Australian Research Council Linkage Grant Research Articles

Modeling total predation to avoid perverse outcomes from cat control in a data-poor island ecosystem.

Data hungry, complex ecosystem models are often used to predict the consequences of threatened species management, including perverse outcomes. Unfortunately, this approach is impractical in many systems, which have insufficient data to parameterize ecosystem interactions or reliably calibrate or validate such models. Here we demonstrate a different approach, using a minimum realistic model to guide decisions in data- and resource-scarce systems. We illustrate our approach with a case-study in an invaded ecosystem from Christmas Island, Australia, where there are concerns that cat eradication to protect native species, including the red-tailed tropicbird, could release meso-predation by invasive rats. We use biophysical constraints (metabolic demand) and observable parameters (e.g. prey preferences) to assess the combined cat and rat abundances which would threaten the tropicbird population. We find that the population of tropicbirds cannot be sustained if predated by 1607 rats (95% credible interval (CI) [103, 5910]) in the absence of cats, or 21 cats (95% CI [2, 82]) in the absence of rats. For every cat removed from the island, the bird's net population growth rate improves, provided that the rats do not increase by more than 77 individuals (95% CI [30, 174]). Thus, in this context, one cat is equivalent to 30-174 rats. Our methods are especially useful for on-the-ground predator control in the absence of knowledge of predator-predator interactions, to assess whether 1) the current abundance of predators threatens the prey population of interest, 2) managing one predator species alone is sufficient to protect the prey species given potential release of another predator, and 3) control of multiple predator species is needed to meet the conservation goal. Our approach demonstrates how to use limited information for maximum value in data-poor systems, by shifting the focus from predicting future trajectories, to identifying conditions which threaten the conservation goal. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Refugees’ Dreams of the Past, Projected into the Future

Refugees’ Dreams of the Past, Projected into the Future

The Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project: In situ Preservation and Long-Term Monitoring of the Clarence (1850) and James Matthews (1841) Shipwreck Sites

Increasingly, archaeologists are opting for on-site examination, reinterment, and in situ preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites as the first option in the management of sites at risk, as opposed to the more traditional excavation, recovery, conservation, and display/storage methods. This decision will inevitably be based on significance assessment, degree of perceived risk, and resourcing issues. However, long-term monitoring must become an integral part of these management programmes in order to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the in situ preservation techniques employed. In 2012 the Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project (AHSPP) was awarded a large Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant, enabling ten partner organizations and three Australian universities to collaborate in one of the largest multi-organizational maritime archaeology projects to be undertaken in Australia to date. One of the major aims of the project is to develop a protocol for the excavation, detailed recording and reburial of significant shipwrecks under threat, fostering a strategic national approach for the management of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites at risk. Two historically significant shipwreck sites that are considered under threat were chosen for this longitudinal comparative study — the Clarence (1850) located in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; and the James Matthews (1841) which lies in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Both sites have been preserved in situ using two very different but innovative remediation strategies. More importantly, long-term monitoring programmes have been implemented on both sites, which will characterize changes in the reburial environment and the effect on the reinterred materials. In this way, the efficacy of both in situ preservation techniques will be systematically tested, providing a comparative analysis of practical protocols for the long-term protection and management of underwater cultural heritage.

The clinical effectiveness of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy in all 24 chromosomes (PGD-A): systematic review.

Is preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy (PGD-A) with analysis of all chromosomes during assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinically and cost effective? The majority of published studies comparing a strategy of PGD-A with morphologically assessed embryos have reported a higher implantation rate per embryo using PGD-A, but insufficient data has been presented to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of PGD-A in the clinical setting. Aneuploidy is a leading cause of implantation failure, miscarriage and congenital abnormalities in humans, and a significant cause of ART failure. Preclinical evidence of PGD-A indicates that the selection and transfer of euploid embryos during ART should improve clinical outcomes. A systematic review of the literature was performed for full text English language articles using MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library databases, NHS Economic Evaluation Database and EconLit. The Downs and Black scoring checklist was used to assess the quality of studies. Clinical effectiveness was measured in terms of pregnancy, live birth and miscarriage rates. Nineteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria, comprising three RCTs in young and good prognosis patients and 16 observation studies were identified. Five of the observational studies included a control group of patients where embryos were selected based on morphological criteria (matched cohort studies). Of the five studies that included a control group and reported implantation rates, four studies (including two RCTs) demonstrated improved implantation rates in the PGD-A group. Of the eight studies that included a control group, six studies (including two RCTs) reported significantly higher pregnancy rates in the PGD-A group, and in the remaining two studies, equivalent pregnancies rates were reported despite fewer embryos being transferred in the PGD-A group. The three RCTs demonstrated benefit in young and good prognosis patients in terms of clinical pregnancy rates and the use of single embryo transfer. However, studies relating to patients of advanced maternal age, recurrent miscarriage and implantation failure were restricted to matched cohort studies, limiting the ability to draw meaningful conclusions. Relevant studies may have been missed and findings from RCTs currently being undertaken could not be included. Given the uncertain role of PGD-A techniques, high-quality experimental studies using intention-to-treat analysis and cumulative live birth rates including the comparative outcomes from remaining cryopreserved embryos are needed to evaluate the overall role of PGD-A in the clinical setting. It is only in this way that the true contribution of PGD-A to ART can be understood.

