Urban Australia Research Articles

Stormwater reuse: designing biofiltration systems for reliable treatment

Stormwater reuse is increasing in popularity as a technique for overcoming water shortages in urban Australia. However, technology for the reliable treatment of stormwater for reuse is still not fully developed. This paper presents the first steps in refining biofilters for stormwater reuse. Six different filter media were selected, to target specific stormwater pollutants, as well as support plant growth. They were tested in the laboratory, where the filters were dosed three times per week with semi-synthetic stormwater for five weeks. Pollutant removal performance was monitored, and revealed that all soil-based filters performed similarly (while sand filters behaved somewhat differently). All filters removed more than 80% of solids and greater than 90% of lead, copper, and zinc. Three filter types were able to remove some phosphorus (particularly in the top 30 cm of the media). Apart from sand, all filter media were net producers of nitrogen, leading to an important conclusion that non-vegetated, soil-based filters are not suitable for targeting nutrients. However, since heavy metals are the primary pollutant of concern with respect to stormwater reuse for irrigation (the most popular end-use), it was concluded that biofilters may be promising technologies for treatment of stormwater for reuse.

The construction of youth suicide as a community issue within urban and regional Australia

AbstractThere is a dilemma within the suicide prevention field about the extent to which suicide should be openly discussed as a community issue. Some fear provoking imitation while others think it is essential in order to improve awareness, understanding and appropriate responses to young people’s distress. While youth suicide is widely recognised to be an important issue within Australian society, little research has been undertaken on the sociocultural context that shapes how it is constructed. This article reports on the findings of research within an urban and a regional community in which samples of young people, adults and service providers were interviewed about how youth suicide was viewed as an issue. The study revealed how different rural and urban community identities were connected to suicide through the circulation of media reports, personal stories and the (mis)use of statistics. Youth suicide was constructed through the process of young people talking about it with peers, and adults talkin...

The behaviour of Labrador retrievers in suburban backyards: The relationships between the backyard environment and dog behaviour

Most pet dogs in urban Australia are confined to their owners’ property in a suburban backyard. Despite the literature on the effect of captive environments on both farm and zoo animals, there is little objective information on the effects of confining pet dogs. The prevalence of behavioural problems in pet dogs may be an indication that dogs are not well adapted to some backyard environments. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of being confined in backyards on dog behaviour by observing the behaviour of 55 Labrador retrievers in various backyard settings. The behaviour of the dogs was recorded for 48 h and the social and physical environment of the dogs quantified. Time budgets of dog behaviour were developed and relationships between behaviour and environmental factors examined. Factors related to dog activity included the amount of foliage in the yard, the number of transitions the dog made between locations and whether the dog was kept inside at night, but also had a kennel provided in the yard. Factors related to problem behaviours, such as digging and chewing, included whether the dog was gold coloured and had no formal training, the dog being more active and the dog performing a high number of transitions between locations in the backyard. It is suggested that it may be the type of relationship with the owner that affects Labrador behaviour, rather than factors such as size of the yard, having another dog present or time spent with the dog.

Occupational Performance of People Diagnosed with Schizophrenia in Supported Housing and Outreach Programmes in Australia

This study compared the occupational performance in activities of daily living (ADL) of people diagnosed with schizophrenia in two settings: 25 people in residential rehabilitation facilities and 18 people receiving intensive outreach support in their homes in urban Australia. All participants were assessed with structured interviews, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (a performance-based measure of ADL ability) and the Life Skills Profile (an informant-report measure of disability). Hypothesised differences in ADL performance between the two settings were not supported. Mean ADL process ability, based on the AMPS process skills subscale, indicated that the majority (58%) of the 43 participants needed some assistance in community living, irrespective of where they lived and the types of support received. Many participants (42%) performed ADL tasks with relative ease, efficiency, safety and independence as measured by AMPS, indicating that they could live in housing arrangements with outreach support. However, the ADL process ability measures for two-thirds of these participants indicated that they would struggle in community living in the absence of outreach support. Given these findings, the eligibility criteria and screening for residential and outreach support services need re-examination and performance-based assessments of ADL ability could improve the identification of housing-related support needs. Occupational therapists have expertise in this area to develop individualised supports that enable a greater choice of living arrangements for people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Estimates of overweight and obesity among samples of preschool‐aged children in Melbourne and Sydney

AbstractObjective: Childhood obesity is a significant and increasing public health issue. We present results from two cross‐sectional surveys from Melbourne and Sydney that sought to estimate the level of overweight and obesity among preschool‐aged children.Methods: In Melbourne, weight and height of 196 children from 12 randomly selected preschools and kindergartens were measured and recorded. In Sydney, data on weight and height of 325 children attending four early childhood centres were extracted from client records. The two studies used the age and gender‐specific body mass index criteria for classifying overweight and obesity.Results: The prevalence of Melbourne preschool‐aged children considered overweight was 15.3% for boys and 17.3% for girls, with a further 7.1% of boys and 8.2% of girls considered obese. In Sydney, the proportion of children considered overweight was 15.3% for boys and 26.3% for girls. An additional 8.7% of boys and 8% of girls were considered obese.Conclusion: There is some evidence that childhood obesity may begin in the preschool years. Intervention programs targeting obesity should be considered for families with preschool‐aged children in urban Australia.

