Greenway landscape design: River Torrens Linear Park, Adelaide, South Australia - a process rather than an end state

This paper addresses the ongoing landscape design of the River Torrens Linear Park, which is the first and largest greenway within the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. This greenway is a 30 km long recreation and conservation open space, linking the Mount Lofty Ranges with Gulf St Vincent, and envelopes the River Torrens throughout its length. The planning and design of the greenway has previously been reviewed in detail by the author (Mugavin, D., 2004). The initial planning, design and implementation stages were undertaken in 1982 and have been ongoing through to 2010. River corridor management including water quality, weed control and vegetation re-establishment, public access, and recreation are ongoing issues. This paper addresses the re-establishment of the Breakout Creek sector of the greenway

Master of Arts

thesisThis paper provides an analysis of the Arabic language used in two of the post-revolutionary works of Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm. The dialog of the 1952 short story, "I've Got It, I've Got It," from the collection, The Art of Literature, is examined along with the dialog from the 1956 play, The Deal. In addition to a language analysis and an overview of the life and works of al-Ḥakīm, the relationship between al-Ḥakīm's themes and language usage in his works as a means of promoting either Egyptian nationalism or Arab nationalism is also postulated. Furthermore, this paper reviews the social, political, and linguistic climate in Egypt that may have had an influence on al-Ḥakīm's choice of subject matter, while also presenting theories of variation in the Arabic language and the signifcance of language in identity creation and nationalism promotion. al-Ḥakīm is known for creating a third language as a means of generating a sense of interconnectedness among the less educated people of the Arabic-speaking world, and this paper looks at the absence or presence of the third language, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and Colloquial Egyptian Arabic (CEA) in the two works. The analysis is two-fold, one section is a qualitative analysis of language tokens in both the play and the short story, while another section is a quantitative analysis of negation in the play. This study is unique in that it provides an analysis of language variation in literary works in the context of societal and political events

The hidden harm: alcohol’s impact on children and families

Examines the prevalence and effects of heavy drinking on families and children, and the extent to which they persisted or changed over time. Summary The 2015 study examined the prevalence and effects of heavy drinking on families and children, and the extent to which they persisted or changed over time. It paints a concerning picture of the prevalence of alcohol-related family and domestic violence in Australia, shedding new light on a hidden dimension of alcohol harms that occurs largely behind closed doors. Key findings The hidden harm draws on two national surveys of alcohol’s harm to others, service system data and qualitative interviews with families, providing for the first time a detailed and valuable insight into the magnitude of the problem and the large numbers of Australian children who are being put at risk. In 2011 there were 29,684 police-reported incidents of alcohol-related domestic violence in Australia, and that’s just in the four states and territories where this data is available. Children are being verbally abused, left in unsupervised or unsafe situations, physically hurt or exposed to domestic violence because of others’ drinking. Many were also witnessing verbal or physical conflict, drinking or inappropriate behaviour. Over a million children (22 per cent of all Australian children) are estimated to be affected in some way by the drinking of others (2008). 142,582 children were substantially affected (2008), and more than 10,000 Australian children are in the child protection system because of a carers drinking (2006-07)

Compulsory treatment in Australia: a discussion paper on the compulsory treatment of individuals dependent on alcohol and/or other drugs

This discussion paper presents a national perspective of the current operation of compulsory alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) treatment, within the context of existing research evidence, ethical considerations and international practice. It is intended to inform ongoing debate on the place of compulsory treatment in Australia. Particular areas of interest are the development, implementation and effectiveness of drug diversion and civil commitment practices

Engaging with 12-Step and Other Mutual Aid Groups During and After Treatment: Addressing Workers’ Negative Beliefs and Attitudes through Training

Although attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings is associated with improvements in alcohol consumption and related problems, barriers to engagement persist, including negative perceptions by addiction professionals. The current project examined clinician (N = 64) attitudes to AA and other mutual aid (MA) groups before and after training. Following training, there were increases in knowledge and willingness to refer clients. A follow-up of 38 clinicians identified moderate increases in referrals to MA groups over the following month. Referral to mutual aid groups was predicted by how important clinicians perceived 12-Step groups to be, their satisfaction with the training and support from their agency

Alcohol and other drug withdrawal: practice guidelines.

