Children with social and emotional difficulties need support from a range of professionals : preparing professions for integrated working

Inclusive education for all children means that teachers are increasingly faced with challenges in managing children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) whose complex needs span a number of professional disciplines, some of which sit outside of education. However, whilst it is recognised that children with SEBD require management and support across a range of professions that include education, health, social and youth services, there is little done to prepare teaching staff for working across professional and organisational boundaries. The evidence of poor communication and team working amongst professions has led to policy changes and guidelines calling for greater coordination in the delivery of services for children and young people. This paper considers how education and training needs to prepare students with the knowledge and skills for collaborative working through interprofessional education (IPE), and draws on adult learning theory and activity theory to frame its direction. In doing so, it demonstrates a model for IPE that can be used to engage students from different disciplines to gain insight into the understanding of the wider issues of SEBD and the roles and responsibilities of the other professions involved. The model is one that enables students to consider the impact the role of others has on their own role, and to reflect on how their role impacts on the role of others.peer-reviewe

Engaging students with ADHD in mainstream education : lessons from children, parents and teachers

The move towards inclusive education in the UK (DfEE 1997; DfEE 2004a), and more recently integrated working (DfES 2003), has resulted in the development of a national framework calling for a change to the way organizations meet the needs of children. The Children Act (DfEE 2004b) provides the legal framework to legislate for these changes at national and local levels, and local service providers are required to work in partnership to provide a coordinated and coherent system of support aligned to the child’s evolving needs. This paper reports on empirical findings taken from interviews with children with ADHD, their teachers and parents, to highlight what they perceive to be effective in providing support for the children in their learning environment. Examples are drawn from environmental, personal, organizational and structural factors that are believed to influence the children’s behaviour. Suggestions are made over areas that need to be considered when setting up integrated services and how these can influence effective support for children.peer-reviewe

The heat is on: climate change, extreme heat and bushfires in WA

Climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of heatwaves in Western Australia and driving up the likelihood of very high fire danger weather. Western Australia is experiencing a long-term increase in average temperatures and in 2014 the state recorded its highest ever annual average maximum temperature. The number of heatwave days in Perth has increased by 50% since 1950. Nine of Western Australia’s hottest Januarys on record have occurred in the last 10 years. The number of days per year with severe fire danger weather is projected to almost double in south west Western Australia by 2090 if global carbon emissions are not drastically reduced. Recent fires in Western Australia have been influenced by record hot dry conditions. The long-term trend to hotter weather in Western Australia has worsened fire weather and contributed to an increase in the frequency and severity of bushfires. The concept of a normal bushfire season is rapidly changing as bushfires increase in number, burn for longer and affect larger areas of land. By 2030, the number of professional firefighters in WA will need to more than double to meet the increasing risk of bushfires. 3. The economic, social and environmental costs of increased extreme heat and bushfire activity is likely to be immense. In Perth, from 1994-2006, there were over 20 heat attributable deaths per year. If average maximum temperatures were 2°C warmer, this number would almost double to 40 deaths. Some of Western Australia’s most fire-prone regions may become unlivable as the risks to lives and property caused by bushfires continue to increase. Without effective action on climate change, there will be 20 times the number of dangerous days for outdoor workers by 2070, reducing productivity. 4. Tackling climate change is critical to protecting Western Australia’s prosperity. As a nation we must join the global effort to substantially reduce emissions and rapidly move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy if we are to limit the severity of extreme heat and bushfires both in Western Australia and nationally

Be prepared: climate change and the Victorian bushfire threat

Firefighters, emergency services and communities need to prepare for much greater bushfire risk from climate change, argues this report. Key findings 1. Climate change is increasing the risk of bushfires in Victoria and lengthening the fire season. Extreme fire weather has increased over the last 30 years in Victoria. The fire season in Victoria is starting earlier and lasting longer. Fire weather has been extending into October and into March. Australia is a fire prone country and Victoria has always experienced bushfires. Today climate change is making hot days hotter, and heatwaves longer and more frequent, with increasing drought conditions in Australia’s southeast. Record breaking heat and hotter weather over the long term in Victoria has worsened fire weather and contributed to an increase in the frequency and severity of bushfires. 2. Victoria is the state most affected by bushfires and is on the frontline of increasing bushfire risk. Over half of known fatalities due to bushfires in Australia have occurred in Victoria. Victoria has sustained around 50% of the economic damage from bushfires despite covering only 3% of Australia. Victoria’s 2014–15 bushfire season outlook has been upgraded from an “above normal” fire season to a “major” fire season following record October warmth and expected ongoing hot, dry conditions. 3.Recent severe fires in Victoria have been influenced by record hot, dry conditions. The 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria were preceded by a record breaking decade-long drought with a string of record hot years, coupled with a severe heatwave in the preceding week. In the lead up to the bushfires on Saturday 7th 2009, maximum temperatures were up to 23°C above the February average in Victoria and record high temperatures for February were set in over 87% of the state. 4. In Victoria the economic cost of bushfires, including loss of life, livelihoods, property damage and emergency services responses, is very high. The total economic costs of bushfires in Victoria in 2014 are projected to be more than $172 million. By around the middle of the century these costs will more than double. These projections do not incorporate increased bushfire incident rates due to climate change and so could potentially be much higher. These projections do not incorporate increased bushfire incident rates due to climate change and so could potentially be much higher. 5. In the future, Victoria is very likely to experience an increased number of days with extreme fire danger. Communities, emergency services and health services across Victoria must prepare. Fire severity and intensity is expected to increase substantially in coming decades in Victoria. The fire season will continue to lengthen, further reducing the opportunities for safe hazard reduction burning. Increasing severity, frequency and the lengthening fire season will strain Victoria’s existing resources for fighting and managing fires. By 2030, it has been estimated that the number of professional firefighters in Victoria will need to approximately double (compared to 2010) to keep pace with increased population, asset value, and fire danger weather. Australia must cut its emissions rapidly and deeply to join global efforts to stabilise the world’s climate and to reduce the risk of even more extreme events, including bushfires