Gay and Lesbian Couples at Home: Identity Work in Domestic Space

ABSTRACTSocial research into gay/lesbian experiences of home has tended to posit domestic environments as alienating for gay/lesbian subjects, silencing their sexual identities. Meanwhile, work on the spatiality of sexual identity more broadly has largely focused on individuals or communities, not couples or households. In this context, this article aims to recover the importance of home for gay/lesbian couples. I explore how cohabiting gay/lesbian couples generate shared identities through domestic space, examining various ways in which these couples use homes to establish and consolidate their partnerships. Empirical data is drawn from twenty-three in-depth interviews with gay/lesbian Australians who are cohabiting, or have cohabited, with a long-term partner. The sample is largely limited to white, educated, middle-class gay men and lesbians living in urban Australia, providing an ethnographic window into the domestic identity-formation of a particular community of practice. Four key themes regarding “coupled identities” at home emerged from the interviews: (i) the importance of privacy and control at home for enabling gay/lesbian partnerships; (ii) the negotiated creation and use of shared domestic spaces; (iii) the accumulation and arrangement of household objects in those domestic spaces; and (iv) the importance of maintaining separate “personal” spaces for each partner for the well-being of the relationship.

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in an HIV/AIDS clinic

Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is increasing in the Pacific region. The standard antibiotic used in urban Australia is intramuscular ceftriaxone. Isolates with reduced sensitivity are being isolated; however, resistance to ceftriaxone has yet to occur. Continued surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in the pathogen, with communication between clinic and laboratory, is needed to ensure optimal treatment of infection.

Work in progress: narratives of aspiration from the new economy

Central to the discourses of the new economy is the model of the flexible, adaptive, ambitious and individualistic worker. This article considers the subjective purchase of that model by analysing interviews with three young women living and working in urban Australia. Their respective narratives of aspiration illustrate contrasting responses to the challenges posed by an increasingly unclear and unstable vocational landscape. The first, Sarah, while in high school worked on a casual basis in a shop selling surf wear and her father initiated her to the surfing subculture. Consistent with the spirit of this subculture, she demonstrated a reluctance to embrace the prospect of forging a career or finding a vocation and expressed a desire to opt out of the looming responsibilities of adulthood. The second, Nadia, grew up in a relatively poor family and had part‐time jobs while at school, including working in clothing stores. The insecurity created by her upbringing led her to aspire to become a teacher, a stable career, where other options appeared to offer only a precarious living. The third interview subject, Nadia, epitomised the new worker. She demonstrated a desire to abstract from particular work experiences—forged in situations as diverse as a hamburger outlet and a boutique clothing store—an accumulation of habits and skills that would equip her for the creative and cosmopolitan employment to which she aspired. She embraced the notion of lifelong learning and exemplified a willingness to take up diverse opportunities when they arose. The paper argues that the notion of vocational ambition is problematic because, in many cases, those who are most ambitious are least clear about where that ambition might take them. Longitudinal studies considering whether earlier ambitions were realised are less interesting than explorations of narrative strategies used to make sense of vocational trajectories.

Job satisfaction in occupational therapy: a qualitative investigation in urban Australia

Background: Job satisfaction has been shown to affect levels of staff retention and work productivity, but few studies have been conducted with occupational therapists in an Australian setting. Methods: Using a hermeneutical phenomenological approach, the findings from a study examining the factors that contribute to job satisfaction in occupational therapists working in Australia, are reported. Results: Job satisfaction in occupational therapy was derived from the sense of achievement felt when providing effective clinical care. Job dissatisfaction stemmed from the poor profile and status of the profession. Conclusions: Based on the study findings, there is an imperative that the profession of occupational therapy continue to use research findings to support clinicians in providing effective health care, and improve the community understanding of occupational therapy.

