Volume distortion in groups

Given a space $Y$ in $X$, a cycle in $Y$ may be filled with a chain in two ways: either by restricting the chain to $Y$ or by allowing it to be anywhere in $X$. When the pair $(G,H)$ acts on $(X, Y)$, we define the $k$-volume distortion function of $H$ in $G$ to measure the large-scale difference between the volumes of such fillings. We show that these functions are quasi-isometry invariants, and thus independent of the choice of spaces, and provide several bounds in terms of other group properties, such as Dehn functions. We also compute the volume distortion in a number of examples, including characterizing the $k$-volume distortion of $\Z^k$ in $\Z^k \rtimes_M \Z$, where $M$ is a diagonalizable matrix. We use this to prove a conjecture of Gersten.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Leverage and limitations of the EU’s influence in the eastern neighbourhood : a study of compliance with the EU’s justice and home affairs' standards in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine

When the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was launched in 2004 expectations of its potential were low because it lacks the ability to offer EU membership as an incentive, which was found to be pivotal for the EU to have influence in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). Nevertheless, progress reports have demonstrated that some convergence toward the EU standards has taken place in the neighbouring countries. This research seeks to understand under which conditions compliance takes place, what explains the variation in (non)compliance with the EU standards in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and what influence does the EU have. It examines formal and behavioural compliance with the EU action plan recommendations in the area of border guard reform, readmission agreement, asylum and refugee protection, and criminalisation of human trafficking in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The three states have all expressed interest in EU membership, but they vary in their potential to be considered as candidates and in their identification with the EU. Rather than assuming that the EU’s influence is low in the neighbourhood because it cannot offer a certain membership incentive, this research studies the problem by focusing on a combination of explanatory factors drawn from rational choice and sociological/constructivist institutionalism both at the macro level (strength of membership prospect and identification with the EU) and at the issue-specific levels. The research demonstrates that the EU’s influence is differential and dependent on domestic, external and issue-specific conditions. The results indicate that the EU is capable of eliciting influence in the JHA area without a certain EU membership prospect. However, when the country perceives that there is a possibility to accede to the EU, compliance with the EU standards has been more even across the four issue areas and at the formal and behavioural levels

Workshop synopses : Pathways for public health education

The Commonwealth introduced the Public Health Education and Research Program (PHERP) initiative to support capacity building within the public health workforce, primarily through investment in Master of Public Health programs. Following the 2005 review of PHERP, a national \u27Quality Agenda\u27 was proposed to establish minimum standards in public health competencies of graduates; and Master of Public Health (MPH) graduates in particular. This \u27agenda\u27 has triggered renewed discussion on public health workforce needs, public health graduate competencies, and the capacity of the tertiary education sector to deliver these.The Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions (ANAPHI) has worked with the Department of Health and Ageing on the \u27Quality Agenda\u27. In 2008, ANAPHI convened a working group to further open up discussion among academic institutions on the public health education context to the Quality Agenda. The group held a lunchtime workshop at the 2008 Population Health Congress in Brisbane, as one of a themed pair of sessions entitled \u27Public Health Professionals - Shaping our Future\u27. A further aim of the workshop was to identify key themes to shape the next ANAPHI Teaching and Learning Forum (September 23rd to 24th 2008, Canberra, www.anaphi.org.au).<br /

Resilience trinity: safeguarding ecosystem functioning and services across three different time horizons and decision contexts

Ensuring ecosystem resilience is an intuitive approach to safeguard the functioning of ecosystems and hence the future provisioning of ecosystem services (ES). However, resilience is a multi‐faceted concept that is difficult to operationalize. Focusing on resilience mechanisms, such as diversity, network architectures or adaptive capacity, has recently been suggested as means to operationalize resilience. Still, the focus on mechanisms is not specific enough. We suggest a conceptual framework, resilience trinity, to facilitate management based on resilience mechanisms in three distinctive decision contexts and time‐horizons: 1) reactive, when there is an imminent threat to ES resilience and a high pressure to act, 2) adjustive, when the threat is known in general but there is still time to adapt management and 3) provident, when time horizons are very long and the nature of the threats is uncertain, leading to a low willingness to act. Resilience has different interpretations and implications at these different time horizons, which also prevail in different disciplines. Social ecology, ecology and engineering are often implicitly focussing on provident, adjustive or reactive resilience, respectively, but these different notions of resilience and their corresponding social, ecological and economic tradeoffs need to be reconciled. Otherwise, we keep risking unintended consequences of reactive actions, or shying away from provident action because of uncertainties that cannot be reduced. The suggested trinity of time horizons and their decision contexts could help ensuring that longer‐term management actions are not missed while urgent threats to ES are given priority