Communicating well to improve safety in a high stress environment: Transit officer training

This paper draws on the experience of one of the authors, an ethnographic researcher (Bernard 2000; Orr 1996), who in the course of her investigation into the everyday work and communication cultures of public transport officers spent twelve weeks undergoing training as a rail transit officer before spending four months on the job where she was rostered on duty alongside the regular transit officers (Teague & Leith 2008a; Teague, Green & Leith 2010a). In addition to immersing herself in the world of the transit officers the researcher, Christine Teague, conducted extensive interviews with trainees, experienced officers and supervisors. The object of the research was to determine strategies to reduce risk and injury to the rail transit officers. The four year project was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant. While the researchers have been immensely grateful for the support of the Public Transport Authority (Western Australia) (PTA) in partnering this research, the findings are those of the research team alone and the PTA is no longer involved in the project. In this paper the employer organisation is referred to as the RTA, Rail Transit Authority.

Who are the custodians of Pacific ‘post-2015’ education futures? Policy discourses, education for all and the millennium development goals

This article discusses influences of Education for All (EFA) and the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education policies in the Pacific sub-region in the context of ongoing ‘post-2015 development agenda’ deliberations, focusing on Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It is based on doctoral work undertaken as a component of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, partially supported by the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and continuing postdoctoral research.Pacific postcolonial nations’ engagement with EFA and the MDGs was compared through a critical discourse analysis of multi-scalar education policy formation processes. The research identified paradoxical influences of global approaches, and multi-level processes. While such frameworks at once facilitated educational debate and legitimized broader education policy participation, they also supported a status quo in mainstream donor and state dominance of educational development agendas. There is some evidence of wider national participation in the emerging ‘post-2015′ policy processes, but the extent of its influence on multi-level policy deliberations globally and regionally is yet to be seen. Many of the education issues currently being raised in both nations, and regionally, have endured since colonial occupation and independence. This article focuses on educational relevance and gender issues in education, and positions them in relation to the concept of ownership within post-colonial political dynamics and multilevel discursive contexts for participation, which I interpret as being of continued importance to understanding these enduring education concerns.

Monitoring Closed Environments: The Role of Oversight Bodies

In 2008, the Law Faculty at Monash University was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant entitled Applying Human Rights legislation in Closed Environments: a Strategic Framework for Managing Compliance. The research commenced in 2009 and was completed in 2012.The ARC Monash project focused on the major categories of closed environments: prisons, police cells, forensic psychiatric institutions, closed mental health and disability units, and immigration detention facilities. The aim of the ARC project was to understand how these closed environments, with their inherent risks for individual human rights of detainees, incorporate human rights considerations in managing the conditions and treatment of persons held in the facilities.In this 3rd Working Paper the critical role of oversight bodies in relation to closed environments and human rights is examined.

Optimal management of a multispecies shorebird flyway under sea-level rise.

