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GLO:EVN/01mar20:gcb14987-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): (a) Burned areas in the 2019-20 fire season (data from the New South Wales [NSW] Rural Fire Service, 29/12/2019), and extent of forests and woodlands (Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 2019). Wildfire refugia in forests: Severe fire weather and drought mute the influence of topography and fuel age. How drought-induced forest die-off alters microclimate and increases fuel loadings and fire potentials. [Extracted from the article]

Adults with dysphagia experience difficulties swallowing food and fluids with potentially harmful health and psychosocial consequences. Speech pathologists who manage patients with dysphagia are frequently required to address ethical issues when patients' food culture and/ or preferences are inconsistent with recommended diets. These issues incorporate complex links between food, identity and social participation. A composite case has been developed to reflect ethical issues identified by practising speech pathologists for the purposes of illustrating ethical concerns in dysphagia management. The case examines a speech pathologist's role in supporting patient autonomy when patients and carers express different goals and values. The case presents a 68-year-old man of Australian/Italian heritage with severe swallowing impairment and strong values attached to food preferences. The case is examined through application of the dysphagia algorithm, a tool for shared decision-making when patients refuse dietary modifications. Case analysis revealed the benefits and challenges of shared decision-making processes in dysphagia management. Four health professional skills and attributes were identified as synonymous with shared decision making: communication, imagination, courage and reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Speech pathologists are confronted by ethical issues when they need to make decisions about client care, address team conflict, and fulfil the range of duties and responsibilities required of health professionals. However, there has been little research into the specific nature of ethical dilemmas experienced by speech pathologists and whether the nature of ethical conflict changes as they acquire experience in the professional workforce. Speech pathologists' perceptions of ethical issues provide insight into factors impacting upon quality of care in contemporary healthcare settings. Aims: To describe, compare, and contrast the nature of ethical dilemmas identified by new graduate and experienced speech pathologists. Methods & Procedures: A narrative methodology was used to explore the ethical dilemmas that participants experienced in the professional work place. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews with ten new graduate and ten experienced speech pathologists in their work settings. During these interviews, participants were asked to 'tell the story' of ethical dilemmas they identified at work. Outcomes & Results: An ethical story was constructed for each participant based upon keywords and concepts from interview transcripts. These keywords and concepts were coded into group themes that reflected the nature of ethical dilemmas experienced by new graduate versus experienced speech pathologists. Comparing the results of thematic analysis for both groups of participant revealed similarities and differences in ethical dilemmas identified by new graduate and experienced health professionals. Conclusions & Implications: Participants identified ethical dilemmas in the professional practice areas of client management, professional relationships, service delivery, and personal/professional identity. Themes from new graduates' ethical dilemmas included: making safe choices; avoiding conflict, following service delivery rules, and building professional identity. Experienced speech pathologists' themes included: life choices, adapting policies, and professional status. Supporting client autonomy, managing risk taking, adopting fair service delivery policies, and supporting health professionals' ethical practice are part of ethical quality care. The results support the need for an increased focus on ethical practice in the workplace and further support for speech pathologists experiencing ethical conflict in response to service delivery policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a Response to Adams et al. 26, 3756–3758. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Many species found in fire-prone habitats that possess a soil-stored seedbank only recruit seedlings in large numbers following a fire. Fire-related germination cues are presumably used by these seeds as signals that a fire has occurred, and would include the heating that occurs in the soil and the combustion products of burning vegetation, smoke and charcoal. Three Sydney species, Grevillea buxifolia (Sm.) R. Br., Grevillea sericea (Sm.) R. Br. and Grevillea speciosa (Knight) McGillivray, were studied for the interactive effects of these cues on their germination. The germination of all species was found to increase with both smoke and heat treatments. While smoke always had a greater influence than heat, the relationship between the two treatments varied with species. The presence of two fire-related germination cues should allow these species to take better advantage of the recruitment opportunities of the post-fire environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]