Inquiry Report Research Articles

The tension between national consistency and jurisdictional professional expansion: The case of pharmacist-administered vaccinations.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of coordinating policies on vaccinations at the national level. In Australia, the regulation and management of pharmacist-administered vaccination programs are the responsibility of each of the eight jurisdictions (six states and two territories), and have been developed independently of each other, leading to substantial variation. Consequently, there are variations regarding which vaccines pharmacists can administer, the minimum age, and whether these vaccines are publicly funded.Objective(s)To identify opportunities for a nationally consistent approach to pharmacist-administered vaccinations in Australia.MethodsThis policy analysis used the Multiple Streams Framework to identify barriers and enablers within the three “streams” of problem, policy, and politics, and how they affected the development of a national approach. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 13 key policy actors and documents (pre-budget submissions and parliamentary inquiry reports). Themes were generated around actor interests, current and proposed pharmacist vaccination programs, and policymaking processes.ResultsFrom the pharmacy sector, there was little clarity around the need for a nationally consistent approach. This issue was linked to their ultimate goal of expanding pharmacist vaccination programs; it was seen as a means for states/territories with smaller programs to ‘catch up’ to other jurisdictions. There was also no unified policy approach from this sector; additionally, decision-makers within jurisdictional health departments faced different service delivery models, policy priorities, agendas, and policy actor relationships. Lastly, there was no federal body that had the capacity to coordinate a national approach. Possible enablers include refining the problem definition and re-framing it to a patient-centric model.ConclusionsCoordination of vaccination policies is an ongoing policy issue with implications for pharmacist vaccination programs and other health policy areas in which a national approach is being considered. This analysis provides insight into how this may be developed in the future.

Union Industrial Responses to Escalation in Live Cattle Export in Brisbane, 1978

Live animal export is now a subject of major concern and controversy over the issue of the treatment of animals and the question of animal rights; however, this was not always the case. On 17 October 1978, to thwart expansion of the live cattle export trade by Elders Smith Goldsborough Mort (Elders), the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union (AMIEU) picketed Hamilton Wharf in Brisbane in an attempt to limit live cattle export to protect meatworkers’ jobs. The picket was broken and deteriorated into violence between meatworkers and police resulting in 45 arrests. Police had been deployed to the wharf as an instrument of the Queensland state government, a finding made clear in the Fitzgerald Inquiry Report. Far from today’s concerns about animal welfare and rights, this paper argues that the picket formed part of a traditional industrial strategy by the Union that was motivated by its obligation to protect members’ jobs. The article shows that it was also an economic issue for Queensland graziers and pastoralists and subsequently a political issue in Queensland state and Australian federal parliaments.

How ambulance commanders manage a mass casualty incident

PurposeMass casualty incidents are characterised by an immediate, unforeseen and unquantifiable surge in demand for ambulance services which soon becomes apparent and will exceed any “local” resources available. Casualties require the correct treatment, promptly, at an appropriate resource without incurring any further harm. In the absence of firm operational guidelines, this paper provides templates for ambulance commanders both at call centre and on-site to approach the management of mass casualty incidents.Design/methodology/approachDesk research indicated that there were both guidelines on how various elements of the emergency services should work together plus academic papers on techniques to adopt in mass casualty situations. Standing orders or written protocols for ambulance commanders, however, provide little or no specific guidance or an outline plan upon how they should command in a mass casualty situation. Following analysis of relevant public enquiry reports and discussions with ambulance commanders and using the materials from desk research, a four-stage approach was devised for testing using retrospective analysis from field and desktop exercises.FindingsTo have confidence, each commander needs simple digital real-time templates from which they understand their role and how the overall plan defines priorities with the greatest need. A plan should cover call-centre and on-site operations including a basic operational checklist from start to finish; resource structure and inter-relationships; sources and availability of resources plus information and control procedures to impose limited quality control procedures.Originality/valueThe design and implementation of digital templates to provide minute-by-minute visibility to all commanders which have not been recorded before. Such templates give commanders confidence to determine, locate and call forward relevant resources to attend casualties in order of priority of need. Time-lapsed records are useful not just in the minute-by-minute decision processes but also for critical organisational learning and in any post-event review by either a coroner or lawyers at a public enquiry.