Every year, millions of migratory shorebirds fly through the East Asian-Australasian Flyway between their arctic breeding grounds and Australasia. This flyway includes numerous coastal wetlands in Asia and the Pacific that are used as stopover sites where birds rest and feed. Loss of a few important stopover sites through sea-level rise (SLR) could cause sudden population declines. We formulated and solved mathematically the problem of how to identify the most important stopover sites to minimize losses of bird populations across flyways by conserving land that facilitates upshore shifts of tidal flats in response to SLR. To guide conservation investment that minimizes losses of migratory bird populations during migration, we developed a spatially explicit flyway model coupled with a maximum flow algorithm. Migratory routes of 10 shorebird taxa were modeled in a graph theoretic framework by representing clusters of important wetlands as nodes and the number of birds flying between 2 nodes as edges. We also evaluated several resource allocation algorithms that required only partial information on flyway connectivity (node strategy, based on the impacts of SLR at nodes; habitat strategy, based on habitat change at sites; population strategy, based on population change at sites; and random investment). The resource allocation algorithms based on flyway information performed on average 15% better than simpler allocations based on patterns of habitat loss or local bird counts. The Yellow Sea region stood out as the most important priority for effective conservation of migratory shorebirds, but investment in this area alone will not ensure the persistence of species across the flyway. The spatial distribution of conservation investments differed enormously according to the severity of SLR and whether information about flyway connectivity was used to guide the prioritizations. With the rapid ongoing loss of coastal wetlands globally, our method provides insight into efficient conservation planning for migratory species.

Transit officer training recommendations to improve safety in a high stress environment

This paper draws on the experience of one of the authors, an ethnographic researcher who, in the course of her investigation into the everyday work and communication cultures of Australian public transport officers, spent 12 weeks undergoing training as a rail transit officer before spending four months on the job where she was rostered on duty alongside the regular transit officers. In addition to immersing herself in the world of the transit officers the ethnographer conducted extensive interviews with trainees, experienced officers and supervisors. The object of the research was to determine strategies to reduce risk and injury to the rail transit officers. Two specific recommendations are made. Firstly, that CCTV footage is used to provide training and professional development support across the organisation, and secondly, that field officers be recruited from within the workforce to support on-the-job induction. The four year project was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant.

Geo Spatial Simplicity: Designing Map Interfaces for Bushfire Planning

We are part of a team working in collaboration with Landgate, the department of land information in Western Australia, on a project that is funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant. FireWatch is a web-based map application that was originally developed by Landgate to provide members of emergency services organisations and government departments with information on fire locations in Western Australia. While FireWatch was originally intended to be used by these technically inclined, subject-proficient users, we are tasked with creating a new version aimed at the wider community, with a particular focus on rural communities in northern Australia. Due to the fact that the interface will be used by a wide variety of users and potentially under stressful circumstances, we are attempting to traverse a delicate balance between functionality and ease of use. Some theory from human-computer interaction (HCI) has suggested that simplicity as a design goal is overrated. However, we believe that giving users a minimal, simple layout will maximise ease of use across several web-enabled devices and improve overall usability. As part of the design process, we are utilising user testing to ensure that we are providing optimal functionality

Hospital utilization, costs and mortality rates during the first 5 years of life: a population study of ART and non-ART singletons

Do singletons conceived following assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) have significantly different hospital utilization, and therefore costs, compared with non-ART children during the first 5 years of life? ART singletons have longer hospital birth-admissions and a small increased risk of re-admission during the first 5 years of life resulting in higher costs of hospital care. ART singletons are at greater risk of adverse perinatal outcomes compared with non-ART singletons. Long-term physical and mental health outcomes of ART singletons are generally reassuring. There is a scarcity of information on health service utilization and the health economic impact of ART conceived children. A population cohort study using linked birth, hospital and death records. Perinatal outcomes, hospital utilization and costs, and mortality rates were compared for non-ART and ART singletons to 5 years. Adjustments were made for maternal age, parity, sex, birth year, socioeconomic status and funding source. Australian Diagnosis Related Groups cost-weights were used to derive costs. All costs are reported in 2009/2010 Australian dollars. All babies born in Western Australia between 1994 and 2003 were included; 224 425 non-ART singletons and 2199 ART conceived singletons. Hospital admission and death records in Western Australia linked to 2008 were used. Overall, ART singletons had a significantly longer length of stay during the birth-admission (mean difference 1.8 days, P < 0.001) and a 20% increased risk of being admitted during the first 5 years of life. The average adjusted difference in hospital admission costs up to 5 years of age was $2490, with most of the additional cost occurring during the birth-admission ($1473). The independent residual cost associated with ART conception was $342 during the birth-admission and an additional $548 up to 5 years of age, indicating that being conceived as an ART child predicts not only higher birth-admission costs but excess costs to at least 5 years of age. This study could not investigate the impact of different ART practices and techniques on perinatal outcomes or hospital utilization, nor could it adjust for parental characteristics such as cause of infertility and treatment-seeking behaviour. This study related to ART treatment undertaken before 2003. Clinicians and patients should be aware of the risk of poorer perinatal outcomes and increased hospitalization of ART singletons compared with non-ART singletons. These differences are significant enough to affect health-care resource consumption, but are substantially and significantly less than those associated with ART multiple birth infants. Understanding the short- and long-term health services and economic impact of ART is important for setting the research agenda in ART, for informing economic evaluations of infertility and treatment strategies, and for providing an important input to clinical and administrative decision making. No specific funding was used to undertake this study and the authors report no conflicts of interest. A number of the authors receive Research Grants to their institutions from the Australian Government. G.M.C. receives grant support to her institution from the Australian Government, Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant No LP1002165; ARC Linkage Grant Partner Organisations are IVFAustralia, Melbourne IVF and Queensland Fertility Group. V.P.H. is employed as an Economics Research Associate on the same grant. NA.

