories provide a nuanced understanding of the dominance, power and privilege of whiteness in colonial and post-colonial contexts and an insight into how mobility impacts on our sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction and Aims. In Australia, people who inject drugs (PWID) commonly report the use of benzodiazepines (BZDs). This paper explores the emerging use of alprazolam among PWID in Melbourne, Australia. Design and Methods. This study reports on 3 years of data collected through the Victorian Illicit Drug Reporting System (2008-2010). Structured interviews were conducted with 451 PWID and analysed using odds ratios and χ2-tests for trends over time. Results. While the proportion of PWID reporting recent BZD use remained stable over time, the proportion reporting alprazolam to be their most commonly used BZD fluctuated, peaking in 2009. Alprazolam users were significantly more likely to report using illicit BZDs and to report recent BZD injection compared with users of other BZDs. Alprazolam use was associated with the sale of drugs for cash, but not with other criminal activities. Discussion and Conclusion. The fluctuations in alprazolam use over time may be reflective of medical practitioners ceasing to prescribe alprazolam in response to reports of associated harms; however, this may in turn be driving the illicit alprazolam market. While the data do not indicate a clear association between alprazolam use and harms, considering the potential severity of associated harms and the association between alprazolam use and anterograde amnesia, patterns of alprazolam use among PWID should be closely monitored. Potential changes to prescribing practice should consider unintended consequences, such as replacement with other BZD types, or illicitly obtained BZDs.[Horyniak D, Reddel S, Quinn B, Dietze P. The use of alprazolam by people who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:585-590] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital map products are routinely used by land managers and policy makers for environmental decision-making. This paper assesses the ability of such products to detect woody vegetation, particularly remnant patches which serve as critical landscape structures. Comparisons are made between two map products (NCAS and a SPOT-based classification) and a high spatial resolution reference dataset, across contrasting landscapes. Spatial analysis and statistical association tests are used to determine the ability of these map products to produce accurate measurements of woody vegetation. It is demonstrated that landscape structure is fundamental in determining the fitness-for-use and function of the digital map products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis exploring self-reported measures of transport disadvantage and how these relate to social exclusion and well-being in Melbourne, Australia. A sample of 535 individuals sourced from a household survey explores ratings of 18 types of transport problems. The questionnaire also measured social exclusion represented in five dimensions including income, unemployment, political engagement, participation in activities and social support networks. Well-being was also measured adopting standard psychological measures of ‘Satisfaction with Life’, ‘Personal Well-being Index,’ ‘Positive Affect’ and ‘Negative Affect’. A factor analysis of self-reported transport difficulties identified four statistically significant sub-scales (‘transport disadvantage’, ‘transit disadvantage’, ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ and ‘rely on others’) which together account for 57% of the variance in the responses. Analysis established that those with high self-reported transport problems were more likely to be located in fringe and remote parts of the city and lived in areas where it was not possible to walk to a local shop. However all groups made an average number of trips per day (except the ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ group which make fewer trips) suggesting that self-reported transport disadvantage is unrelated to realised mobility. Analysis further established that only the ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ group was associated with social exclusion and that they also had the lowest values of well-being compared to other groups. Overall findings confirm the methodological concerns associated with the use of self-reported measures of transport problems as a basis for defining transport disadvantage. The majority of those with high self-reported transport problems did not travel less than the survey sample as a whole and they were not associated with social exclusion. However the ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ group was the exception, displaying a significantly higher association with social exclusion and lower well-being. The findings suggest which aspects of transport disadvantage are likely to be of greater concern for social policy. A concentration of research and policy on issues and social groups associated with the ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ factor would be more effective in reducing social exclusion. Transport problems associated with this group including physical access to transport, knowing where to go and feeling safe from theft or attack when travelling may deserve higher priorities for attention. In addition those associated with the ‘Vulnerable/Impaired’ factor including older retired females and those who are more likely to be looking after someone with an illness or disability are clearly a high risk group and should warrant positive discrimination in transport and social policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Melbourne is facing a severe drought having its 12th consecutive