Challenges and opportunities for using population health data to investigate cancer survivors’ quality of life in Australia

There is a recognised need for reported national data that inform health policy, health professions, and consumers about the wellbeing of Australians with cancer and other chronic conditions. International initiatives have demonstrated the viability and benefits of utilising population-based cancer registries to monitor the prevalence and trajectory of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes among people with cancer. Establishing a similar level of monitoring in Australia would require timely access to health data collected by publicly funded, population-based cancer registries, and the capacity to link this information across jurisdictions. Combining information from different sources via data linkage is an efficient and cost-effective way to maximise how data are used to inform population health and policy development. However, linking health datasets has historically been highly restricted, resource-intensive, and costly in Australia due to complex and outdated legislative requirements, duplicative approval processes, and differing policy frameworks in each state and territory. This has resulted in significant research waste due to underutilisation of existing data, duplication of research efforts and resources, and data not being translated into decision-making. Recognising these challenges, from 2015 to 2017 the Productivity Commission investigated options for improving data availability and use in Australia, considering factors such as privacy, security, and intellectual property. The inquiry report recommended significant reforms for Australian legislation, including the creation of a data sharing and release structure to improve access to data for research and policy development purposes. This paper discusses (1) opportunities in HRQOL research enabled by data linkage, (2) barriers to data access and use in Australia and the implications for waste in HRQOL research, and (3) proposed legislative reforms for improving data availability and use in Australia.

A systematized review of the use of mobile technology in outdoor learning

ABSTRACT This inquiry reports the findings of a systematized review of recent studies concerning the affordances associated with implementing mobile technology in outdoor learning. The emergent employment of mobile technologies in education worldwide adds new layers of complexity to the field that require a better understanding. The review aims to summarize and critically interrogate peer-reviewed studies and identify gaps in current research. Taken collectively, the 33 reviewed articles mirror the dualism that is present within the field. Whilst some studies show that the portability and accessibility of mobile devices offer new opportunities, others point at issues of complexity, safety, and loss of experiential quality. The findings highlight three principal strategies that offer meaningful ways to manage the tensions between technology and outdoor learning: mitigation, intentionality, and adaptation. The review thus offers a deeper understanding of how outdoor learning programs can effectively integrate mobile technology to overcome the nature-technology dichotomy.

Establishing the Queensland Pelvic Mesh Service: Preliminary experience.

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) has been used for treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Mesh-related complications are reported in 3% of women receiving mid-urethral sling surgery for SUI and in up to 20% of women who receive TVM for POP. The Australian Senate Enquiry report in March 2018 recommended that each Australian state establish specialist multidisciplinary units for management of TVM complications. The aims of this study are to report on the setting up of the Queensland Pelvic Mesh Service (QPMS) and summarise its first 24months to provide a potential framework for the establishment of similar service models within Australia and internationally. The planning and implementation of QPMS was a complex two-stage co-design process involving clinicians and consumers representing women with TVM complications. Consumer input in planning was important for the optimal establishment of QPMS to meet women's holistic needs. From April 2019 to April 2021, 484 women had been treated by the medical team; 257 women had undergone cystoscopy and examination under anaesthesia; 91 patients had undergone mesh revision surgery - 65 complete excision and 25 partial excision and one sling division; and 180 women had been discharged from QPMS. Providing a comprehensive multidisciplinary service for managing TVM complications requires careful planning with consumer involvement before initiation. Addition of these patients to an existing service may not succeed. Emphasis on surgery may be misplaced for many. QPMS patients, as in sufferers with chronic pain conditions, benefit from psychological support and allied healthcare.

