Mapping the elements of physical security towards the creation of a holistic physical security model

This study has designed a theoretical mapping of complex element relationships within the field of physical security. The main purpose of the mapping is to form individual knowledge structures for modelling and provide a relative understanding of overall risk based on different combinations of physical security arrangements. An understanding of overall risk for modelling purposes should lead to improvements in providing support for decision making within this field. The final series of knowledge structures in this study have been represented by value matrices for element pair assessments within the topic of physical security. The values that have been presented in the knowledge matrices have been gathered from expert opinion and converted to numerical data as a demonstration for a holistic approach to modelling physical security elements. A profile for each respondent and each category group has been developed to be compared for their degree of similarity with other profiles. A correlation technique provides an indication of the degree of consensus within the results

The contribution of geogenic particulate matter to lung disease in indigenous children

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Indigenous children have much higher rates of ear and lung disease than non-Indigenous children, which may be related to exposure to high levels of geogenic (earth-derived) particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dust levels and health in Indigenous children in Western Australia (W.A.). Data were from a population-based sample of 1077 Indigenous children living in 66 remote communities of W.A. (>2,000,000 km2), with information on health outcomes derived from carer reports and hospitalisation records. Associations between dust levels and health outcomes were assessed by multivariate logistic regression in a multi-level framework. We assessed the effect of exposure to community sampled PM on epithelial cell (NuLi-1) responses to non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) in vitro. High dust levels were associated with increased odds of hospitalisation for upper (OR 1.77 95% CI [1.02–3.06]) and lower (OR 1.99 95% CI [1.08–3.68]) respiratory tract infections and ear disease (OR 3.06 95% CI [1.20–7.80]). Exposure to PM enhanced NTHi adhesion and invasion of epithelial cells and impaired IL-8 production. Exposure to geogenic PM may be contributing to the poor respiratory health of disadvantaged communities in arid environments where geogenic PM levels are high

Police performance measurement: an annotated bibliography

This study provides information to assist those involved in performance measurement in police organisations. The strategies used to identify the literature are described. Thematic sections cover; general overviews; methodological issues; performance management in other industries; national, international and cross-national studies; frameworks (e.g. Compstat; the Balanced Scorecard); criticisms (particularly unintended consequences); crime-specific measures; practitioner guides; performance evaluation of individual staff; police department plans and evaluations; annotated bibliographies in related areas, and; other literature. Our discussion offers two conclusions: the measures best aligned with performance are typically more expensive, while most operational data should only provide contextual information; the philosophy of open governance should be pursued to promote transparency, accountability and communication to improve police performance

Chagas, ten years of study in a public hospital

Background: Epidemiological study of chagasic patients in a public hospital between 2007 and 2017 Methods & Materials: All patients were evaluated with serological confirmation with two/three techniques (ELISA, TIF, HAI), cardiovascular(ECG, echocardiography, chest x-ray) and gastroenterological studies. The analyzed data were sex, age, place of birth, clinical staging, type of transmission, pregnancy condition, treatment and drug toxicity Results: Of 154 diagnosed, 34(22%) were males and 120(78%) were females, 68(56,6%) were pregnant at the time of diagnosis and 12(7,8%) they had been infected by mother-child transmission. The average age of infected women was 37.3(range 15-66) and in men was 55,8(range 13-73). Of all diagnosed, 29(19%) had cardiovascular and 6(3,9%) gastrointestinal diseases. Almost half are from bordering countries(Bolivia, Paraguay) Of our country, Chaco was the one that more number of cases contribute. They received treatment in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health 62 (40,3%) and 11(17,8%) of them evidenced drug toxicity. Conclusion: More women than men were diagnosed. Almost 60% during pregnancy. The cardiovascular affectation was diagnosed five times more than the gastrointestinal disease. Only 40% of those diagnosed were included in the treatment criteria.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Neo-planning: Location-based social media to engage Australia's new digital locals

Community engagement with time poor and seemingly apathetic citizens continues to challenge local governments. Capturing the attention of a digitally literate community who are technology and socially savvy adds a new quality to this challenge. Community engagement is resource and time intensive, yet local governments have to manage on continually tightened budgets. The benefits of assisting citizens in taking ownership in making their community and city a better place to live in collaboration with planners and local governments are well established. This study investigates a new collaborative form of civic participation and engagement for urban planning that employs in-place digital augmentation. It enhances people’s experience of physical spaces with digital technologies that are directly accessible within that space, in particular through interaction with mobile phones and public displays. The study developed and deployed a system called Discussions in Space (DIS) in conjunction with a major urban planning project in Brisbane. Planners used the system to ask local residents planning-related questions via a public screen, and passers-by sent responses via SMS or Twitter onto the screen for others to read and reflect, hence encouraging in-situ, real-time, civic discourse. The low barrier of entry proved to be successful in engaging a wide range of residents who are generally not heard due to their lack of time or interest. The system also reflected positively on the local government for reaching out in this way. Challenges and implications of the short-texted and ephemeral nature of this medium were evaluated in two focus groups with urban planners. The paper concludes with an analysis of the planners’ feedback evaluating the merits of the data generated by the system to better engage with Australia’s new digital locals