Regional policy for skilled migration in Australian and Canada

This thesis examines recent Australian and Canadian policies aimed at the dispersal of skilled and business immigrants away from large cities. This thesis fulfills the need to analyse Australian and Canadian regional migration policies that have been pursued for around a decade and are currently undergoing a rapid development, but have not yet been studied extensively. This thesis commences with a comparative analysis of the policies' nature and practice. Although the policies are motivated by similar population and socioeconomic trends, and therefore have similar objectives, this thesis shows that the Australian and Canadian responses to common challenges differ partially. The analysis concentrates on how the Australian state/territory and the Canadian provincial/territorial governments address their policies' objectives. The thesis elucidates the factors that underpin these different approaches, such as the divergent constitutional responsibilities in the matter of immigration, and Australian and Canadian policy understanding of concepts of 'region' and 'skills'. These constitutional and conceptual differences also condition the Australian state/territory and the Canadian provincial/territorial governments' degree of control over the design and implementation of the policies. The analysis reveals how sometimes divergent policy solution, so conditioned, are employed to address similar policy objectives. The position taken by this thesis is that the governments use innovative responses and are highly active in that policy sphere. The differences notwithstanding, it is concluded that the design of these policies seems potentially capable of addressing the population and economic objectives. An evaluation of the actual policies' outcomes shows however that they have not yet become successful on any considerable scale, with few exceptions evident in both countries. This results from low absolute numbers of regional migrants when distributed among the participating jurisdiction, and a persistent preference for settlement in large cities. In Australian, the latter sometimes contravenes the stated policy intentions, This thesis closes with suggestions on cross-country policy exchanges that could improve policy outcomes and discusses additional solution, especially relevant in the Australian context, that might be considered as policy results-enhancing measures

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria at Oslo University Hospital 2000-2010.

BACKGROUND Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare haematological disease characterised by chronic haemolysis, pancytopenia and venous thrombosis. The condition is attributable to a lack of control of complement attack on erythrocytes, thrombocytes and leukocytes, and can be diagnosed by means of flow cytometry. In this quality assurance study, we have reviewed information from the medical records of all patients tested for PNH using flow cytometry at our laboratory over a ten-year period.MATERIAL AND METHOD In the period 2000-2010 a total of 28 patients were tested for PNH using flow cytometry at the Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Oslo University Hospital. We have reviewed the results of these examinations retrospectively together with information from medical records and transfusion data for the patients concerned.RESULTS Flow cytometry identified 22 patients with PNH: four with classic disease and 18 with PNH secondary to another bone marrow disease. Five patients had atypical thrombosis. Seventeen patients received antithymocyte globulin or drug treatment; of these, six recovered from their bone marrow disease, while six died and five had a need for long-term transfusion. Five patients with life-threatening bone marrow disease underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation, three of whom died. Six of 22 patients received eculizumab; the need for transfusion has been reduced or eliminated in three patients treated with eculizumab over a longer period.INTERPRETATION Flow cytometry identified PNH in a majority of patients from whom we obtained samples. Most patients had a PNH clone secondary to bone marrow failure. Atypical thrombosis should be borne in mind as an indication for the test. Treatment with eculizumab is relevant for selected patients with PNH