The whistleblower stages model in British National Health Service Inquiries

PurposeThis article applies the whistleblowing stages model to whistleblowing journeys as seen in British National Health Service (NHS) Inquiries.Design/methodology/approachIt provides a qualitative analysis of Inquiry Reports since 2001, using Interpretive Content Analysis to allocate material to stages.FindingsIt is found that the Inquiry Reports show a wide variety of reporting mechanisms, but that most persons initially report internally. It seems to confirm recent suggestions that WB is often not a “one off” or simple and linear process, but a protracted process. While the simple stages model may be appropriate for individual “whistle-blowing incident” by a single whistleblower, it needs to be revised for the protracted process of raising concerns in a variety of ways by different people as shown in the Inquiry Reports.Research limitations/implicationsThe evidence is confined to the publicly available material that was presented in the Inquiry Reports.Practical implicationsIt provides a template to apply to cases of whistleblowing, and provides some baseline material.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to explore the whistleblowing stages model using qualitative material to one setting over time.

Whither Wintego: Environmental Impact Assessment and Indigenous Opposition in Saskatchewan’s Churchill River Hydropower Project in the 1970s

This article details Saskatchewan’s first environmental impact assessment, which took place in the 1970s over a proposed dam on the Churchill River at the Wintego Rapids. The Wintego Dam, which would have been the largest hydroelectric dam in the province at the time, was controversial because of the environmental repercussions and impacts on the local Indigenous communities, particularly the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. We show that the Blakeney ndp government did not initially intend to create a robust environmental impact assessment, and then explain how and why such an assessment was ultimately undertaken. Using archival material that was previously unavailable, the article recounts the governmental study, the Indigenous-led studies (after they rejected the governmental process), and the final Board of Inquiry report. The Wintego saga should be understood within the context of a growing resistance to northern development projects whose benefits accrued mostly to the southern white population. Ultimately, the Blakeney government decided not to build Wintego because of the economic, environmental, and social impacts, as well as concerns about unsettled treaty claims. This could be considered the first attempt – even before the Berger Inquiry – by a provincial government to fully assess the impacts of a natural resource project before final approval, and it was the earliest incorporation of Indigenous-led studies into the assessment process.

Mobilizing knowledge

Many linguistic studies have analyzed the ways in which reported speech is used to mobilize knowledge in academic writing, but there have been far fewer such studies of knowledge mobilization in non-academic genres. This study analyzes the functions of reported speech in a Canadian quasi-judicial public inquiry report, a genre that is intertextually situated between research genres (through academic expert witnesses) and policy genres (through its role in making policy recommendations to the government). All instances of explicitly marked citation and reported speech in the commission report were identified and coded by function. The findings show citation and reported speech had specific functions that contributed to knowledge mobilization by discursively creating evidence, transporting worldviews and values, and changing knowledge status in the legal genres. The analysis also raises theoretical questions in linguistics, resulting in the argument that reported speech is not a static, formal category but a discursive status negotiated by the participants.

Collaborative Commissioning: regional funding models to support value‐based care in New South Wales

Collaborative Commissioning: regional funding models to support value‐based care in New South Wales

Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic: Seven obstacles to learning from public inquiries in the wake of the crisis.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the emerging COVID‐19 threat a pandemic following the global spread of the virus. A year later, a number of governments are being handed the concluding reports of national public inquiries tasked with investigating responses, mishaps, and identifying lessons for the future. The present article aims to identify a set of learning obstacles that may hinder effective lessons drawing from the COVID‐19 pandemic responses. The seven obstacles discussed in this article are: (1) retaining lessons and implementing them effectively, (2) effectively drawing lessons from other countries, (3) the potential for reforms to introduce unanticipated vulnerabilities elsewhere in the system, (4) political pressure, (5) drawing the conclusions from observations, (6) experts versus decision makers, and (7) reforms may not be related to the actual crisis. Exploring these obstacles will be central to future discussions concerning which kinds of responses will set precedent for future pandemics and global health crises.