Monitoring and Oversight of Human Rights in Closed Environments

This edited collection is an outcome of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant project, ‘Applying Human Rights in Closed Environments: A Strategic Framework for Managing Compliance’. As part of the ARC project a major Roundtable was convened in Melbourne in November 2010 to examine the role of monitoring and oversight bodies in protecting human and to identify current practices and future possibilities for mechanisms for accountability and oversight of human rights practices in closed environments. The papers address four broad themes: •What makes an effective monitoring body? What bodies are currently performing human rights monitoring in closed environments in Australia? Where might the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) fit with these schemes? •How do volunteer and advocacy groups produce change and what is their relationship with other monitoring or oversight agencies? •Is ‘human rights’ the most effective framework to be used by monitoring bodies? •How might new initiatives and oversight agencies come to be established and work effectively?

The Role of Civil Society in Monitoring and Overseeing Closed Environments

In 2008 the Law Faculty at Monash University was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant to examine the application of human rights in a range of closed environments. A ‘closed environment’ was defined for this project, in line with the OPCAT definition, as ‘any place where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty by means of placement in a public or private setting in which a person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other order, or by any other lawful authority relevant to the project's goals.’ The specific settings addressed were prisons, police cells, forensic psychiatric institutions, closed mental health and disability units, and immigration detention. The aim of the research project has been to understand how closed environments incorporate human rights considerations in managing the conditions and treatment of persons held in these facilities. Findings are being published in various contexts. Monitoring and oversight of closed environments is an important component of protecting the human rights of people in closed environments. It is carried out in various ways: through court proceedings and formal complaints-handling bodies, through legislative reform and review, through bodies with powers of inspection, and through the informal attention and visits of volunteers and non-government organisations. This paper reports on the views of members of civil society groups, groups we have collectively referred to as ‘volunteer and advocacy groups’ (‘V&A’). They cover a range of agencies, from those with formal legislative power to inspect and visit, to those which have been established locally to act as advocates.

Perspectives of Senior Management on Applying Human Rights in Closed Environments

In 2008 the Law Faculty at Monash University was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant to examine the application of human rights in a range of closed environments. A ‘closed environment’ was defined for this project, in line with the OPCAT definition, as ‘any place where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty by means of placement in a public or private setting in which a person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other order, or by any other lawful authority relevant to the project's goals.’ The specific settings addressed were prisons, police cells, forensic psychiatric institutions, closed mental health and disability units, and immigration detention. The aim of the research project has been to understand how closed environments incorporate human rights considerations in managing the conditions and treatment of persons held in these facilities. Findings are being published in various contexts. This paper reports the views of senior management and senior policy makers in government in Victoria and Western Australia. In order to understand how human rights are addressed at the facility level, it is important to understand how policies and operational procedures are set by senior management. Implementation of human rights at the front line will reflect how senior management perceives human rights, in terms of priority and of their perceived relevance to operating the closed facility.

