Police performance measurement: an annotated bibliography

This study provides information to assist those involved in performance measurement in police organisations. The strategies used to identify the literature are described. Thematic sections cover; general overviews; methodological issues; performance management in other industries; national, international and cross-national studies; frameworks (e.g. Compstat; the Balanced Scorecard); criticisms (particularly unintended consequences); crime-specific measures; practitioner guides; performance evaluation of individual staff; police department plans and evaluations; annotated bibliographies in related areas, and; other literature. Our discussion offers two conclusions: the measures best aligned with performance are typically more expensive, while most operational data should only provide contextual information; the philosophy of open governance should be pursued to promote transparency, accountability and communication to improve police performance

The contribution of geogenic particulate matter to lung disease in indigenous children

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Indigenous children have much higher rates of ear and lung disease than non-Indigenous children, which may be related to exposure to high levels of geogenic (earth-derived) particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dust levels and health in Indigenous children in Western Australia (W.A.). Data were from a population-based sample of 1077 Indigenous children living in 66 remote communities of W.A. (>2,000,000 km2), with information on health outcomes derived from carer reports and hospitalisation records. Associations between dust levels and health outcomes were assessed by multivariate logistic regression in a multi-level framework. We assessed the effect of exposure to community sampled PM on epithelial cell (NuLi-1) responses to non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) in vitro. High dust levels were associated with increased odds of hospitalisation for upper (OR 1.77 95% CI [1.02–3.06]) and lower (OR 1.99 95% CI [1.08–3.68]) respiratory tract infections and ear disease (OR 3.06 95% CI [1.20–7.80]). Exposure to PM enhanced NTHi adhesion and invasion of epithelial cells and impaired IL-8 production. Exposure to geogenic PM may be contributing to the poor respiratory health of disadvantaged communities in arid environments where geogenic PM levels are high

KONTAKT© for Australian adolescents on the autism spectrum: protocol of a randomized control trial

BACKGROUND:Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts. While social skills group training (SSGT) has shown moderate effects on various sociability outcomes in ASD, there is a need for (1) replication of effects in additional clinical and cultural contexts, (2) designs that employ active control groups, (3) calculation of health economic benefits, (4) identification of the optimal training duration, and (5) measurement of individual goals and quality of life outcomes.METHOD/DESIGN:With the aim of investigating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a SSGT, KONTAKT©, a two-armed randomized control trial with adolescents aged 12-17 years (N = 90) with ASD and an intelligence quotient (IQ) of over 70 will be undertaken. Following stratification for centre and gender, participants will be randomly assigned to either KONTAKT© or to an active control group, a group-based cooking programme. Participants will attend both programmes in groups of 6-8 adolescents, over 16 one-and-a-half-hour sessions. The primary outcome examined is adolescent self-rated achievement of personally meaningful social goals as assessed via the Goal Attainment Scaling during an interview with a blinded clinician. Secondary outcomes include adolescent self-reported interpersonal efficacy, quality of life, social anxiety, loneliness, face emotion recognition performance and associated gaze behaviour, and parent proxy reports of autistic traits, quality of life, social functioning, and emotion recognition and expression. Cost-effectiveness will be investigated in relation to direct and indirect societal and healthcare costs.DISCUSSION:The primary outcomes of this study will be evidenced in the anticipated achievement of adolescents' personally meaningful social goals following participation in KONTAKT© as compared to the active control group. This design will enable rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of KONTAKT©, exercising control over the possibly confounding effect of exposure to a social context of peers with a diagnosis of ASD.TRIAL REGISTRATION:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). ACTRN12617001117303. Registered on 31 July 2017. anzctr.org.au ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03294668. Registered on 22 September 2017. https://clinicaltrials.gov.</p

Day-Time Roost Patterns of New and Previously Translocated North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Information on the day-time roost areas of North Island brown kiwi (NIBK) (Apteryx mantelli), particularly post-translocation, is limited. This study aimed to determine the day-time roost areas of newly translocated NIBK and compare these with birds that had established from a translocation in the previous year. Radio telemetry was used to monitor sub-adult NIBK in the first three weeks post-translocation simultaneously with birds released in the previous year. The data from 15 birds (nine translocated in 2014 and six translocated in 2013) were used to calculate the area over which roost sites were distributed. Areas were estimated using Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP, Ha) and 50 percentile kernel density estimation (KDE, Ha). No significant difference in MCP was determined between newly translocated 2014 birds (21.3 Ha, SE 7.92) and those translocated in 2013 (22.85 Ha, SE 10.84) or between KDE50 for 2013 birds (16.30 Ha, SE 7.44) compared with 2014 birds (20.66 Ha, SE 8.29). Within the first three weeks post-translocation, most of the 2014 birds remained within the vicinity of their release site, which may be due to a combination of suitable habitat/roost sites and the ‘anchoring’ effect of previously established 2013 birds. This study provides new information on roost areas of newly translocated NIBK and highlights the importance of post-translocation monitoring.</jats:p