Supporting practitioner‐led inquiry into classroom dialogue with a research‐informed professional learning resource: A design‐based approach

Research indicating the educational value of classroom dialogue, in which participants engage critically and constructively with other perspectives, is long established but classroom practice evolves slowly. Outcomes of practitioner professional development in this area are inconsistent and often dependent on costly, external input. Our study aimed to understand whether and how practitioner‐led inquiry may offer an alternative, sustainable and scalable way of developing dialogic practices, characterising effective organisational models. The Teacher Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis (T‐SEDA) resource pack was designed to support iterative cycles of practitioner inquiry based on systematic analysis of classroom dialogue and reflecting critically with peers, using customisable coding tools and templates. This open resource embeds research findings about dialogue forms that are productive for student learning. We report our design‐based research comprising nested inquiry cycles involving 74 practitioners from early years to tertiary levels. Data were derived from surveys, inquiry reports and interviews. Participants successfully used and adapted the resources for their own goals, needs and diverse contexts across seven countries. The largely autonomous process was typically supported by local facilitators working with groups of practitioners; data analysis focused on illuminating models of institutional organisation of inquiry, uses of T‐SEDA resources, participant perceptions and factors underlying (dis)engagement. The findings offer insights into knowledge mobilisation and educational change processes. They yield design principles for scalability and sustainability based on a non‐prescriptive model of local ownership and facilitation of self‐directed practitioner inquiry and purpose‐driven adaptation in complex educational circumstances.

An Analysis of the Observation and Conclusion Drawing Feature shown in the Inquiry Reports of Middle School Science Gifted Students

An Analysis of the Observation and Conclusion Drawing Feature shown in the Inquiry Reports of Middle School Science Gifted Students

Psychodynamics of imagination failures: Reflections on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

This article aims to advance the psychodynamic understanding of imagination failures by studying lessons learned in the US government’s public inquiry into September 11th, 2001 (9/11). Analyzing the findings of The 9/11 Report, I theorize that two forms of macro-level hubris—America’s “hubris of empire-building” and Al Qaeda’s “hubris-nemesis complex”—amalgamated in a uniquely generative manner leading to events on 9/11. Previous studies of public inquiries often demonstrate that inquiry reports are monological story-telling performances used to create sense-making narratives that function hegemonically to impose a simplified version of reality to assign blame and depoliticize events in order to facilitate closure after shocking events. In contrast, findings here suggest that by constructing a critical narrative, The 9/11 Report may serve as a new type of public inquiry report that invites learning about the complex factors that underpin crisis. The article concludes by identifying fruitful areas of future research and ways to theorize further about the collective psychodynamics of macro-level hubris and the psychodynamic factors that hinder learning and contribute to imagination failures.

Power and politics in public inquiries: bloody sunday 1972

ABSTRACT What are the dominant framings by which public inquiries understand and analyze power dynamics in the events they examine? We draw on unique data from the Saville Inquiry into the killing of 13 people by British soldiers at acivil rights demonstration in Northern Ireland in 1972. Juxtaposing an analysis of the actions of senior military figures with the final Inquiry report, we show how an approach of ‘sufficient rationalization’ dominated apublic inquiry’s conclusions, marginalizing and discounting important aspects. Emphasizing the local exercise of power and affective attachments, our article contributes an alternative approach to analyzing public inquiries.

Governance of maternity services: Effects on the management of perinatal deaths and bereavement services

Background: External inquiries are carried out following adverse maternal/perinatal events, to examine the care provided and make recommendations to improve it. Clinical governance ensures that organisations promote high-quality care and are accountable for the care they provide, thus contributing to its improvement.Objective: This study examined how Irish perinatal bereavement services and the management of perinatal deaths (including events leading up to the deaths) were affected by developments in maternity services governance as described in ten Irish enquiry reports published over 14 years (2005–18).Methods: Two clinicians collected data from the ten enquiry reports by using a specifically designed review tool. Thematic analysis was carried out, following the steps of familiarising, coding, identifying, grouping and revising themes.Findings: Seven main themes were identified: workforce, leadership, management of risk, work environment, hospital oversight, national documents, data collection. Eight reports noted shortcomings in staffing levels, with a workforce that was under-resourced, and at times carried excessive workloads. The absence of 24/7 midwifery-shift leaders in maternity units resulted in problems with care at times not being escalated appropriately. The absence of a widely-owned, understood strategic plan for the management of the maternity services was mentioned in the reports from 2013.Conclusions and implications for practiceThe National Bereavement Care Standards were published in 2016 to address deficiencies identified in the enquiry reports and to standardise perinatal bereavement care across Irish maternity units. Though the first Irish Maternity Strategy (2016–26) was published in 2016, its implementation is incomplete. Inconsistencies remain in the definition and collection of national perinatal data, as well as concerns regarding the lack of local audit activities on pregnancy outcomes. Greater focus on hospital oversight, implementation of national documents and reliable data collection is required. To be effective and initiate positive changes in clinical services, documents such as incident reviews, national strategies and national reports including inquiries, need to include realistic recommendations with clear timelines and responsibilities for implementation.

