Photography in higher education and industry in Australia: a mixed methods study to explain the alignment between the sectors

This thesis examines the teaching of photography in Australia at higher education institutions offering the subject and investigates both the commercial and the domestic sectors of the photographic industry from the point of view of professional practitioners. Baseline survey data was collected from responding teachers of photography at Australian higher education institutions offering this area of practice and from 393 practicing professional photographers. This was followed up with case studies of photography teaching in higher education and the professional photography industry. The analysis clearly shows how both education and industry are adapting to the challenges introduced by wide spread technological innovation.\ud \ud The findings reveal three misalignments between the teaching of photography and the requirements of the photographic industry. While curricula vary, it can be argued that all have some common weaknesses that, in the interests of students' career options, could be addressed. Firstly, the universities and the vocational college in the study provide an education that is broad, includes specialist options, and has a strong vocational focus. While employers may have some misunderstandings about the skill-sets of current graduates they believe many, who present for employment, are poorly prepared for the industry. This discounts the efforts being made by higher education institutions to equip their students with many generic skills regarded as necessary for work. This thesis also analyses which skills are deemed more important than others for a long term successful career in the industry.\ud \ud The second finding shows business and marketing skills is an area where there were significant differences between intended graduate outcomes and the real world requirements of commerce. Industry recognises the importance of these skills but for various reasons, many higher education providers fail to address this in a relevant and meaningful way. This thesis explains the reasons why many schools find it difficult to engage students in these studies.\ud \ud The third area of misalignment concerns domestic photography, which includes for example, wedding and portrait photography. While this area of practice offers significant opportunities for graduates in all regions of Australia, higher education providers appear do little to cater for and direct students to this sector. Curricula appears biased towards the commercial/advertising, photojournalism and art markets and to a large extent ignores the conceivably lucrative but possibly less glamorous domestic sector. This may disadvantage many students who cannot break into other market sectors or who live in regional areas where there are limited opportunities to practise other disciplines. This thesis considers the reasons why curriculum designers generally avoid this career option.\ud \ud Finally, it is a proposal of this thesis that all sectors of the photographic industry, with the exception of those covered by trade union representation, should consider establishing one major unified representative peak industry body. This is a vision supported in various degrees by most practitioners and organisations but has not been realised. This thesis analyses the many reasons that surround the vexed issues of unification and the advantages it may hold for the industry and education

Treatment-associated changes in malocclusion and oral health–related quality of life: a 4-year cohort study

Introduction The impact of orthodontic treatment on oral health–related quality of life (OHRQoL) in adolescents being treated in orthodontic practices has not yet been explored longitudinally. The aim of this cohort study was to describe the changes in both malocclusion and OHRQoL with orthodontic treatment. Methods One hundred seventy-four patients (ages, 10-17\ua0years; 64.4% girls; 81.6% European) underwent 2-arch, fixed-appliance treatment in a 4-year prospective study conducted across 19 specialist orthodontic practices throughout New Zealand. They were assessed before treatment, at debond (when 87.4% of the baseline sample were reassessed), and at a mean 21\ua0months postdebond (when 59.4% of the baseline sample were reassessed). OHRQoL was measured using the Child Perceptions Questionnaire, and the Dental Aesthetic Index was used to measure occlusion. Results Among the 104 patients who took part in all 3 assessments, little change in OHRQoL overall was seen at the end of treatment, despite considerable improvement in malocclusion (with the mean Dental Aesthetic Index score falling from 35.9 at baseline to 21.3 at debond). The mean Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 was slightly greater at debond, and this was most notable in the functional limitations subscale. By the end of the study (21\ua0months postdebond, on average), the decreases in Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 scores were all substantial, especially in the emotional well-being and social well-being subscales. Conclusions Malocclusion affects orthodontic patients' OHRQoL before treatment. A temporary increase in symptomatic impacts seen by the debond stage appears to ameliorate with time, with the benefits of orthodontic treatment for OHRQoL manifesting themselves some months later

Development of the National Health Information Systems in Botswana: Pitfalls, prospects and lessons

Background: Studies evaluating development of health information systems in developing countries are limited. Most of the available studies are based on pilot projects or cross-sectional studies. We took a longitudinal approach to analysing the development of Botswana’s health information systems. Objectives: We aimed to: (i) trace the development of the national health information systems in Botswana (ii) identify pitfalls during development and prospects that could be maximized to strengthen the system; and (iii) draw lessons for Botswana and other countries working on establishing or improving their health information systems. Methods: This article is based on data collected through document analysis and key informant interviews with policy makers, senior managers and staff of the Ministry of Health and senior officers from various stakeholder organizations. Results: Lack of central coordination, weak leadership, weak policy and regulatory frameworks, and inadequate resources limited development of the national health information systems in Botswana. Lack of attention to issues of organizational structure is one of the major pitfalls. Conclusion: The ongoing reorganization of the Ministry of Health provides opportunity to reposition th

Quality of generic medicines in South Africa: Perceptions versus Reality – A qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Generic Medicines are an important policy option allowing for access to affordable, essential medicines. Quality of generic medicines must be guaranteed through the activities of national medicines regulatory authorities. Existing negative perceptions surrounding the quality of generic medicines must be addressed to ensure that people use them with confidence. Campaigns to increase the uptake of generic medicines by consumers and providers of healthcare need to be informed by local norms and practices. This study sought to compare South African consumers’ and healthcare providers’ perceptions of quality of generics to the actual quality of selected products.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted at the local level in three cities of South Africa: Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Purposive sampling was used to recruit consumer participants (n = 73) and random sampling used to recruit healthcare providers from public and private sectors (n = 15). Data were obtained through twelve focus group discussions with consumers and semi-structured interviews (n = 15) with healthcare providers in order to gain familiarity with perceptions of quality. One hundred and thirty five products comprising paracetamol tablets (n = 47), amoxicillin capsules (n = 45) and hydrochlorothiazide tablets (n = 43) were sourced from public and private sector healthcare providers. These products were subjected to <it>in vitro</it> dissolution, uniformity of weight and identity (Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy) tests using prescribed methods from the British (2005) and United States Pharmacopeias (2006).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Respondents described drug quality in relation to the effect on symptoms. Procurement and use behavior of healthcare providers was influenced by prior experience, manufacturers’ names and consumers’ ability to pay. All formulations passed the <it>in vitro</it> tests for quality.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study showed clear differences between perceptions of quality and actual quality of medicines suggesting deficiencies in public engagement by government regarding the implementation of generic medicines policy. Implementation of generic medicines policy requires the involvement of consumers and healthcare providers to specifically address their information gaps and needs.</p

Event generators for high-energy physics experiments

We provide an overview of the status of Monte-Carlo event generators for high-energy particle physics. Guided by the experimental needs and requirements, we highlight areas of active development, and opportunities for future improvements. Particular emphasis is given to physics models and algorithms that are employed across a variety of experiments. These common themes in event generator development lead to a more comprehensive understanding of physics at the highest energies and intensities, and allow models to be tested against a wealth of data that have been accumulated over the past decades. A cohesive approach to event generator development will allow these models to be further improved and systematic uncertainties to be reduced, directly contributing to future experimental success. Event generators are part of a much larger ecosystem of computational tools. They typically involve a number of unknown model parameters that must be tuned to experimental data, while maintaining the integrity of the underlying physics models. Making both these data, and the analyses with which they have been obtained accessible to future users is an essential aspect of open science and data preservation. It ensures the consistency of physics models across a variety of experiments.peerReviewe