Caretaker conventions in Australasia: minding the shop for government

In this monograph, Anne Tiernan and Jennifer Menzies capably chart the often hazardous terrain of the \u27caretaker period\u27 that ensues from the time an election is called until a new government is formed. This is a landscape fraught with political and administrative dangers - particularly for public servants who are required to \u27mind the shop\u27 and keep the basic machinery of government going. The conventions represent an historical accretion of custom, practice and rules, often leavened with uncertainty. In tackling their subject, Tiernan and Menzies draw upon their shared past experiences as public servants and ministerial \u27staffer\u27 as well as the highest standards of academic scholarship - this is a \u27must read\u27 for politicians, public servants and students of government

Caretaker conventions in Australasia: minding the shop for government

In this monograph, Anne Tiernan and Jennifer Menzies capably chart the often hazardous terrain of the ‘caretaker period’ that ensues from the time an election is called until a new government is formed. This is a landscape fraught with political and administrative dangers – particularly for public servants who are required to ‘mind the shop’ and keep the basic machinery of government going. The conventions represent an historical accretion of custom, practice and rules, often leavened with uncertainty. In tackling their subject, Tiernan and Menzies draw upon their shared past experiences as public servants and ministerial ‘staffers’ as well as the highest standards of academic scholarship – this is a ‘must read’ for politicians, public servants and students of government

Changes to the extreme and erratic behaviour of cryptocurrencies during COVID-19

This paper introduces new methods for analysing the extreme and erratic behaviour of time series to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on cryptocurrency market dynamics. Across 51 cryptocurrencies, we examine extreme behaviour through a study of distribution extremities, and erratic behaviour through structural breaks. First, we analyse the structure of the market as a whole and observe a reduction in self-similarity as a result of COVID-19, particularly with respect to structural breaks in variance. Second, we compare and contrast these two behaviours, and identify individual anomalous cryptocurrencies. Tether (USDT) and TrueUSD (TUSD) are consistent outliers with respect to their returns, while Holo (HOT), NEXO (NEXO), Maker (MKR) and NEM (XEM) are frequently observed as anomalous with respect to both behaviours and time. Even among a market known as consistently volatile, this identifies individual cryptocurrencies that behave most irregularly in their extreme and erratic behaviour and shows these were more affected during the COVID-19 market crisis.Comment: Accepted manuscript. Numerous minor edits compared to v3. Equal contribution from first two author

The Taphonomy of Human and Non-Human Skeletal Remains in Australian Conditions and the Implications for Post-Mortem Interval Research

Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) for surface-deposited skeletal remains is a vital component of forensic investigation in order to eliminate cases of non-forensic interest and to assist with identification of a victim. The aim of this thesis is twofold: to examine the relationship between visible changes to skeletal remains and post-mortem interval in an Australian setting and to investigate the validity of using non-human bones as proxies for human bones in such studies. Estimation of the PMI for human skeletal remains is highly problematic and no standardized method has yet been developed. As a rule, past researchers have investigated single factor methods of PMI determination using either human or non-human remains. Despite small gains, researchers’ efforts are derailed by the complex interaction between environmental factors and the remains and the short time periods over which the studies are done. A longitudinal field study was conducted. At a University of Sydney site (Mandemar), south of Sydney, both fleshed and defleshed bones of human, pig and kangaroo limbs placed on the ground surface were examined and compared over a period of six years. The study focused on recording weight loss, bleaching and weathering (cracking, flaking, surface degradation, exposure of trabecular bone) as well as the interaction of environmental factors such as insects, mould and algae. In addition, a comparison of weathering processes during decomposition was made between the disarticulated human elements from the site above and an intact human cadaver placed out for the purposes of this study at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) in western Sydney, NSW. Factors which showed a relationship with PMI were weight loss, the rate of bleaching of exposed bone surfaces over time, the appearance and/or disappearance of moulds and algae, presence of a carrion beetle and a spike in the onset of weathering processes. Such relationships were however different for human and non-human bones. There were pronounced differences between species with human elements losing considerably more weight over time than the pig or kangaroo. This finding supports published opinions by other researchers that the use of animal substitutes in forensic research may not be valid and should be viewed with caution. The decomposition rate of the cadaver at AFTER was considerably slower than the fleshed, disarticulated elements at Mandemar with bleaching, weathering and growth of algae impeded by mummified tissue, occurring at later stages and not as extensive. This may be attributable to the time of year of placement as the cadaver was initially subjected to cooler winter temperatures. This research should add substantially toward understanding time dependent decomposition processes as they occur over several years in an outdoor Australian setting. This research makes a meaningful contribution to the debate regarding the use of animal proxies in forensic taphonomic research. In addition, the results highlight potentially rewarding avenues of investigation facilitating more focused and specific approaches for future studies

Novel semi-metrics for multivariate change point analysis and anomaly detection

This paper proposes a new method for determining similarity and anomalies between time series, most practically effective in large collections of (likely related) time series, by measuring distances between structural breaks within such a collection. We introduce a class of \emph{semi-metric} distance measures, which we term \emph{MJ distances}. These semi-metrics provide an advantage over existing options such as the Hausdorff and Wasserstein metrics. We prove they have desirable properties, including better sensitivity to outliers, while experiments on simulated data demonstrate that they uncover similarity within collections of time series more effectively. Semi-metrics carry a potential disadvantage: without the triangle inequality, they may not satisfy a "transitivity property of closeness." We analyse this failure with proof and introduce an computational method to investigate, in which we demonstrate that our semi-metrics violate transitivity infrequently and mildly. Finally, we apply our methods to cryptocurrency and measles data, introducing a judicious application of eigenvalue analysis.Comment: Accepted manuscript. Minor edits since v2. Equal contribution from first two author

Embedding clinical research in pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes

Background: Within the UK, there is a goal that research is embedded into everyday healthcare practice. Currently education provided to students at pre-registration level is theoretical, with little focus on clinical research delivery. Aims: The paper’s aim is to report on the development and evaluation of a pre-registration clinical research resource for nursing and midwifery students with direct application to clinical settings and patient care outcomes. Methods: An initial survey assessed whether the learning resource was useful for nursing pre-registration students. Based on the findings, alongside expert stakeholder input, adaptations were made to the learning resources and a second survey re-evaluated the learning resources. Survey findings were analysed using descriptive statistics. Free text responses were thematically grouped. Results: Ninety-seven pre-registration nursing students responded. Most students agreed that they had enjoyed using the resources, had improved understanding of clinical research, anticipated being actively involved in research and would consider a future clinical research role. Conclusions: The learning resources can help overcome barriers to research engagement by nurses and midwives. The results demonstrate that research can be incorporated into clinical, educational and academic roles, highlighting their worth in supporting the clinical research workforce