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Australian Research (australian + research)
Selected AbstractsMental health improvements of substance-dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic CommunityDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2010ANNE-MAREE POLIMENI Abstract Introduction and Aims. Odyssey House Victoria's Therapeutic Community (TC) accepts substance-dependent clients, including those with co-occurring mental health issues. American data suggest that TCs are effective in rehabilitating such clients; however, Australian research is limited. The aim of the study was to examine Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) profiles of Odyssey House TC residents early in their residency and again after 4 months, to chart changes in MMPI-2 profiles and compare them with norms for psychological health. Design and Methods. The sample comprised 351 clients who were part of the residential program between 1997 and 2007, and who remained in treatment at the TC for at least 4 months. They were administered the MMPI-2 after 5 weeks in treatment and again after 4 months. Results. At the first assessment, the validity scales of the MMPI-2 plus the clinical scales Depression, Psychopathic Deviate, Paranoia, Psychasthenia and Schizophrenia were in the clinical range. At the second assessment, mean scores on all clinical scales except Mania were significantly or near significantly lower and, except for Psychopathic Deviate, within the normal range. The validity scales also demonstrated improvement, although two of the three remained in the clinical range. Discussion and Conclusions. Results indicated that treatment within the TC over this time span was associated with improved mental health. The present study suggests that residential rehabilitation's holistic approach provides a suitable treatment model for clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.[Polimeni A-M, Moore SM, Gruenert S. Mental health improvements of substance-dependent clients after 4 months in a Therapeutic Community. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010] [source] Public opinion on needle and syringe programmes: avoiding assumptions for policy and practiceDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2007CARLA TRELOAR Abstract Despite evidence for their effectiveness, harm reduction services such as needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) are highly vulnerable to perceptions of community disapproval. This paper reviews Australian research on community attitudes to harm reduction services and its impact on research, policy and practice. The literature on community attitudes to NSPs in Australia comprises a small number of representative national samples and surveys of local communities affected by specific services. Despite these extremely limited data, negative community attitudes are often cited by policy-makers and health professionals as a primary constraint on policy-making. The main finding of this literature review is that community perceptions of NSPs are largely positive. Also, support for NSPs was not synonymous with condoning drug use. The failure of policy-makers and politicians to recognise positive community attitudes to NSPs has led in some instances to hasty political responses to adverse media reports, including the closure of services. This literature review showing positive community attitudes to harm reduction services should embolden researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to challenge such reactionary responses. Further, this evidence should be used in countering negative publicity surrounding these services. [Treloar C, Fraser S. Public opinion on needle and syringe programmes: avoiding assumptions for policy and practice. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:355,361] [source] The Value of Life and Health for Public PolicyTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue SpecialIssue 2003Peter Abelson Expenditure on health and safety is a substantial part of GDP, but public agencies in many countries, including Australia, have only qualitative views about the value of life and health. Also, despite considerable work by economists on the value of life and health in recent years, some important issues, such as the value of a healthy life-year, remain unresolved. This paper presents a framework for valuing life and health. It then draws on international and Australian research to estimate possible values for life, healthy life-years, and various chronic and acute health states for public policy purposes in Australia. [source] Prediction of Operating Cash Flows: Further Evidence from AustraliaAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 2 2010Ahsan Habib This paper examines empirically the relative abilities of current operating cash flows (hereafter OCF) and earnings in predicting future operating cash flows in Australia. It extends prior Australian research on cash flow prediction (Percy and Stokes 1992; Clinch, Sidhu and Sing 2002; Farshadfar, Ng and Brimble 2009) by examining future cash flow predictions for one-, two- and three-year-ahead forecast horizons; incorporating additional contextual variables likely to affect the predictive association between current cash flows or earnings and future cash flows; and comparing cross-sectional versus time series-based prediction models to ascertain the relative superiority of one approach over the other. Regression results reveal that the cash flow-based models are more accurate in predicting future operating cash flows than earnings-based models. This result, however, is moderated by firm-specific contextual factors like firm size, negative versus positive cash flow pattern, cash flow variability and firm operating cycle. Finally, a comparison between cross-sectional and time series approaches reveals that the cross-sectional model outperforms the time series model for both the operating cash flows and earnings models in most of the forecast years. [source] Using a research framework to identify knowledge gaps in research on food marketing to children in AustraliaAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2009Kathy Chapman Abstract Objective: Research in the field of food marketing to children requires a better understanding of the research gaps in order to inform policy development. The purpose of this paper was to propose a framework for classifying food marketing research, using Australian research on food marketing to children to demonstrate how this framework can be used to determine knowledge gaps. Approach: A literature review of research databases and ,grey' material was conducted to identify research from the previous 10 years. Studies were classified according to their research focus, and media type, as either: exposure, including content analyses; effects of exposure, including opinions, attitudes and actions resulting from food marketing exposure; regulations, including the type and level of regulation that applies to food marketing; or breaches of regulations, including instances where marketing regulations have been violated. Conclusion: The majority of Australian research on food marketing to children has focused on television advertising and exposure research. Research has consistently shown that the content of food marketing directed at children is predominately for unhealthy foods. There is a lack of research on the effects of food marketing, which would be valuable to inform policy. Implications: The development of a logical framework for food marketing research allows for the identification of research gaps and enables research priorities to be identified. [source] The Incidence and Consequence of Worker Displacement in AustraliaAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 3 2003Colin Green This paper analyses displacement risk and its consequences for re-employment in Australia using data from the Survey of Employment and Unemployment Patterns (SEUP). We confirm overseas evidence that older workers and those from lower skill occupations are, in general, at a greater risk of displacement. By contrast, unlike US studies, no systematic link between tenure in job and displacement risk was found. Consistent with previous Australian research (Borland and McDonald, 2001) we find that males face a higher incidence of displacement than females. Decomposition of the gender difference revealed that industry effects are an important source of disparity in displacement rates. Analysis of re-employment hazards indicated that workers displaced from manufacturing faced increased periods of non-employment. Hence, it appears that there is a role for provisions to help workers in industries where the effects of structural reform have been concentrated (Kletzer, 1998). [source] | ||||||||||