Genetic structure infers generally high philopatry and male-biased dispersal of brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in urban Australia

The brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is in decline throughout much of its natural range with the notable exception of urban areas and a few islands. In some urban areas, its density can be high enough to cause conflict with householders. We provide the first genetic-based study of dispersal for T. vulpecula in the urban environment. Seven microsatellite markers were used to investigate genetic structure of adult male (n = 53) and female (n = 39) possums sampled from mainland suburbs of Sydney, and on nearby Scotland Island. Samples from Scotland Island also provide an opportunity to assess the effect of isolation on genetic variability, which, as theory would predict, was significantly lower than observed in mainland samples. Male-biased dispersal was inferred from patterns of relatedness between individuals of each sex. Average relatedness was significantly higher between adult female possums than between adult male possums sampled within the same garden area. In addition, males were genotypically more similar to one another at substantially greater geographic distances than females. Along with male-biased dispersal, strong localised genetic structure for both sexes infers generally high philopatry. Dispersal distances were greatest for adult male possums sampled from mainland locations. However, even for these males, genotypic similarity between possums separated by distances further than ~900 m was lower than the sample average, suggesting infrequent dispersal beyond this distance. Knowledge of dispersal patterns is important to managing the density levels of overabundant T. vulpecula in urban areas.

Daytime behaviour of the grey-headed flying fox Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck (Pteropodidae: Megachiroptera) at an autumn/winter roost.

The grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck) is a threatened large fruit bat endemic to Australia. It roosts in large colonies in rainforest patches, mangroves, open forest, riparian woodland and, as native habitat is reduced, increasingly in vegetation within urban environments. The general biology, ecology and behaviour of this bat remain largely unknown, which makes it difficult to effectively monitor, protect and manage this species. The current study provides baseline information on the daytime behaviour of P. poliocephalus in an autumn/winter roost in urban Sydney, Australia, between April and August 2003. The most common daytime behaviours expressed by the flying foxes were sleeping (most common), grooming, mating/courtship, and wing spreading (least common). Behaviours differed significantly between times of day and seasons (autumn and winter). Active behaviours (i.e., grooming, mating/courtship, wing spreading) occurred mainly in the morning, while sleeping predominated in the afternoon. Mating/courtship and wing spreading were significantly higher in April (reproductive period) than in winter (non-reproductive period). Grooming was the only behaviour that showed no significant variation between sample periods. These results provide important baseline data for future comparative studies on the behaviours of flying foxes from urban and ?natural? camps, and the development of management strategies for this species.

Sustainable Housing Development in Urban Australia: exploring obstacles to and opportunities for ecocity efforts

Basic aspects of sustainable housing design such as increasing density, mixed use and proximity to public transport are being adopted increasingly in Australian cities. Sustainable building codes such as NSW's BASIX and Victoria's Green Star rating systems are also being implemented and advanced. More substantial improvements and endeavours such as onsite food production, energy generation and waste treatment, are being seen increasingly as necessary for urban sustainability, yet little is being done to institutionalise or normalise these through Australia's housing system. Similarly, concerns about the social sustainability of housing identify the need for mixed, flexible tenure and dwelling types, with again little uptake despite evidence of demand. Given that we seem to know what needs doing to move towards sustainability, this paper investigates two ecologically and socially sound community-based housing developments in Australia, with a view to finding what helped or hindered these efforts and what may further the uptake of sustainable design. Assessment of the uptake of sustainable planning initiatives reveals the prevalence of a decidedly neoliberal agenda which shies away from the more substantial challenges ecocity design and community-based enterprise may represent. Such community-based initiatives must, however, be supported at a broader scale, to avoid possible outsourcing of governmental responsibility or the relegation of sustainable design to the sole realm of the wealthy.

Emergency eye care in rural Australia: role of internet

Significant differences exist in the utilization of emergency eye care services in rural and urban Australia. Meanwhile, influence of internet-based technology in emergency eye care service utilization has not been established. This study aims to demonstrate, from a health provider perspective, an internet-based service's impact on emergency eye care in rural Australia. The teleophthalmology service was initiated in the Carnarvon Regional Hospital (CRH) of the Gascoyne region in Western Australia. A digital, slit lamp and fundus camera were used for the service. Economic data was gathered from the Department of Health of Western Australia (DOHWA), the CRH and the Lions Eye Institute. During the study period (January-December, 2003) 118 persons took part in teleophthalmology consultations. Emergency cases constituted 3% of these consultations. Previous year, there were seven eye-related emergency evacuations (inter-hospital air transfers) from the Gascoyne region to City of Perth. Analysis demonstrates implementation of internet-based health services has a marked impact on rural emergency eye care delivery. Internet is well suited to ophthalmology for the diagnosis and management of acute conditions in remote areas. Integration of such services to mainstream health care is recommended.