below average rainfall year. Water authorities have been forced to impose rigorous water restrictions including voluntary per capita water use targets after more than 20years of unrestricted water supply. The current severe drought and dwindling water resources have accelerated the use of alternative water sources including domestic rainwater. There is a large variation in average annual rainfall in the Greater Melbourne area ranging from 1050mm in the east to 450mm in the west. Hence, there is a significant difference in the tank size required in the west and the east of Melbourne to meet a similar demand and to provide the same supply reliability. The paper presents a novel methodology and a relationship for optimal sizing of rainwater tanks considering the annual rainfall at the geographic location, the demand for rainwater, the roof area (catchment area) and the desired supply reliability. The characteristic of the developed dimensionless curve reflects these variables and paves the way for developing a web based interactive tool for selecting the optimum rainwater tank size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Melbourne''s bus network serves two-thirds of the city''s population but, until recently, has generally had very poor service levels. The Victorian government has recently embarked on programs to (1) extend a network of premium trunk routes to address a ‘mass transit’ agenda and (2) upgrade local routes to ‘safety net’ minimum service levels, to address a ‘social transit’ agenda (reducing transport disadvantage and social exclusion). The paper reviews recent experience from the service upgrades to assess how effective they have been in terms of these agendas. Analysis of patronage growth trends and the impacts of these upgrade programs suggest reasonable minimum service levels are required to attract new riders in times of modal shift, and are effective at building social capital. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports on a research project undertaken with members of a community garden in Port Melbourne, Australia, to investigate the ways in which such a facility contributes to the enhancement of health, wellbeing and contact with nature for urban dwellers. Ten members from an urban community garden were interviewed using qualitative semi-structured questions exploring perceptions of health and wellbeing benefits associated with membership. The garden was felt by members to be a sanctuary where people could come together and escape daily pressures, a source of advice and social support, and a place which gave them a sense of worth and involvement. Members also identified spiritual, fitness and nutritional benefits arising from participation in the community garden. It is evident even from this small qualitative study that community gardening offers many health and wellbeing benefits to members. This study provides a basis for the benefits of community gardens in Australia to be taken into account by policy-makers and practitioners to enhance urban community health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While previous research on fast food access and purchasing has not found evidence of an association, these studies have had methodological problems including aggregation error, lack of specificity between the exposures and outcomes, and lack of adjustment for potential confounding. In this paper we attempt to address these methodological problems using data from the Victorian Lifestyle and Neighbourhood Environments Study (VicLANES) - a cross-sectional multilevel study conducted within metropolitan Melbourne, Australia in 2003. Methods: The VicLANES data used in this analysis included 2547 participants from 49 census collector districts in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. The outcome of interest was the total frequency of fast food purchased for consumption at home within the previous month (never, monthly and weekly) from five major fast food chains (Red Rooster, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hungry Jacks and Pizza Hut). Three measures of fast food access were created: density and variety, defined as the number of fast food restaurants and the number of different fast food chains within 3 kilometres of road network distance respectively, and proximity defined as the road network distance to the closest fast food restaurant. Multilevel multinomial models were used to estimate the associations between fast food restaurant access and purchasing with never purchased as the reference category. Models were adjusted for confounders including determinants of demand (attitudes and tastes that influence food purchasing decisions) as well as individual and area socio-economic characteristics. Results: Purchasing fast food on a monthly basis was related to the variety of fast food restaurants (odds ratio 1.13; 95% confidence interval 1.02 - 1.25) after adjusting for individual and area characteristics. Density and proximity were not found to be significant predictors of fast food purchasing after adjustment for individual socio-economic predictors. Conclusion: Although we found an independent association between fast food purchasing and access to a wider variety of fast food restaurant, density and proximity were not significant predictors. The methods used in our study are an advance on previous analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with broadcasters of two distinctive Hebrew radio programmes in Melbourne. The two programmes are part of a weekly Jewish programme broadcast in Hebrew, English and Yiddish. They operate within the setting of a local ethnic community radio station, a manifestation of Australian multicultural policies whereby nearly 63 different ethnic and language groups produce radio