Visualizing liminal military landscape: a small scale study of Armed Forces Day in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Armed Forces Day is a military-centric event in the UK introduced into the public calendar during 2009 following recommendations made from The Report of Inquiry into National Recognition of Our Armed Forces. Despite the significance of these events requiring the situating and performance of military values, personnel, equipment and activities within otherwise civic spaces, academic research and critical commentary into the implementation and development of Armed Forces Day is limited. Influenced by autoethnographic work from critical human geography focussing on the materiality, spatiality and embodied experiences of military airshows, and seeking to extend some insights from the original text Military Geographies, the aim of this paper is to observe the situatedness and performance of Armed Forces Day to be what is defined herein as ‘liminal military landscape’. Through conducting a small-scale study of Armed Forces Day 2017 in Liverpool, employing observational techniques including notetaking and documentary photography, during this event urban space was found to undergo spatial ‘transitions’; have ‘portals’ opened through which temporality and materiality invoked past experience into the present; and create newly established liminal ‘thresholds’ waiting to be crossed between the seemingly contiguous spaces of civic and military.

타인탐구보고서 쓰기가 초등예비교사의 대인관계에 미치는 효과

타인탐구보고서 쓰기가 초등예비교사의 대인관계에 미치는 효과

Web-based authentic inquiry experiences in large introductory classes consistently associated with significant learning gains for all students

BackgroundContinuous calls for reform in science education emphasize the need to provide science experiences in lower-division courses to improve the retention of STEM majors and to develop science literacy and STEM skills for all students. Open or authentic inquiry and undergraduate research are effective science experiences leading to multiple gains in student learning and development. Most inquiry-based learning activities, however, are implemented in laboratory classes and the majority of them are guided inquiries. Although course-based undergraduate research experiences have significantly expanded the reach of the traditional apprentice approach, it is still challenging to provide research experiences to nonmajors and in large introductory courses. We examined student learning through a web-based authentic inquiry project implemented in a high-enrollment introductory ecology course for over a decade.ResultsResults from 10 years of student self-assessment of learning showed that the authentic inquiry experiences were consistently associated with significant gains in self-perception of interest and understanding and skills of the scientific process for all students—both majors and nonmajors, both lower- and upper-division students, both women and men, and both URM and non-URM students. Student performance in evaluating the quality of an inquiry report, before and after the inquiry project, also showed significant learning gains for all students. The authentic inquiry experiences proved highly effective for lower-division students, nonmajors, and women and URM students, whose learning gains were similar to or greater than those of their counterparts. The authentic inquiry experiences were particularly helpful to students who were less prepared with regard to the ability to evaluate a scientific report and narrowed the performance gap.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that authentic inquiry experiences can serve as an effective approach for engaging students in high-enrollment, introductory science courses. They can facilitate development of science literacy and STEM skills of all students, skills that are critical to students’ personal and professional success and to informed engagement in civic life.

Would a Statutory Privacy Tort in Australia Harm Valuable Free Speech?

The Australian government is currently looking at reform of Australia’s privacy laws including the vexed question of a statutory tort for serious invasion of privacy. But would stronger protection of privacy imperil valuable speech in Australia? In this paper, five academics involved in privacy law reform argue that a tort of serious invasion of privacy, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2011 and endorsed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in its Digital Platforms Inquiry Report, would not only have benefits in providing individuals and groups with stronger and more transparent privacy protection including vis-a-vis media. It would help to protect them from the real threat of publication of personal information which could have a “chilling effect” on those wanting to criticise government agencies and other powerful figures – i.e. privacy is here a vehicle for free speech.