Neo-planning: Location-based social media to engage Australia's new digital locals

Community engagement with time poor and seemingly apathetic citizens continues to challenge local governments. Capturing the attention of a digitally literate community who are technology and socially savvy adds a new quality to this challenge. Community engagement is resource and time intensive, yet local governments have to manage on continually tightened budgets. The benefits of assisting citizens in taking ownership in making their community and city a better place to live in collaboration with planners and local governments are well established. This study investigates a new collaborative form of civic participation and engagement for urban planning that employs in-place digital augmentation. It enhances people’s experience of physical spaces with digital technologies that are directly accessible within that space, in particular through interaction with mobile phones and public displays. The study developed and deployed a system called Discussions in Space (DIS) in conjunction with a major urban planning project in Brisbane. Planners used the system to ask local residents planning-related questions via a public screen, and passers-by sent responses via SMS or Twitter onto the screen for others to read and reflect, hence encouraging in-situ, real-time, civic discourse. The low barrier of entry proved to be successful in engaging a wide range of residents who are generally not heard due to their lack of time or interest. The system also reflected positively on the local government for reaching out in this way. Challenges and implications of the short-texted and ephemeral nature of this medium were evaluated in two focus groups with urban planners. The paper concludes with an analysis of the planners’ feedback evaluating the merits of the data generated by the system to better engage with Australia’s new digital locals

Evaluation of nitinol stent placement complications for palliation of malignant dysphagia

14120 Background: Over 50% of patients (pts) with obstructive carcinoma are inoperable at the time of the diagnosis and only 18% of them survive beyond a year. Palliative treatment must be quickly effective, safe, well tolerated and focused to relieve symptoms, improving the nutritional state and quality of life. The objective of the study was to investigate the clinical effectiveness and complications of palliative treatment with esophageal stent placement. Methods: Descriptive and prospective study about functionality of nitinol autoexpandible stent was carried out. Evaluable pts included those with confirmed histological diagnosis of inoperable or unresectable esophageal cancer, with some clinical contraindication due to risk or personal rejection. An immediate post placement follow-up was performed after 24hours, 7 and 30 days, to evaluate the stent proper location, its permeability as well as its degree of expansion, presence of epigastric or precordial pain, reflux and degree of dysphagia. Results: From August/02 to September/05 stent was placed in 20 people, 9 women and 11 men, mean age 67.8 (range: 42–85). The autoexpandible stent placement was achieved in 100% of pts (3 = gastric carcinoma and 17 = esophagus carcinoma). Histological diagnosis was epidermoid (11 pts) and adenocarcinoma (9 pts). Inoperable malignant stricture was as follows: lower third: 11 pts (55%), middle third: 9 pts (45%). A second stent was required in 2 pts. Median time of hospitalization was 48 hours.Immediate complications appeared in 12 pts: pain 3 (15%), vomiting 3 (15%), pneumonia 2 (10%), cough 1 (5%), pyrosis 1 (5%). After 24 hour control: pain 2(10%), respiratory complications 2 (10%). The delayed ones were as follows: level 4 dysphagia 2 (10%), pain 8 (40%), reflux 5 (25%). No mortality related to stent placement was observed. Dysphagia was perceptibly reduced, from 3.0 to 1, (p &lt; 0,005). Conclusion: The nitinol stent is easy to place, it provides effective palliation of malignant esophageal obstruction with short hospitalization time and low risk of serious complications. No significant financial relationships to disclose. </jats:p

Chagas, ten years of study in a public hospital

Background: Epidemiological study of chagasic patients in a public hospital between 2007 and 2017 Methods & Materials: All patients were evaluated with serological confirmation with two/three techniques (ELISA, TIF, HAI), cardiovascular(ECG, echocardiography, chest x-ray) and gastroenterological studies. The analyzed data were sex, age, place of birth, clinical staging, type of transmission, pregnancy condition, treatment and drug toxicity Results: Of 154 diagnosed, 34(22%) were males and 120(78%) were females, 68(56,6%) were pregnant at the time of diagnosis and 12(7,8%) they had been infected by mother-child transmission. The average age of infected women was 37.3(range 15-66) and in men was 55,8(range 13-73). Of all diagnosed, 29(19%) had cardiovascular and 6(3,9%) gastrointestinal diseases. Almost half are from bordering countries(Bolivia, Paraguay) Of our country, Chaco was the one that more number of cases contribute. They received treatment in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health 62 (40,3%) and 11(17,8%) of them evidenced drug toxicity. Conclusion: More women than men were diagnosed. Almost 60% during pregnancy. The cardiovascular affectation was diagnosed five times more than the gastrointestinal disease. Only 40% of those diagnosed were included in the treatment criteria.Facultad de Ciencias Médica