programmes for their distinct communities. Focusing on the Israeli broadcasters who present the Hebrew radio programmes, I examine how different political identities and a sense of being away from Israel are translated into the programmes they make. Despite their shared cultural background, Israeli immigrants have different personal and collective readings of the past in Israel and of present life in Melbourne. The weekly programmes in Hebrew operate as a cultural site in which political and migratory experiences interact and intervene to produce migratory mediascapes in which contradictory interpretations of identity are played out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All but three universities in Australia have departments or schools of psychology. In the older universities (e.g., the universities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Western Australia), the psychology departments evolved from philosophy departments in the late 1920s and early 1930s. There was a rapid expansion of universities in the 1960s, which led to the establishment of many new psychology departments. In a further expansion in the late 1980s, many former institutes of advanced education were afforded university status or were merged with existing universities. In these newer universities, psychology had been taught primarily to students in nursing and education, but these academic areas later evolved from “service” departments into larger and broader psychology departments. There is a strong system of accreditation of psychology departments, a function that is provided by the Australian Psychological Society. The APS conducts reviews of all departments of psychology on a 5-year cycle. This system of accreditation was significantly strengthened in the mid-1990s. Graduates who wish to become members of the APS must have completed their degrees within an accredited program (or the equivalent for applicants from other counties). Australian psychology programs are of three types. A 3-year degree in psychology, often combined with other subjects such as teaching, is a popular major, but does not prepare psychologists. A 4-year program, with a fourth-year honours program requiring a thesis and study of ethics and practical applications, is required for those who wish to practise psychology. Graduate (postgraduate) degrees are also offered to prepare psychologists. Each university has some autonomy in the structure of the programs, and emphasis varies. Structure of courses also varies somewhat. Distance education and on-line courses, although still controversial in Australia, are rapidly increasing in availability. More typically, courses are taught using lectures, group discussions, papers, presentations, and exams. L'ensemble des universités australiennes, à l'exception de trois, ont un département ou une école de psychologie. Dans les universités les plus anciennes (p. ex., les Universités de Sydney, de Melbourne et d'Australie de l'Ouest), les départements de psychologie sont nés des départements de philosophie à la fin des années 1920 et au début des années 1930. Il y a eu une expansion rapide des universités dans les années 1960, ce qui a mené à l'établissement de plusieurs nouveaux départements de psychologie. Lors d'une autre expansion survenue à la fin des années 1980, plusieurs des anciennes institutions d'éducation avancée se sont vues conférer le statut universitaire ou ont été jointes à des universités existantes. Dans ces nouvelles universités, la psychologie a été enseignée en premier lieu à des étudiants en nursing et en éducation. Cependant, ces domaines académiques se sont plus tard développés en département de «service» à l'intérieur des départements plus larges de psychologie. Il existe un fort système d'accréditation des départements de psychologie, une fonction qui est octroyée par la Société australienne de psychologie (SAP). La SAP effectue des révisions de tous les départements de psychologie à tous les 5 ans. Ce système d'accréditation était significativement robuste vers le milieu des années 1990. Les étudiants gradués qui souhaitaient devenir membre de la SAP devaient avoir obtenu un diplôme dans un program accrédité (ou l'équivalent pour les candidats des autres pays). Les programs australiens de psychologie sont de trois types. Un diplôme de 3 ans en psychologie, souvent combiné avec d'autres matières telles que l'enseignement, ne prépare pas les psychologues. Un program de 4 ans, avec une quatrième année en program d'honneur requérant une thèse et l'étude de l'éthique et des applications pratiques, est requis pour ceux qui veulent pratiquer la psychologie. Des diplômes d'études supérieures sont également offerts pour préparer les psychologues. Chaque université jouit d'une autonomie dans la structure de ses programs et les emphases sont variées. La structure des cours varie aussi grandement. Les cours par correspondance et les cours en ligne, quoique toujours controversés en Australie, sont de plus en plus disponibles. De façon plus typique, les cours sont enseignés sous formes magistrale, de groupes de discussion, de travaux, de présentations et d'examens. Todas excepto tres universidades en Australia tienen departamentos o escuelas de psicología. En las universidades más antiguas (por ejemplo, las universidades de Sydney, Melbourne y de Australia Occidental), los departamentos de psicología evolucionaron de los departamentos de filosofía a fines de los años veinte y principio de los treinta. Hubo una expansión rápida de las universidades en la década de 1960 que condujo al establecimiento de muchos departamentos de psicología nuevos. Durante otra expansión hacia el final de los años 80, se concedió el estatus de universidad a muchos ex-institutos de educación avanzada, o bien se incorporaron