Cinderella Services in the NHS Internal Market:Does Contracting Make a Difference?

This paper examines the impact of the NHS internal market reforms on an aspect of equity in the British system that features little in recent policy commentary: the allocation of resources between acute services for the entire population and nonacute services for the elderly, the mentally ill, and the disabled (the so-called Cinderella services). The authors\u27 research on health planning and contracting in the NHS in Wales suggests that patterns of services have remained largely unchanged, and that pressures in the reformed system, such as the Patient\u27s Charter initiative, prevent any major reallocation of resources away from the acute sector. Given the ineffectiveness of the contract mechanism in changing funding patterns, the authors consider whether the wider NHS reforms have nevertheless extended the legal remedies available to patients from the Cinderella groups faced with inadequate services. Recent cases suggest that, while the courts are reassessing the principles applied in reviewing administrative action affecting the allocation of health care resources, it is patients requiring acute care who are most likely to benefit. The authors conclude that, in terms of progress towards a more equitable distribution of resources between sectors, the NHS internal market is not a good model for other nations to emulate

A nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of the solvent dependence of the barrier to rotation in N,N,N',N'-Tetramethylthiodicarbonic diamide : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Chemistry at Massey University

Barriers to rotation were determined from variable-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The computer program used to calculate the rotational rates was validated by obtaining results in good agreement with the literature values from studies carried out on neat N,N-dimethylcarbamic chloride. The barrier to rotation for N,N,N',N'-tetramethylthiodicarbonic diamide was measured in a variety of solvents and large variations in activation energy were observed (more than 40 kJ mol -1 ). The free energies could be correlated with the dielectric constant, the dipole moment, the Hildebrand solubility parameter and the empirical polarity parameters E T and Z. A linear plot of ΔH ≠ 298 versus ΔS ≠ 298 different solvents was obtained. Attempts to obtain other systems suitable for NMR study are reported

Update of the evidence base to support the review of the NSW Health Breastfeeding Policy (PD2006_012): A rapid appraisal.

This report provides the findings from a rapid review and appraisal of the evidence base to support a review of the NSW Health Breastfeeding Policy Breastfeeding in NSW: Protection, Promotion and Support (PD2006_012, NSW Department of Health 2006). This Policy is currently being updated, particularly in consideration of the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015 and the associated, forthcoming Implementation Plan. The development of the NSW Breastfeeding Policy in 2006 was strongly supported by the systematic evidence base that had accumulated at that time. This review therefore includes evidence since the previous evidence summaries, i.e. since 2005. Specifically, it appraises the evidence around the health benefits of breastfeeding, it identifies those sub-groups of the population that are most at risk of poorer breastfeeding practices (not breastfeeding at all, short duration of breastfeeding, low intensity (exclusivity) of breastfeeding), and it examines the evidence, particularly from systematic reviews, of the effectiveness of interventions to promote, encourage and support breastfeeding

Measuring Rural Food Environments Within Murrumbidgee Health Network, NSW.

This report presents the results of a study which mapped food availability in three small rural towns in New South Wales on the topic of Food Fairness in disadvantaged towns. This small study designed and tested simple, specifically-designed tools for assessing food availability, and has generated tools and protocols that can be disseminated and used in other locations, as well as information for the three study towns

Measuring Rural Food Environments Within Murrumbidgee Health Network, NSW: Methodology.

This document supplements the report on Measuring rural food environments within Murrumbidgee Local Health Network. This study has generated tools and protocols that can be disseminated and used in other locations, as well as information for the three study towns

Food Security: The What, How, Why and Where to of Food Security in NSW. Discussion Paper

This Discussion Paper considers food security in the context of food supply and access systems, and articulates how it links with food consumption patterns, weight and risk of chronic disease, in order to provide direction for research, policy and programs. The paper provides an overview of what is meant by the term ‘food security’, a summary of studies describing patterns of food insecurity in Australia, and strategies for promoting food security, with examples of programs. This synthesis also discusses the implications for research and programs in NSW. Importantly, it also seeks to clarify where there are or might be both common and divergent approaches to addressing food security and obesity and chronic disease prevention. Whilst there are known global and national influences on food security, this document mainly focuses on community, household and individual level food security