Caution versus conference referral: a comparison of police diversion in reducing re-contact by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders in South Australia

This report compares the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-contact with the criminal justice system by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders. Introduction The over-representation of Indigenous young people in the criminal justice system remains a significant social justice and public policy issue in Australia. It has been suggested that an increased use of effective police diversion can reduce Indigenous over-representation. Diversion can be defined as the practice of diverting young people from entering or continuing into the formal criminal justice system and commonly involves pre-court processes and programs. Two of the most frequently used methods of diversion in South Australia are formal police cautioning and family conferencing. While a number of studies have investigated the effectiveness of diversion in reducing re-offending by Indigenous juveniles, only Cunningham (2007) and Allard et al. (2009) have investigated the effectiveness of formal police cautioning and family conferencing in reducing re-offending by first-time Indigenous juvenile offenders (F-TIJOs). However, these two studies report conflicting findings and contain notable methodological limitations, including: (i) short follow-up periods, (ii) failure to track re-offending into adulthood, (iii) small sample sizes, (iv) failure to examine more than two recidivism outcomes, and (v) risks of bias due to failure to control for significant predictors of re-offending and failure to analyse data on intention to treat. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two methods of diversion; cautioning and referral to conferencing, in reducing re-contact by F-TIJOs using methods to overcome the limitations of previous research. To address these methodological limitations the current study (i) employed a follow-up period of 24 months for each offender regardless of whether this period extended into the adult justice system, (ii) analysed four recidivism outcomes, (iii) analysed data on intention to treat, and (iv) employed propensity score matching to control for significant predictors of re-offending. The following research question was examined: (1) Did the proportion of F-TIJOs who re-contacted with police within 24 months differ between those who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference? For those who re-contacted within 24 months, the following research questions were also examined: (2) Did the frequency of re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, (3) Did the seriousness of first re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference?, and (4) Did time to re-contact differ between F-TIJOs who received a formal police caution and those who received a referral to a family conference

Australian Bureau of Statistics personal safety, Australia 2012: the South Australian perspective

Introduction: This report summarises the key South Australian findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4906.0) in which Australia-wide and very limited state-specific information was released on 11 December 2013 with additional state-specific information released on 7 July 2014. Personal Safety, Australia, 2012 provides the results of an Australia-wide personal safety survey undertaken by the ABS from February to December 2012. The survey collected information about the nature and extent of violence experienced by men and women since the age of 15, including their experience of violence in the 12 months prior to the survey. Also collected was detailed information about men\u27s and women\u27s experience of current and previous partner violence, physical and sexual violence, and lifetime experience of stalking. This is the second time the personal safety survey has been conducted, with the first survey carried out in 2005. The scope, content and data collection methods for the two surveys are very similar, with the exception of a significantly larger sample size for the latest survey, and slight changes to the questions and/or definitions to improve respondents’ understanding of the questions. These changes are minimal and should not impact on the comparability of data between 2005 and 2012

Decadal changes of the Western Arabian sea ecosystem

Historical data from oceanographic expeditions and remotely sensed data on outgoing longwave radiation, temperature, wind speed and ocean color in the western Arabian Sea (1950–2010) were used to investigate decadal trends in the physical and biochemical properties of the upper 300 m. 72 % of the 29,043 vertical profiles retrieved originated from USA and UK expeditions. Increasing outgoing longwave radiation, surface air temperatures and sea surface temperature were identified on decadal timescales. These were well correlated with decreasing wind speeds associated with a reduced Siberian High atmospheric anomaly. Shoaling of the oxycline and nitracline was observed as well as acidification of the upper 300 m. These physical and chemical changes were accompanied by declining chlorophyll-a concentrations, vertical macrofaunal habitat compression, declining sardine landings and an increase of fish kill incidents along the Omani coast

Livelihoods after land reform in South Africa

Over the past few decades, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa have pursued redistributive land reform as a means to address rural poverty. The Livelihoods after Land Reform (LaLR) study was carried out between 2007 and 2009, to understand the livelihood and poverty reduction outcomes of land reform in each of the three countries. The South African component focused on Limpopo province, and investigated land reform processes, trajectories of change and outcomes in thirteen detailed case studies. This paper summarizes some of the main findings from the South African study, and briefly compares them with findings from Namibia and Zimbabwe. The paper argues that a fundamental problem affecting land reform in both South Africa and Namibia is the uncritical application of the Large-Scale Commercial Farming (LSCF) model, which has led to unworkable project design and/or projects that are irrelevant to the circumstances of the rural poor. Nevertheless, some ‘beneficiaries’ have experienced modest improvements in their livelihoods, often through abandoning or amending official project plans.Web of Scienc

Past and projected trends of body mass index and weight status in South Australia:2003 to 2019

OBJECTIVE: Functional data analysis (FDA) is a forecasting approach that, to date, has not been applied to obesity, and that may provide more accurate forecasting analysis to manage uncertainty in public health. This paper uses FDA to provide projections of Body Mass Index (BMI), overweight and obesity in an Australian population through to 2019.  METHODS: Data from the South Australian Monitoring and Surveillance System (January 2003 to December 2012, n=51,618 adults) were collected via telephone interview survey. FDA was conducted in four steps: 1) age-gender specific BMIs for each year were smoothed using a weighted regression; 2) the functional principal components decomposition was applied to estimate the basis functions; 3) an exponential smoothing state space model was used for forecasting the coefficient series; and 4) forecast coefficients were combined with the basis function.  RESULTS: The forecast models suggest that between 2012 and 2019 average BMI will increase from 27.2 kg/m(2) to 28.0 kg/m(2) in males and 26.4 kg/m(2) to 27.6 kg/m(2) in females. The prevalence of obesity is forecast to increase by 6-7 percentage points by 2019 (to 28.7% in males and 29.2% in females).  CONCLUSIONS: Projections identify age-gender groups at greatest risk of obesity over time. The novel approach will be useful to facilitate more accurate planning and policy development

