Unsettling suburbia: The new landscape of oil and mortgage vulnerability in Australian cities

Fuel and mortgage VAMPIRE sucks households dry The devastating impact of soaring fuel and mortgage prices on Australian households is graphically revealed in the new Griffith University Urban Research Program VAMPIRE index. This paper describes the devastating impact of soaring fuel and mortgage prices on Australian households. The VAMPIRE index identifies the relative degree of socio-economic stress in suburbs in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth

Challenges in using geographic information systems (GIS) to understand and control malaria in Indonesia

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease of global concern with 1.5 to 2.7 million people dying each year and many more suffering from it. In Indonesia, malaria is a major public health issue with around six million clinical cases and 700 deaths each year. Malaria is most prevalent in the developing countries of the world. Aid agencies have provided financial and technical assistance to malaria-prone countries in an effort to battle the disease. Over the past decade, the focus of some of this assistance has been in the provision of geographic information systems (GIS) hardware, software and training. In theory, GIS can be a very effective tool in combating malaria, however, in practice there have been a host of challenges to its successful use. This review is based, in part, on the literature but also on our experience working with the Indonesian Ministry of Health. The review identifies three broad problem areas. The first of these relates to data concerns. Without adequate data, GIS is not very useful. Specific problem areas include: accurate data on the disease and how it is reported; basic environmental data on vegetation, land uses, topography, rainfall, etc.; and demographic data on the movement of people. The second problem area involves technology – specifically computer hardware, GIS software and training. The third problem area concerns methods – assuming the previous data and technological problems have been resolved – how can GIS be used to improve our understanding of malaria? One of the main methodological tools is spatial statistical analysis, however, this is a newly developing field, is not easy to understand and suffers from the fact that there is no agreement on standard methods of analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of strategies that can be used to overcome some of these problems. One of these strategies involves using ArcView GIS software in combination with ArcExplorer (a public domain program that can read ArcView files) to deal with the problem of needing multiple copies of GIS software. Another strategy involves the development of a self-paced training package that can be used to train individual

Mediation of Environmental Enforcement: Overcoming Inertia

This Article aims to examine the claims for the usefulness of environmental mediation in the context of enforcement through consideration of two environmental enforcement cases processed by the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (DER) during 1990-1991. Specifically outlined is a pilot mediation program designed to improve the resolution of the cases. Next, two DER cases are described and compared, in detail; the two cases are quite similar except that one underwent mediation and one did not. Finally, this Article draws conclusions about environmental enforcement dispute resolution processes. Particularly examined is the success of mediation at overcoming the reluctance of environmental enforcement partisans to move their cases to settlement - to overcome the inertia of non-settlement

Evaluating governance arrangements and decision-making outcomes for natural resource management planning: An empirical application of the governance systems analysis framework

Governance continues to be a challenge in the management and conservation of natural resources. It is difficult to strategically address governance challenges without understanding the dynamics, capacities, and knowledge application of institutions within such governance systems. This paper examines the use of Governance Systems Analysis (GSA) to compare, evaluate and benchmark governance arrangements for regional natural resource management (NRM) planning. It is applied in two Australian regional NRM case studies in Cape York and the Wet Tropics. Our analysis of governance arrangements for NRM planning in the two regions finds that while they are structurally and functionally similar, they have different capacities for decision-making about planning. The paper concludes with a discussion of the usefulness and implications of using the GSA as an evaluative framework to analyse governance in regional NRM planning systems

Mosquito longevity, vector capacity, and malaria incidence in West Timor and Central Java, Indonesia

The aim of this paper was to relate anopheline mosquito longevity to malaria incidence in two areas in Indonesia: West Timor and Central Java. We estimated the physiological age of females captured landing on humans or resting inside and outside buildings. The estimate was based on the state of the ovaries and was used to estimate longevity. The results showed that there were large differences between the two areas surveyed. In West Timor the longevity of the anophelines ranged from 13 to 23 days, sufficient for completing the intrinsic incubation cycle and for malaria transmission, whereas in Central Java the longevity was only 3 days, insufficient both for incubation and for transmission. We concluded that the West Timor study area had a greater risk of malaria transmission than that of Central Java and this was supported by village survey data that showed greater malaria incidence in West Timor than in Central Java

Urban ferries and catastrophic floods experiences and lessons learned in Brisbane, Australia, and New York City