Clinical guidelines seek to direct clinical practice by outlining recognised, evidence-based treatment interventions. They draw on current literature and clinical practice expertise. These Guidelines provide guidance for clinical decision-making in the context of individual client requirements, withdrawal setting, treatment availability and individual service protocols. These Guidelines are consistent with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) United Nations Principles of Drug Dependence Treatment (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and World Health Organization, 2008). They outline current best practice for the management of AOD-dependent clients accessing withdrawal care. 1 Introduction - page 1 2 Definitions of dependence and withdrawal - page 5 3 Principles of AOD withdrawal care - page 9 4 Continuity of Care - page 11 5 Features of AOD withdrawal - page 13 6 Special needs groups - page 19 7 Presentation to AOD withdrawal - page 29 8 AOD withdrawal settings - page 31 9 Assessment - page 37 10 Alcohol withdrawal - page 45 11 Opioid withdrawal - page 65 12 Benzodiazepines - page 87 13 Amphetamine-type substances (ATS) - page 99 14 Cannabis - page 111 15 Nicotine - page 121 16 AOD withdrawal for clients with a dual diagnosis - page 133 17 References - page 16

The acceptability and feasibility of peer worker support role in community based HCV treatment for injecting drug users

Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne virus in Australia affecting over 200 000 people. Effective treatment for hepatitis C has only become accessible in Australia since the late 1990's, although active injecting drug use (IDU) remained an exclusion criteria for government-funded treatment until 2001. Treatment uptake has been slow, particularly among injecting drug users, the largest affected group. We developed a peer-based integrated model of hepatitis C care at a community drug and alcohol clinic. Clients interested and eligible for hepatitis C treatment had their substance use, mental health and other psychosocial comorbidities co-managed onsite at the clinic prior to and during treatment. In a qualitative preliminary evaluation of the project, nine current patients of the clinic were interviewed, as was the clinic peer worker. A high level of patient acceptability of the peer-based model and an endorsement the integrated model of care was found. This paper describes the acceptability of a peer-based integrated model of hepatitis C care by the clients using the service

Characteristics of individuals presenting to treatment for primary alcohol problems versus other drug problems in the Australian patient pathways study

Background: People seeking treatment for substance use disorders often have additional health and social issues. Although individuals presenting with alcohol as the primary drug of concern (PDOC) account for nearly half of all treatment episodes to the Australian alcohol and other drug (AOD) service system, previous treatment cohort studies have focused only on the profile of Australian heroin or methamphetamine users. While studies overseas indicate that clients seeking treatment primarily for their drinking are less likely to experience social and economic marginalisation than those seeking treatment primarily for illicit or pharmaceutical drug use, very little research has directly compared individuals presenting with alcohol as the PDOC to those primarily presenting with other drugs as their PDOC. Methods: Seven hundred and ninety-six participants were recruited at entry to specialist AOD treatment in Victoria and Western Australia, and completed measures of demographic and social factors, substance use, quality of life, service use, and criminal justice involvement. We compared those with alcohol as their PDOC to those with other drugs as their PDOC using Pearson chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results: Rates of social disadvantage, poor quality of life, high severity of substance dependence, and past-year AOD, mental health, acute health, and social service use were high in all groups. However, participants with alcohol as the PDOC were older; more likely to have an educational qualification; less likely to report criminal justice involvement, housing/homelessness service use, tobacco smoking, or problems with multiple substances; and reported better environmental quality of life; but were more likely to have used ambulance services, than those with other drugs as their PDOC. Conclusions: While those seeking treatment primarily for alcohol problems appear less likely to suffer some forms of social and economic disadvantage or to use multiple substances than those with a primary drug problem, they experience similarly high levels of substance dependence severity and mental health and AOD service use. These findings reinforce the need for AOD services to integrate or coordinate care with programs that address the many complexities clients frequently present with, while also acknowledging differences between those seeking treatment for alcohol versus other drug problems