Diagnostic and preventive service trends in private general practice: 1983-1984 to 1998-1999

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: Aggregate trends have indicated increases in the provision of diagnostic and preventive services but there have been few reports based on their component sub-categories. The aims of this study were to investigate time trends in the provision of sub-categories of diagnostic and preventive services across a 15-year period. Methods: A random sample of Australian dentists was surveyed by mailed questionnaire in 1983-1984, 1988-1989, 1993-1994 and 1998-1999 (response rates 71-75 per cent). Data were weighted to provide representative estimates for the age by sex distribution of private general practitioners in 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1998. Results: Rates per visit were higher, Poisson regression, P<0.05, in 1998-1999 compared to baseline for examinations, radiographs, prophylaxis and topical fluoride. Diagnostic and preventive service rates varied by age of patient: compared to patients aged 65+ years, examinations were higher among children aged <5 years to adults aged 25-44 years, radiographs were lower among children <5 years and 5-11 years but higher among adults aged from 18-24 years to 45-64 years, prophylaxis services were lower among children <5 years but higher among adolescents 12-17 years to adults aged 45-64 years, while topical fluoride was higher among children 5-11 years and adolescents 12-17 years. Conclusions: Examination, radiograph, prophylaxis, and topical fluoride rates increased over the study period. While examination rates increased for both children and adults, and prophylaxis rates increased for adolescents and adults, rates for radiographs and topical fluoride only increased for adults. Agespecific changes in service rates over time indicate the effect of changing oral health status and population demographics on service provision.DS Brennan, AJ Spence

Acceptability of Condom Promotion and Distribution Among 10-19 Year-Old Adolescents in Mpwapwa and Mbeya Rural Districts, Tanzania.

\ud The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a leading challenge for global health. Although condoms are acknowledged for their key role on preventing HIV transmission, low and inappropriate use of condoms persists in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa. This study assesses factors affecting acceptability of condom promotion and distribution among adolescents in Mpwapwa and Mbeya rural districts of Tanzania. Data were collected in 2011 as part of a larger cross-sectional survey on condom use among 10-19 year-olds in Mpwapwa and Mbeya rural districts of Tanzania using a structured questionnaire. Associations between acceptability of condom promotion and distribution and each of the explanatory variables were tested using Chi Square. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to examine independent predictors of the acceptability of condom promotion and distribution using STATA (11) statistical software at 5% significance level. Mean age of the 1,327 adolescent participants (50.5% being males) was 13.5 years (SD = 1.4). Acceptance of condom promotion and distribution was found among 37% (35% in Mpwapwa and 39% in Mbeya rural) of the adolescents. Being sexually active and aged 15-19 was the strongest predictor of the acceptability of condom promotion and distribution (OR = 7.78, 95% CI 4.65-12.99). Others were; not agreeing that a condom is effective in preventing transmissions of STIs including HIV (OR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.20-0.56), being a resident of Mbeya rural district (OR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.28-2.19), feeling comfortable being seen by parents/guardians holding/buying condoms (OR = 2.20, 95% CI 1.40-3.46) and living with a guardian (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.08-2.04). Acceptability of condom promotion and distribution among adolescents in Mpwapwa and Mbeya rural is low. Effect of sexual activity on the acceptability of condom promotion and distribution is age-dependent and was the strongest. Feeling comfortable being seen by parents/guardians buying or holding condoms, perceived ability of condoms to offer protection against HIV/AIDS infections, district of residence and living arrangements also offered significant predictive effect. Knowledge of these factors is vital in designing successful and sustainable condom promotion and distribution programs in Tanzania.\u

A novel online food recall checklist for use in an undergraduate student population : a comparison with diet diaries

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Lung cancer diagnosed following emergency admission: a mixed methods study protocol to improve understanding of patients’ characteristics, needs, experiences and outcomes

Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in England. About 40% of patients with lung cancer are diagnosed following an emergency admission (DFEA) to hospital. DFEA is more common in women, and more likely with increasing age and deprivation. Most have advanced disease and survival is poor, but little else is known about this group. The aim of this study is to obtain a detailed understanding of the characteristics, needs, experiences and outcomes of this group. Methods/Design This is a single centre study with quantitative and qualitative work packages (WP). WP1 gathers basic details about all patients diagnosed with lung cancer during a 12 month period, focusing on demographics, diagnostic and treatment pathways and selected outcomes. WP2 obtains information from those patients DFEA or, when unable, their carers, about their holistic needs and experiences, using the Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral to Care questionnaire and selected questions from the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey. WP3 uses in-depth qualitative interviews with patients and carers to obtain detailed accounts of their symptoms, help-seeking behaviours prior to admission and subsequent experiences of care. Discussion Relatively little is known about the experiences of lung cancer patients DFEA and this study will provide detailed information about their needs, characteristics, experiences and outcomes. It should identify areas in the diagnostic and treatment pathway where there is scope to improve the care provided to this group of patients and their carers. The findings will also inform the need for further focused research