Both Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and New York City have experienced catastrophic weather events in recent years. In January 2011, the Brisbane River flooded, inundating more than 20,000 houses; in October 2012, superstorm Hurricane Sandy hit New York City and produced a major storm surge that flooded much of the city. Ferry systems in both cities were badly affected. Comparative research was used to explore how each city's ferry operators and managers addressed the impacts before, during, and after those events. A review of published materials related to the two systems during and after the disasters was supplemented by interviews with key agency personnel in each city, conducted in mid-2013. Results suggest that how ferries are affected by floods and other disasters and how ferries may be used to rapidly respond to and provide for post-flood transport needs depend entirely on context. The linear river ferry operations of Brisbane suffered much terminal damage, and operations were unable to recommence service as a result of debris and the swollen nature of the river for many weeks after the flood. In contrast, within 2 days, New York City ferries were reintroduced on key routes and were introduced to new emergency locations to provide mobility for citizens who were unable to use other transport modes because of storm damage. The lessons learned by the operators include essential areas that authorities must address before a disaster: infrastructure design and resilience, disaster planning, insurance and legal requirements, staff management, and coordination during the reconstruction phase. Findings suggest that authorities can significantly reduce damage and improve recovery times if they plan and prepare for such events well ahead of time

Recurrent episodes of injury in children : an Australian cohort study

Objective The aim of the present study was to compare sociodemographic characteristics of children with single versus recurrent episodes of injury and provide contemporary evidence for Australian injury prevention policy development. Methods Participants were identified from the Environments for Healthy Living: Griffith Birth Cohort Study 2006-11 (n≤2692). Demographic data were linked to the child's hospital emergency and admissions data from birth to December 2013. Data were dichotomised in two ways: (1) injured or non-injured; and (2) single or recurrent episodes of injury. Multivariate logistic regression was used for analysis. Results The adjusted model identified two factors significantly associated with recurrent episodes of injury in children aged 0.1). Conclusion National priorities should include targeted programs addressing the higher odds of recurrent episodes of injury experienced by children aged <3 years with younger mothers or those injured in the first 18 months of life. What is known about the topic? Children who experience recurrent episodes of injury are at greater risk of serious or irrecoverable harm, particularly when repeat trauma occurs in the early years of life. What does the paper add? The present study identifies key factors associated with recurrent episodes of injury in young Australian children. This is imperative to inform evidence-based national injury prevention policy development in line with the recent expiry of the National Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Plan: 2004-2014. What are the implications for practitioners? Injury prevention efforts need to target the increased injury risk experienced by families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and, as a priority, children under 3 years of age with younger mothers and children who are injured in the first 18 months of life. These families require access to education programs, resources, equipment and support, particularly in the child's early years. These programs could be provided as part of the routine paediatric and child health visits available to families after their child's birth or incorporated into hospital and general practitioner injury treatment plans

Impact of participant attrition on child injury outcome estimates : a longitudinal birth cohort study in Australia

Background Longitudinal research is subject to participant attrition. Systemic differences between retained participants and those lost to attrition potentially bias prevalence of outcomes, as well as exposure-outcome associations. This study examines the impact of attrition on the prevalence of child injury outcomes and the association between sociodemographic factors and child injury. Methods Participants were recruited as part of the Environments for Healthy Living (EFHL) birth cohort study. Baseline data were drawn from maternal surveys. Child injury outcome data were extracted from hospital records, 2006-2013. Participant attrition status was assessed up to 2014. Rates of injury-related episodes of care were calculated, taking into account exposure time and Poisson regression was performed to estimate exposure-outcome associations. Results Of the 2222 participating families, 799 families (36.0%) had complete follow-up data. Those with incomplete data included 137 (6.2%) who withdrew, 308 (13.8%) were lost to follow-up and 978 families (44.0%) who were partial/non-responders. Families of lower socioeconomic status were less likely to have complete follow-up data (p<0.05). Systematic differences in attrition did not result in differential child injury outcomes or significant differences between the attrition and non-attrition groups in risk factor effect estimates. Participants who withdrew were the only group to demonstrate differences in child injury outcomes. Conclusion This research suggests that even with considerable attrition, if the proportion of participants who withdraw is minimal, overall attrition is unlikely to affect the population prevalence estimate of child injury or measures of association between sociodemographic factors and child injury