Editorial Statement: Information Technology and Systems (ITS) Department

This paper introduces the Information and Technology Systems (ITS) Department of CAIS. The department focuses on articles in design science. The goal of design-science research is the development and evaluation of technologies that extend the boundaries of human and organizational information-processing capabilities. Research must demonstrate the utility of such technologies to address problems or tasks not previously thought to be amenable to IT support. The article presents the objectives, concepts, and publication procedures for the ITS Department

Affordable Health Care Keeps Children and Families Healthy

The health of young children is negatively affected when parents have to forego health care for themselves or other adult members of the household or when parents have to forego payment of household expenses in order to pay for health care

Funding Shortfall for Housing Vouchers Could Have Serious Health Consequences for Children

In the fourth brief in its Policy Action series, Children's HealthWatch finds that unaffordable housing endangers the health and development of young children. Due to a federal funding shortfall, state and local housing agencies will be forced to reduce or eliminate rental assitance to thousands of families starting this month. Voucher cuts will push more families into the ranks of the "hidden homeless" -- families that move frequently, crowd into apartments that are too small, or live doubled up with other households when they cannot find affordable housing. Children in hidden homeless families are at increased risk for poor health, nutrition, and growth, as well as developmental delays. Timely Congressional action to protect the Housing Choice Voucher Program will ensure that families have stable, affordable housing essential to children's health

The consequences of path dependency on funding for infill development in Victoria, Australia

The increasing responsibility of the local government sector to provide and maintain a range of infrastructure is threatening its financial sustainability. The ‘development contributions’ system is one measure adopted by local government in Victoria, Australia to assist in the funding of infrastructure required as a result of new development. The development contributions system is intended to be used state-wide, but in practice the majority of development contributions have been collected in just seven Melbourne municipalities associated with greenfield development. In July 2012 the Victorian state government announced reforms to the system, which were eventually enacted in October 2016. These reforms are considered in this paper. Using two case studies of Hume City Council and Surf Coast Shire Council, this paper assesses the effectiveness of the new funding system for infill development in the Melbourne area. The findings suggest that the historic path dependency of the system has resulted in a missed opportunity as the new system remains fundamentally designed for greenfield development rather than highly important infill development

Desafíos para las interfaces urbano-rurales propensas a incendios forestales: el caso de Melbourne.

Los incendios forestales son una amenaza creciente para muchos residentes de las interfaces urbano-rurales situadas en áreas propensas a estos siniestros. La planificación espacial es un aspecto importante al lidiar con el riesgo de incendio forestal, ya que tiene el potencial de modificar el diseño, la ubicación y las características de los asentamientos. Sin embargo, los sistemas de planificación pueden tener dificultades para integrar acciones al respecto. Este documento reflexiona sobre los mecanismos para tratar los factores clave de riesgo de incendio forestal en las interfaces urbano-rural y los desafíos asociados a esta tarea, a través de un estudio de caso, el de Melbourne. Este se analiza desde la perspectiva de los mecanismos de planificación espacial que abordan el riesgo de incendio forestal, relacionados a las estructuras físicas y a los roles de los organismos. Los mecanismos físicos para tratar el riesgo se examinan considerando la cartografía, la acción estratégica y los procesos de toma de decisiones. Finalmente, se destacan los siguientes desafíos a los que se enfrentan los mencionados mecanismos de planificación: influencia directa e indirecta de la política; otros requerimientos de planificación que compiten y frenan la gestión de riesgos; limitaciones de implementación; y problemas asociados al legado de riesgo en asentamientos existentes

Desafíos para las interfaces urbano-rurales propensas a incendios forestales: el caso de Melbourne.

Los incendios forestales son una amenaza creciente para muchos residentes de las interfaces urbano-rurales situadas en áreas propensas a estos siniestros. La planificación espacial es un aspecto importante al lidiar con el riesgo de incendio forestal, ya que tiene el potencial de modificar el diseño, la ubicación y las características de los asentamientos. Sin embargo, los sistemas de planificación pueden tener dificultades para integrar acciones al respecto. Este documento reflexiona sobre los mecanismos para tratar los factores clave de riesgo de incendio forestal en las interfaces urbano-rural y los desafíos asociados a esta tarea, a través de un estudio de caso, el de Melbourne. Este se analiza desde la perspectiva de los mecanismos de planificación espacial que abordan el riesgo de incendio forestal, relacionados a las estructuras físicas y a los roles de los organismos. Los mecanismos físicos para tratar el riesgo se examinan considerando la cartografía, la acción estratégica y los procesos de toma de decisiones. Finalmente, se destacan los siguientes desafíos a los que se enfrentan los mencionados mecanismos de planificación: influencia directa e indirecta de la política; otros requerimientos de planificación que compiten y frenan la gestión de riesgos; limitaciones de implementación; y problemas asociados al legado de riesgo en asentamientos existentes

Rx for Hunger: Affordable Housing

This report by Children's HealthWatch and the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston finds that housing plays a significant role in protecting young children from food insecurity and the health risks of being seriously underweight. This report confirms that increased support for subsidized housing must be part of the strategy for ending childhood hunger

Bringing Children in from the Cold: Solutions for Boston's Hidden Homeless

This report describes a population of "hidden homeless" families and new research showing that children in these families are more likely to be hungry and in poor health. Unrecorded by any homeless census, these families move frequently, often into overcrowded apartments, or double up with another family never knowing how long they can stay. The report estimates that there are over 14,800 hidden homeless families in Boston and that this number is likely to grow as the economy declines

Outcomes after hip or knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis: A prospective cohort study comparing patients quality of life before and after surgery with age-related population norms

Objective: To compare the health-related quality of life of people with osteoarthritis before and after primary total hip and knee replacement surgery with that of the general Australian population. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: Three Sydney hospitals, public and private. Participants: Patients with osteoarthritis undergoing primary total hip (n = 59) and knee (n = 92) joint replacement surgery. Main outcome measure: Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) scores before and 12 months after joint replacement surgery (compared with population norms). Results: Patients in each age group showed a significant improvement in health-related quality of life after joint replacement surgery in most scales of the SF-36, particularly physical function, role physical and bodily pain. SF-36 scores for the 42 hip-replacement patients aged 55-74 years improved to equal or exceed the population norm on all scales. SF-36 scores of the 52 knee replacement patients aged 55-74 years improved, but physical function and bodily pain scores remained significantly worse than the population norm. SF-36 scores for both hip (n = 17) and knee (n= 40) replacement patients aged 75 years and over improved significantly, becoming similar to population norms for this age group. Conclusions: Total hip or knee replacement for osteoarthritis significantly improves patient health and well-being at 12 months after surgery. Age alone should not be a barrier to surgery