An empirical look at citizen co-production in Australia

Co-production – the contribution of time and effort to the delivery of public services by service-users and  citizens, prompted by or in concert with public sector organisations – is attracting increasing attention from governments and communities. The literature identifies numerous initiatives in the United States, Britain, Germany, Indonesia, Sweden and Latin America, with co-production reported in disaster management, social protection, economic affairs and education – among others.  Yet despite this interest in more than a few services, its ‘big society’ appeal, and the substantial scholarly endeavours devoted to it, there is still much to uncover about co-production. Large groups of co-producing clients have not yet been asked about what they actually do. This paper is a contribution to developing some answers. Drawing from a large-sample (1,000) survey of co-production in Australia, it looks at what co-producers do (in what kinds of services, and how often) and what motivates them to co-produce. It is part of a co-published Occasional Paper series from ANZSOG and the Victorian Public Sector Commission. &nbsp

Leading with political astuteness: A study of public managers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

Combining quantitative survey data from over 1000 middle and senior public managers, as well as qualitative data from 42 in-depth interviews, the study sheds light on how managers understand politics in their work; how they rate their own and their colleagues’ political skills; how they use their political skills; and how these skills were developed. The report also sets forth recommendations to improve the development of managers’ political astuteness at the level of the individual, the organisation, and the professional body/training provider

Episode 11: Susannah Howe, DC Director

This episode features an interview with Susannah Howe, the Design Clinic Director at Smith College. The interviewers are recent graduates Harriet Wright and Sophie Yates from the Zipline-DC2122 team

Enantiospecific behaviour of chiral drugs in soil.

The importance of stereochemistry on the behaviour and effects of chiral pharmaceutical and illicit drugs in amended agricultural soils has been over looked to date. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the enantiospecific behaviour of a chemically diverse range of chiral drugs including naproxen, ibuprofen, salbutamol, bisoprolol, metoprolol, propranolol, acebutolol, atenolol, chlorpheniramine, amphetamine, fluoxetine and citalopram in soil microcosms. Considerable changes of the enantiomeric composition of ibuprofen, naproxen, atenolol, acebutolol and amphetamine were observed within 56 d. This is significant as enantiomer enrichment can favour the pharmacologically active (e.g., S(−)-atenolol) or less/non-active forms of the drug (e.g., R(−)-amphetamine). Single enantiomer microcosms showed enantiospecific degradation was responsible for enantiomer enrichment of atenolol and amphetamine. However, naproxen and ibuprofen enantiomers were subject to chiral inversion whereby one enantiomer converts to its antipode. Interestingly, chiral inversion was bidirectional and this is the first time it is reported in soil. Therefore, introduction of the less active enantiomer to soil through irrigation with reclaimed wastewater or biosolids as fertiliser can result in the formation of its active enantiomer, or vice versa. This phenomenon needs considered in risk assessment frameworks to avoid underestimating the risk posed by chiral drugs in amended soils

Where specialist and mainstream service systems collide : The National Disability Insurance Scheme in prisons

The coordination of specialist with mainstream service systems is prone to role delineation and implementation difficulties worldwide. In the case of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this specialist/mainstream interface is complicated by federalism and funding responsibilities held by different levels of government. People with disability, especially cognitive or intellectual disability, are over-represented in Australia's prisons. Through semi-structured interviews with professionals working at the interface of disability and criminal justice, we explore some of these interface issues with regard to NDIS services (specialist) in prisons (mainstream). We find that policy permits some NDIS-funded services to be delivered inside prisons, such as transition services related to a person's disability, but in practice there is significant variation in how policy is understood and implemented, leading to exclusion and service gaps. This case study shines light on longstanding debates about service coordination across organisational and jurisdictional boundaries

A systematic review of cannabidiol dosing in clinical populations

Aims: Cannabidiol is a cannabis-derived medicinal product with potential application in a wide-variety of contexts, however its effective dose in different disease states remains unclear. This review aimed to investigate what doses have been applied in clinical populations, in order to understand the active range of cannabidiol in a variety of medical contexts. Methods: Publications involving administration of cannabidiol alone were collected by searching PubMed, EMBASE and ClinicalTrials.gov. Results: A total of 1038 articles were retrieved, of which 35 studies met inclusion criteria covering 13 medical contexts. 23 studies reported a significant improvement in primary outcomes (e.g. psychotic symptoms, anxiety, seizures), with doses ranging betwee

International survey evidence on user and community co-delivery of prevention activities relevant to public services and outcomes

This study compares surveys of user and community co-delivery of prevention activities internationally, exploring both the level of co-delivery, as revealed by citizens, and the characteristics of those citizens most likely to co-produce. It draws upon a baseline survey of five EU countries in 2008, more recent updates from two of these countries in 2012 and 2014, and a similar survey in Australia in 2014. Although there are many differences in detail, the results are quite consistent in relation to most key issues and provide a unique quantitative insight into the characteristics of co-delivery behaviour by citizens

A systematic review on the pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol in humans

Background: Cannabidiol is being pursued as a therapeutic treatment for multiple conditions, usually by oral delivery. Animal studies suggest oral bioavailability is low, but literature in humans is not sufficient. The aim of this review was to collate published data in this area.Methods: A systematic search of PubMed and EMBASE (including MEDLINE) was conducted to retrieve all articles reporting pharmacokinetic data of CBD in humans. Results: Of 792 articles retireved, 24 included pharmacokinetic parameters in humans. The half-life of cannabidiol was reported between 1.4-10.9 hours after oromucosal spray, 2-5 days after chronic oral administration, 24 hours after i.v., and 31 hours after smoking. Bioavailability following smoking was 31% however no other studies attempted to report the absolute bioavailability of CBD following other routes in humans, despite i.v formulations being available. The area-under-the-curve and Cmax increase in dose-dependent manners and are reached quicker following smoking/inhalation compared to oral/oromucosal routes. Cmax is increased during fed states and in lipid formulations. Tmax is reached between 0-4 hours. Conclusions: This review highlights the paucity in data and some discrepancy in the pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol, despite its widespread use in humans. Analysis and understanding of properties such as bioavailability and half-life is critical to future therapeutic success, and robust data from a variety of formulations is required