Socioeconomic disparities in access to ART treatment and the differential impact of a policy that increased consumer costs

What was the impact on access to assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment by different socioeconomic status (SES) groups after the introduction of a policy that increased patient out-of-pocket costs? After the introduction of a policy that increased out-of-pocket costs in Australia, all SES groups experienced a similar percentage reduction in fresh ART cycles per 1000 women of reproductive age. Higher SES groups experienced a progressively greater reduction in absolute numbers of fresh ART cycles due to existing higher levels of utilization. Australia has supportive public funding arrangements for ARTs. Policies that substantially increase out-of-pocket costs for ART treatment create financial barriers to access and an overall reduction in utilization. Data from the USA suggests that disparities exist in access to ART treatment based on ethnicity, education level and income. Time series analysis of utilization of ART, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and clomiphene citrate by women from varying SES groups before and after the introduction of a change in the level of public funding for ART. Women undertaking fertility treatment in Australia between 2007 and 2010. Women from higher SES quintiles use more ART treatment than those in lower SES quintiles, which likely reflects a greater ability to pay for treatment and a greater need for ART treatment as indicated by the trend to later childbearing. In 2009, 10.13 and 5.17 fresh ART cycles per 1000 women of reproductive age were performed in women in the highest and lowest SES quintiles respectively. In the 12 months after the introduction of a policy that increased out-of-pocket costs from ∼$1500 Australian dollars (€1000) to ∼$2500 (€1670) for a fresh IVF cycle, there was a 21-25% reduction in fresh ART cycles across all SES quintiles. The absolute reduction in fresh ART cycles in the highest SES quintile was double that in the lowest SES quintile. In this study, SES was based on the average relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage of small geographic areas, and therefore may not reflect the SES of an individual. Additionally, the policy impact was limited to the 12 months following its introduction, and may not reflect longer term trends in ART treatment. While financial barriers are an important obstacle to equitable access to ARTs, socioeconomic differences in utilization are likely to persist in countries with supportive public funding, due in part to differences in childbearing patterns and treatment seeking behaviour. Policy makers should be informed of the impact that changes in the level of cost subsidization have on access to ART treatment by different socioeconomic groups. G.M.C. receives grant support to her institution from the Australian Government, Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant No LP1002165; ARC Linkage Grant Partner Organisations are IVFAustralia, Melbourne IVF and Queensland Fertility Group. V.P.H. is employed as an Economics Research Associate on the same grant. P.J.I. is Medical Director of the IVF Clinic, IVFAustralia and has a financial interest in the parent group, Virtus. N/A.

What can we learn from a decade of promoting safe embryo transfer practices? A comparative analysis of policies and outcomes in the UK and Australia, 2001-2010

Given similar socio-demographic profiles and costs of healthcare, why has Australia been significantly more successful than the UK in reducing the assisted reproductive technology (ART) multiple birth rate? The Australian model of supportive public ART funding, permissive clinical guidelines and an absence of published clinic league tables has enabled Australian fertility specialists to act collectively to achieve rapid and widespread adoption of single embryo transfer (SET). There are striking differences in ART utilization and clinical practice between Australia and the UK. The ART multiple birth rate in Australia is <8% compared with slightly <20% in the UK. The role played by public funding, clinical guidelines, league tables and educational campaigns deserves further evaluation. Parallel time-series analysis was performed on ART treatment and outcome data sourced from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ART Registry and the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database (ANZARD). Funding arrangements, clinical practice guidelines and key professional and public education campaigns were mapped to trends in clinical practice and ART treatment outcomes between 2001 and 2010. A total of 425 360 and 422 003 autologous treatment cycles undertaken between 2001 and 2010 in the UK and Australia were analysed. From 2001 to 2010, the most striking difference in clinical practice was the increase in SET cycles in Australia from 21 to 70% of cycles, compared with an increase from 8.4 to 31% in the UK. In 2004-2005, both countries introduced clinical guidelines encouraging safe embryo practices, however, Australia has a history of supportive funding for ART, while the National Health Service has a more restrictive and fragmented approach. While clinical guidelines and education campaigns have an important role to play, funding remains a key element in the promotion of SET. This is a descriptive population study and therefore quantifying the independent effect of differential levels of public funding was not possible. With demand for ART continuing to increase worldwide, it is imperative that we remove barriers that impede safe embryo transfer practices. This analysis highlights the importance of supportive public funding in achieving this goal.