a universidades existentes. En estas universidades más nuevas, se había enseñado psicología principalmente a estudiantes de enfermería y educación, pero esas áreas académicas después se convirtieron de departamentos de “servicio” en departamentos de psicología más grandes. Existe un sistema poderoso de acreditación de departamentos de psicología, función que desempeña la Sociedad Australiana de Psicología (SAP). La SAP evalúa todos los departamentos de psicología cada cinco años. Este sistema de acreditación se fortaleció de manera importante hacia la mitad de la década de 1990. Los graduados que desean convertirse en miembros de la SAP deben haber obtenido sus grados de un programa acreditado (o el equivalente para solicitantes de otros países). Los programas de psicología australianos son a menudo de tres tipos. Un grado de tres años en psicología, a menudo combinado con otros temas, tales como enseñanza, no prepara psicólogos. Un programa de cuatro años, con un programa de alta exigencia en el cuarto año que requiere una tesis y el estudio de la ética y de las aplicaciones prácticas es necesario para aquéllos que desean practicar la psicología. Se ofrecen postgrados también para preparar psicólogos. Cada universidad tiene cierta autonomía y la estructura de los programas y énfasis varía. La estructura de los cursos también varía de alguna manera. La disponibilidad de la educación a distancia y los cursos en-línea, aunque controvertidos en Australia, aumenta rápidamente. Es más frecuente que los cursos se enseñen por medio de conferencia, discusión de grupo, trabajos, presentaciones y exámenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper reviews the use of clinical indicators in a consultation–liaison (C–L) service over a 12-month period at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. Method: Clinical indicators and C–L data were collected during the 1999 calendar year. A review of the process was conducted during and after completion of the 12-month period. Results: The system was found to be practical and useful. The use of clinical indicators led to the identification of problems and stimulated effective interventions. The use of the clinical indicators was associated with improvement in communication between C–L staff, parent units and practitioners providing follow-up. Conclusions: The implementation of a database and clinical indicators was a useful addition to the C–L service. The use of clinical indicators was effective in improving clinical performance. These benefits need to be balanced against increased administrative burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The surgical management of trauma within Australia and New Zealand has recently been undergoing major organizational changes. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the attitudes and experience of Australian and New Zealand advanced surgical trainees in this changing climate and to identify problems with trauma training. Methods: A survey assessing important areas of trauma management and training was sent to all advanced surgical trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Results: Two hundred and seventy-two of 587 trainees responded (46%). Overall 85% of trainees believed they would be involved in trauma management in the future. The majority of trainees reported low rates of involvement and consultant supervision in trauma resuscitations. Only 32% of general surgical trainees believed that their exposure to major trauma operations was very adequate despite an average of 12.3 trauma operations per year. Seventy per cent of general surgical trainees reported a very adequate level of consultant supervision at trauma operations. In contrast 86% of orthopaedic trainees reported a very adequate exposure to trauma operations with an average of 221 orthopaedic trauma operations per year. Only 46% of orthopaedic trainees reported a very adequate level of consultant supervision at trauma operations. Conclusions: Regional rotations may need to be developed to even out trainees’ experience in trauma management. The low level of supervision in trauma resuscitations and orthopaedic surgical training requires attention. This survey warrants repeating in a prospective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a part of a larger project on the prevalence of intermarriage in Australia based on an analysis of census data. The primary aim of the article is to identify the extent of intermarriage between Italian-born migrants, people born in Australia and other birthplace groupings. The analysis focuses on the pattern of Italian intermarriage in Gippsland in order to demonstrate that the incidence differs from that in urban areas of Australia. Gippsland is a rural region in south-eastern Australia where the economy is based on brown coal power generation, a paper mill, timber extraction and dairying. Intermarriage in Gippsland will be compared with another rural area within the same state of Victoria and with the urban area of Melbourne. The rural area chosen for comparison with Gippsland was the statistical division of North East region in the state of Victoria. This area was selected because it contained a significant number of Italian immigrants who have been settled for a long period, primarily in the tobacco industry. In addition the state of Queensland, which has a high percentage of Italian immigrants, also in tobacco and sugar growing regions, was identified separately in the analyses. Cost considerations precluded the division of Queensland into rural and urban regions. Comparisons will also be made with intermarriage patterns among Italians in Melbourne, which has a long history of Italian settlement, and is the Australian city with the highest proportion of Italian immigrants.