Local government capacity in Australia

© 2015, Kauno Technologijos Universitetas. All rights reserved. This paper analyses how effectively local government in Australia performs its functions as a key element of subnational governance. Service delivery and local democracy are identified as the core functions of local government. The analysis takes into account paradigms of public administration, democracy and management, the public organization, accountability and capacity. The concept of 'capacity' brings together many of the issues discussed in this paper. Questions of capacity relate to whether local governments are effectively performing their institutional functions, how they do so with regard to principles of good governance, and whether the dimensions of their capacity can be reformed if there was the need to meet additional demands

Decentralisation and subsidiarity: Concepts and frameworks for emerging economies

A global trend towards decentralisation, particularly in emerging and transitional economies, is well underway. At the same time, there are many different meanings assigned to the concept, and it is frequently left undefined, even while it is being implemented. Written under the auspices of the University of Technology Sydney, Centre for Local Government, this paper argues that enhanced understanding of concepts and theories can contribute to improved practice during decentralisation reforms, and consequently be of benefit to governments and to their citizens. Drawing on the theoretical, research and policy literature, an approach is adopted that aims to draw benefits from this literature for public policy and administration in particularly the emerging and transitional economies. The material in the paper is used as a foundation for putting forward a recommended synthesis-framework for decentralisation implementation that draws attention to: appreciating the theoretical scope of fiscal decentralisation; focusing on the country and its goals; considering the design of the system of multi-level governance; focusing on central and local capacity; and adopting flexibility, supported by feedback mechanisms, in the process of decentralisation

Can Ultrasound Be Used to Improve the Palpation Skills of Physicians in Training? A Prospective Study

BackgroundAccurate diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorders relies heavily on the physical examination, including accurate palpation of musculoskeletal structures. The literature suggests that there has been a deterioration of physical examination skills among medical students and residents, in part due to increased reliance on advanced imaging. It has been shown that knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy and physical examination skills improve with the use of ultrasound; however, the literature is limited.ObjectiveTo determine whether ultrasound can improve the ability of physicians in training (residents) to palpate the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) in the bicipital groove.DesignProspective study design.SettingTertiary care center.ParticipantsTen physical medicine and rehabilitation residents served as subjects. Exclusion criteria included the presence of any condition that precluded their ability to palpate. Three volunteers were used as models. Model exclusion criteria included anything that distorted normal shoulder anatomy or inhibited examiner palpation. Three investigators with experience performing diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound were used to confirm palpation attempts.MethodsSubjects attempted to palpate the LHBT bilaterally in the bicipital groove of each model. Investigators assessed the accuracy of the palpation attempt using real‐time ultrasonography. Subjects participated in a 30‐minute ultrasound‐assisted training session learning how to palpate the LHBT in the bicipital groove with ultrasound confirmation. After the ultrasound training session, subjects again attempted to palpate the LHBT in the bicipital groove of each model with investigator confirmation.Main Outcome MeasurementsLHBT palpation accuracy rates preintervention versus postintervention.ResultsPretraining LHBT palpation accuracy was 20% (12/60 attempts). Post‐ultrasound training session accuracy was 51.7% (31/60 attempts; P ≤ .001).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that palpation accuracy improves after ultrasound assisted LHBT palpation training. These data suggest that the use of ultrasound may be beneficial when teaching musculoskeletal palpation skills to health care professionals.Level of EvidenceIIPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146948/1/pmr2730.pd

Why Local Government Matters

Why Local Government Matters is a major piece of social research on community attitudes to local government by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), undertaken with substantial expertise from staff of the Centre for Local Government at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS:CLG). The research aims to better understand how and why the activities of local governments, and their roles in society are valued by communities

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: Analysis of individual records for 67,776 children diagnosed in 61 countries during 2000-2014 (CONCORD-3)

INTRODUCTION Tumors of the central nervous system are among the leading causes of cancer-related death in children. Population-based cancer survival reflects the overall effectiveness of a health care system in managing cancer. Inequity in access to care world-wide may result in survival disparities. METHODS We considered children (0-14 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor during 2000-2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a rigorous, three-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We implemented a revised version of the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (third edition) to control for under-registration of non-malignant astrocytic tumors. We estimated net survival using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator. RESULTS The study included 67,776 children. We estimated survival for 12 histology groups, each based on relevant ICD-O-3 codes. Age-standardized 5-year net survival for low-grade astrocytoma ranged between 84% and 100% world-wide during 2000-2014. In most countries, 5-year survival was 90% or more during 2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010-2014. Global variation in survival for medulloblastoma was much wider, with age-standardized 5-year net survival between 47% and 86% for children diagnosed during 2010-2014. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors in children, by histology. We devised an enhanced version of ICCC-3 to account for differences in cancer registration practices world-wide. Our findings may have public health implications, because low-grade glioma is 1 of the 6 index childhood cancers included by WHO in the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

Health-Related Quality of Life and All-Cause Mortality among Older Healthy Individuals in Australia and the United States:A Prospective Cohort Study

Published online: 3 January 2021PURPOSE: Previous research has demonstrated that lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, especially in-patient groups. The association of HRQoL with all-cause mortality in community samples requires further investigation. This study aimed to examine whether HRQoL predicts all-cause mortality in older healthy community-dwelling people from Australia and the United States (U.S.) enrolled in the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial. We also explored whether this association varies by gender or country. METHOD: A prospective cohort of 19,106 individuals aged 65-98 years, who were without a dementia diagnosis or a known major life-limiting disease, and completed the 12-item short-form-HRQoL at recruitment (2010-2014). They were followed until June 2017. Cox proportional-hazard models were used to determine the association between the physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of HRQoL and all-cause mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviours and clinical measures. Hazards ratios were estimated for every 10-unit increase in PCS or MCS. RESULTS: There were 1052 deaths over a median 4.7-years (interquartile range 3.6-5.7) of follow-up, with 11.9 events per 1000 person-years. Higher PCS was associated with lower all-cause mortality (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.77, 0.89) in the entire sample, while higher MCS was associated with lower mortality among U.S. participants only (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63, 0.95). Gender differences in the association of either PCS or MCS with mortality were not observed. CONCLUSION: Our large study provides evidence that HRQoL is inversely associated with all-cause mortality among initially healthy older people.Aung Zaw Zaw Phyo, Joanne Ryan, David A. Gonzalez-Chica, Robyn L. Woods, Christopher M. Reid, Mark R. Nelson ... et al

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Executive Summary of a Workshop

Comment in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: The Ongoing Search for One Definition to Rule Them All. [J Pediatr. 2018] Midlife crisis? In its 50th year, BPD redefines itself. [J Pediatr. 2018

Antiferromagnetic real-space configuration probed by x-ray orbital angular momentum phase dichroism

X-ray beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are an up-and-coming tool for x-ray characterization techniques. Beams with OAM have an azimuthally varying phase that leads to a gradient of the light field. New material properties can be probed by utilizing the unique phase structure of an OAM beam. Here, we demonstrate a novel type of phase dichroism in resonant diffraction from an artificial antiferromagnet with a topological defect. The scattered OAM beam has circular dichroism whose sign is coupled to the phase of the beam, which reveals the real-space configuration of the antiferromagnetic ground state. Thermal cycling of the artificial antiferromagnet can change the ground state, as indicated by the changing phase dichroism. These results exemplify the potential of OAM beams to probe matter in a way that is inaccessible using typical x-ray techniques

Effect of Early Vaccination For Fowl Pox on the Performance of Broilers.

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