Fact or fable: Increased wellbeing in voluntary simplicity

The value of a simple life has been espoused by writers and thinkers throughout time. In the modern era, it has been proposed as an antidote to modern stressors and as a path to wellbeing. The simple life — or voluntary simplicity as it has become known — is a lifestyle whose hallmark is reduced consumption. Personal growth and ecologically responsible behaviours are also integral components. If voluntary simplicity is a path to increased wellbeing, then society stands to benefit if the lifestyle becomes more widely adopted. This review asks the question, is there empirical evidence for an association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing? Using a systematic approach, peer-reviewed literature regarding the wellbeing outcomes of simplifiers was located, resulting in four studies containing a total of 3,233 participants. A comparison of the four studies is given and the strengths and limitations of the present state of research in the area offered. It is concluded that the putative association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing does exist, although important questions remain to be resolved by future research

A perspective on mental health literacy and mental health issues among Australian youth: Cultural, social, and environmental evidence!

Mental health literacy (MHL) helps improve mental health outcomes and reduce the impacts of mental illness. This study aims to reflect on scientific evidence on MHL levels, barriers to MHL, their impacts on mental health among Australian youth and interventions to overcome these barriers. The factors explored in the Perspective included; influence of social determinants, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. MHL intervention programs and MHL for improving mental health outcomes due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic were also explored. Adequate levels of youth MHL significantly improved one's ability to recognize own mental health status as well as provide peer support. Practical considerations such as designing more gender and culturally specific youth MHL programs are proposed

Paving Pathways: shaping the Public Health workforce through tertiary education

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. Following the 2007 Australian Federal election, the new Labour government brought with it a refreshing commitment to a more inclusive and strategic style of government. An important example of this was the 2020 visioning process that identified key issues of public health concern, including an acknowledgment that it was unacceptable to allocate less than 2% of the health budget towards disease prevention. This led to the recommendation for the establishment of a national preventive health agency (Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 National Preventative Health Strategy, Prepared by the Preventative Health Taskforce 2009). The focus on disease prevention places a spotlight on the workforce that will be required to deliver the new investment in health prevention, and also on the role of public health education in developing and upskilling the workforce. It is therefore timely to reflect on trends, challenges and opportunities from a tertiary sector perspective. Is it more desirable to focus education efforts on selected lead issues such as the "obesity epidemic", climate change, Indigenous health and so on, or on the underlying theory and skills that build a flexible workforce capable of responding to a range of health challenges? Or should we aspire to both? This paper presents some of the key discussion points from 2008 - 2009 of the Public Health Educational Pathways workshops and working group of the Australian Network of Public Health Institutions. We highlight some of the competing tensions in public health tertiary education, their impact on public health training programs, and the educational pathways that are needed to grow, shape and prepare the public health workforce for future challenges

Paving Pathways: shaping the Public Health workforce through tertiary education

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector

Internet-of-Things-Enabled Smart Bed Rail for Application in Hospital Beds

This article presents an atypical offline based LoRaWAN application for use in hospital settings, where the ability to maintain network connectivity during internet connection disruption is paramount. A prototype bed rail is demonstrated, providing advanced functionality compared to traditional bed rails. The manufactured prototype provides data to a nurses station reliably and operates under battery backup. The power consumption of the system under different transmission intervals was tested, allowing appropriate battery sizing for different applications to be specified accurately. It is expected that a single LoRaWAN gateway will be able to cover bed rails across an entire modern hospital, allowing minimal infrastructure cost to implement the device or application in a rapidly deployed field hospital.</jats:p