Concerned about their learning: mathematics students with chronic illness and their teachers at school

Chronic illness often goes hand-in-hand with absence from school, and students miss out on learning opportunities at school for extended or accumulative periods of time. Many young people seek to continue their school studies nonetheless. The need to consider viable ways to support them academically arose in the context of a project called Link ‘n Learn funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant (2008–2010). This paper reports on one aspect of the project – an in-depth qualitative case study of 22 participants: senior secondary students with diverse types of chronic illness who were continuing their studies during absence from school and their mathematics teachers. The study found that the students’ concerns centred on academic issues – their perceived need for support from and interaction with their teachers. The teachers' concerns focused on medical issues – their students having to manage illness. Facilitators of these students' ability to continue studying included their ambition, perseverance with independent learning, initiative in seeking help, and quick recovery from medical treatment cycles. Teacher-related facilitators included the teachers' willingness to interact using communication media, confidence in initiating contact, and ability to modify their students' learning programme. Other facilitators included a responsive school technology department, technology tutoring from students, and the involvement of family members or tutors. Outcomes for students and teachers of their interactions with each other during lengthy periods of absence, and implications for schools, are discussed.

Climate change, agencies and the museum and science centre sector

Climate change is a vast, complex phenomena impinging on biological and social life, economics, politics, and culture, stretching disciplines beyond current limits and inviting a new, critical examination of the roles and capacities of museums and science centres in these complex ecologies.1 In this article, I present a section of the research findings from Australian Research Council Linkage grant, ‘Hot Science, Global Citizens: the agency of the museum in climate change’ pertaining to the current and potential roles and agencies of natural history, science museums and science centres in climate change within Australian and US contexts. Through the analysis eight strategic positions and role changes emerge for the different forms of the museum with a greater emphasis on collective action, networking and building more critical information on climate change as a complex issue and governing subject. Within the Australian sample a stronger emphasis was placed on political advocacy and critique.

‘Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder’: Students With Chronic Illness Seeking Academic Continuity Through Interaction With Their Teachers at School

Increasing numbers of young people experience disruption to their schooling owing to chronic illness. Absence from the day-to-day life of their school for prolonged or accumulative periods of time can erode their sense of belonging and create anxiety about falling behind academically. Maintaining positive connections to school can meet their desire for normalcy and realisable educational goals. Part of a project calledLink ‘n’ Learn, funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant (2008–2010), this in-depth qualitative case study of 22 participants — senior secondary students and their mathematics teachers — investigatedacademic continuity: students’ access to and utilisation of opportunities to learn effectively so that academic progress is made despite disruption to full-time schooling. The students experienced diverse types of chronic illness, medical interventions, and patterns of absence from school. They all sought to continue their school studies. Their teachers highlighted surprise, concern and discomfort related to students studying during serious illness, and school workload issues. Ambiguities about educational responsibility for students during absence were widespread. Teachers demonstrated hesitance to initiate contact with students, but students nevertheless expressed their desire for teachers to remain involved with them. Implications for the educational support of young people with chronic illness are presented.

Learning between schools and hospitals – young people and a curriculum of (dis)connection

As noted in other papers in this volume, a group of health and education researchers and practitioners came together to further develop their understanding of the situation of young people, who were clients of The Royal Children's Hospital Education Institute in 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The resultant research project, funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, aimed to understand young people's perspectives on who they are and what matters to them in relation to education connectedness, identity, social relationships, and experiences with professionals. The project team was aware of the persisting patterns of relationships between the hospital, schools, young people, and their families. They were also cognizant of the heavy emphasis in the research and professional literature on evidence from relevant family adults and from health and education professionals. The intention of this project was to put the young people at the centre a study with the stories they told through word and image. Identity issues and school connections framed the analytical work. Thirty-one adolescents dealing with chronic illness participated in this longitudinal qualitative study for a 3-year period of their lives. Given the apparently active role of teachers and health professionals in the lives of these young people, the researchers wanted to include the various relevant adults to see what coherence or lack of coherence existed in the categories, emphases, and values they expressed compared with those of the young people. The researchers have had to determinedly keep their focus on the data from the young people and not be seduced by the familiar and readily accessible data from these professionals. Nonetheless, this data set does provide a ‘curriculum conversation’, which is profitably read behind the stories of the young people and in the foreground of new pathways of curriculum construction. It is this data which informs the work reported in this paper and which has led the researchers to resist the rhetoric of currently held story lines in this field, to see beyond the present hierarchies of power over relevant ‘knowledges’, to maintain a dual focus with the young people at centre stage and the professionals as ‘walk ons /extras’ and to argue for a ‘curriculum of connection’ between young people and the relevant education and health professionals. These issues are readily engaged in arguments for change through the interweaving of larger discourses of inclusivity, curriculum, and policy. This paper works those intersections in the everyday positionings of professionals and young people.