Alien Registration- Barclay, Clarence L. (Caribou, Aroostook County)

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Alliances and evidence: Building the capacity and effectiveness of rural health advocacy in Australia

© 2018 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd. This article describes two strategies that have strengthened the capacity and effectiveness of rural health advocacy in Australia over the past nearly three decades. The first is the development of the National Rural Health Alliance, an organisation that grew from strategic efforts to develop relationships between rural and remote health practitioners and organisations. The second is the development, organisation and use of data and evidence to highlight rural health needs. There has been important synergy between these two streams of activity, with research and evidence providing the tools and the National Rural Health Alliance providing the strategy and techniques to influence the rural and remote health care agenda

The closure of rural and remote maternity services: Where are the midwives?

Decisions to close small maternity units in rural and remote communities have often precipitated a community response as women and families rally to save local services. But where are the midwives? We argue here that professional bodies such as colleges of midwives have a responsibility to advocate more strongly at a political level for evidence-based decisionmaking regarding the allocation of rural services. We suggest that adopting a comprehensive definition of maternity services risk that considers both social and health services risks and their impact on clinical risk, could provide a solid basis for effective advocacy by professional bodies

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Sleep Quality: Quantitative and Molecular Genetic Approaches to an Understanding of Individual Differences

There are vast inter-individual differences in sleep quality in the general population – whilst some individuals sleep well with little or no sleep disturbance, others experience frequent sleep disturbances, problems which often manifest into chronic sleep disorders such as insomnia. The aim of this thesis is to explore factors accounting for these observed differences in sleep quality between individuals. Using data from a large-scale twin study this thesis uses behavioural genetic techniques to investigate genetic and environmental influences on sleep quality in a sample of 1,556 twins and siblings aged 18-27 years. The first four studies use quantitative genetic techniques to investigate 1) associations between components of sleep quality and the overlap in the genetic and environmental influences accounting for them; 2) specific non-shared environmental influences on global sleep quality; 3) the presence of gene-environment interplay between sleep quality and dependent negative life events; and 4) the association between sleep quality and diurnal preference, and the overlap in their aetiological influences. Most importantly, there was substantial genetic overlap between individual components of sleep quality (rA mostly ≥.50); sleep quality and diurnal preference (rD = .52[95% CI=.37-.70]); and sleep quality and dependent negative life events (rD = .63[.45-.83]) – the latter finding providing evidence of gene-environment correlation. In general, non-shared environmental overlap was small (rE mostly ≤.40). The final study used a candidate gene approach to investigate associations between sleep quality and diurnal preference with 5HTTLPR, PER3, and CLOCK 3111 – polymorphisms hypothesized to be implicated in sleep and/or the circadian system. An association was found between the ‘long’ allele of 5HTTLPR and poor sleep quality (β = -.34, p<.01). This thesis utilises the twin method in novel ways in the context of sleep research and advances knowledge of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of the variation in sleep quality in healthy young adults

Structural/thermal considerations for design of large space platform structures

A method is described for placing a large, STS-compatible platform on orbit utilizing a construction method employing both deployable and erectable structures. A multifunctional mechanism is used for deployable structures and an on-orbit assembly is used for erectable structures. Also analyses are discussed which assess the thermal distortion of a simple open truss and a more complex truss

Simplified thermal estimation techniques for large space structures

A tool for making rapid estimates of the response of space structures to thermal environments encountered in earth orbits is provided for the designer of these structures. Charts giving heating rates and temperatures for certain typical large spacecraft structural elements are provided. Background information for spacecraft thermal design considerations is presented. Environments, requirements, thermal control techniques, design guidelines, and approaches available for more detailed thermal response analysis are discussed

Probability of Causation for Lung Cancer After Exposure to Radon Progeny: A Comparison of Models and Data

The estimates of lung cancer risk due to the exposure to radon decay products are based on different data sets from underground mining and on different mathematical models that are used to fit the data. Diagrams of the excess relative rate per 100 working level months in its dependence on age at exposure and age attained are shown to be a useful tool to elucidate the influence that is due to the choice of the model, and to assess the differences between the data from the major western cohorts and those from the Czech uranium miners. It is seen that the influence of the choice of the model is minor compared to the difference between the data sets. The results are used to derive attributable lifetime risks and probabilities of causation for lung cancer following radon progeny exposures

Maternity care in the bush: Using the internet to provide educational resources to isolated practitioners

Telecommunication infrastructure is being rolled out across Australia with little knowledge about the uptake by health professionals in remote areas. Computer mediated communication has the potential to offer educational support to remote practitioners; however, the viability of this is uncertain. The aim of this research was to establish and evaluate an internet-based resource library targeting the needs of remote area maternity service providers. METHODS: A participatory action research (PAR) approach was used to involve remote area maternity service providers in the Northern Territory of Australia. The evaluation of the resource library included its performance on reach, agency affiliation and richness, factors identified to affect the sustainability and utility of such a resource. An additional component of the evaluation framework documented the facilitators of and barriers to using an information technology strategy to reduce the isolation of remote area maternity service providers. RESULTS: Overall, the evaluation of the resource library was very positive. Feedback from the PAR team described the resource as contemporary, useful and relevant. Practitioners in leadership and education positions identified the resource library as a valuable tool that enabled them to access professional knowledge, which could then be distributed to any remote-based practitioners, who experienced difficulties with access themselves

Evaluation of the Nimbin Integrated Services Project

This report is an evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner-led integrated service for mental health and drug and alcohol clients, in a small town in rural NSW.Dept of Premier and Cabinet, NS

Designing Dispute Resolution Systems for Water Policy and Management

34 pages. Contains references