The Sense of Sago: Motherhood and Migration in Papua New Guinea and Australia

This paper explores the migratory experiences of Gogodala women from the Western Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in their movements between the village and urban PNG and Australia. Born and raised in Gogodala villages in Western Province, these women were integral to my own experiences as a female fieldworker in rural PNG. Immersed in ato ela gi—‘women's work’ or ‘way of life’—as girls and young women, and embodied through the effort of making sago, fishing, bearing and caring for children, through marriage and opportunity they have travelled and lived far away from the places that resonate with their early experiences of womanhood, as well as their names, and kin and clan relationships. Many of the women have lived in urban centres in PNG, raising children away from the sensory experience and stringent reality of the village, constrained by the necessity to remain ‘Gogodala’ in the face of life elsewhere, while a few others have married and live outside PNG with little access to Gogodala contacts and family. Transformed from women ‘living on sago’, the local idiom for an emplaced village life, each has experienced the sensory and physical displacement of migration. Yet each has retained strong ‘senses’ of being a woman in terms, particularly, of women's work and the gift and consumption of sago, in ways reminiscent of the sweat, smells and sounds of Gogodala places and people.

Resource allocation for psychosis in Australia

Using a census-based prevalence survey (Jablensky et al, 2000), we estimated the cost of psychosis in urban Australia at AU$2.25 billion (£0.86 billion) per year when valued at prices pertaining in the year 2000 (Carr et al, 2003). About 40% of these costs were spent on direct mental health care, the remainder being the costs of lost productivity (limited to unemployment in our study). The total costs amounted to AU$46 200 (£17 722) per person per year, 20% higher than the average annual male income. The bulk of the treatment cost was accounted for by in-patient care, which appeared to have become the default option in the absence of adequate levels of supported community accommodation. This was indicated by the fact that after 'non-discretionary' treatment costs (42% of direct costs) were accounted for (i.e. visits to a general practitioner, medication, crisis or emergency care, acute hospitalisation), almost three-quarters of the remainder was spent on long-stay hospitalisation (Neil et al, 2003). When patterns of community-based service delivery were examined, we found a marked paucity of delivery of psychosocial treatments, rehabilitation and substance use interventions, reflecting the skewing of expenditure towards long-term hospitalisation and away from community care.

Local Government Conservation and Management of Native Vegetation in Urban Australia

Reflecting a worldwide trend of devolution of power and responsibilities to local authorities, metropolitan local governments in Australia now have a role in protecting and managing native vegetation (bushland). Reporting on questionnaire and interview results for Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide, this research examines the main disturbances in local government bushlands, local governments' efforts in bushland conservation, and universality of issues and responses among the cities and between urban and urban-rural local authorities. A number of disturbances in bushlands are common among the cities, with weeds, development impacts, and urban run off perceived to be the most threatening. Management efforts focus on weed control, whereas other main disturbances are receiving less attention. Community involvement in management is prevalent, although regional coordination among local governments is limited. Local governments are willing to be involved in biodiversity conservation and their capacity would be enhanced with increased funding, staffing, and regional coordination.

Australian Backyard Gardens and the Journey of Migration

Gardens have been an important site of environmental engagement in Australia since the British colonization. They are places where immigrant people and plants have carried on traditions from their homelands and have worked out an accommodation with new social and biophysical environments. We examined the backyard gardens of three contemporary migrant groups—Macedonian, Vietnamese, and British born—in suburban Australia and a group of first‐generation Australians with both parents born overseas. In Macedonian backyards, emphasis was strong on the production of vegetables; in Vietnamese backyards, on herbs and fruit. British backyards were more diverse, some focusing on non‐native ornamental flowers and others favoring native plants. The cohesiveness of the respective groups was partly an artifact of our sampling strategy. The Macedonian and Vietnamese migrants shared an affinity for productive, humanized landscapes that reflected their rural, subsistence backgrounds and crossed over into their attitudes toward the broader environment and national parks. The rural and village backgrounds help explain why intensive backyard food production has broken down among the next generation in (sub)urban Australia, becoming part of heritage rather than everyday practice.

‘So slide over here’: the aesthetics of masculinity in late twentieth-century Australian pop music

For Australian men, the very act of appearing on stage has for much of the twentieth century aroused suspicion about their gender status and their sexuality. To aspire to the stage often implied homosexuality culturally in Australia. This has been evident in the evolving aesthetic of white Australian masculinity in pop music from the 1970s onwards. For most of that period, Anglo-Australian males who presented themselves in a rigid, almost asexual way dominated the aesthetic. The reality of urban Australia was ignored in their images, which were essentially confined to outback or coastal Australian settings. This paper examines that development as part of a continuum of twentieth century Australian male music performance that has variously been informed by the bush legend; a mythologised late nineteenth-century Australian masculine image, popularised in The Bulletin under the editorship of Archibald, that saw the urban as the feminine and the rural as the masculine. The paper considers how the combination of sexual anxiety surrounding male gender identity in Australian performance, and this rigid bush aesthetic, have encouraged the development of unstable male gender representations in Australian music that for the most part have come across as either caricatured male, sexless or anti-pop. The exception is the late Michael Hutchence whose performances were a clear departure from this in that on stage and in music videos he conveyed a star persona that was sexually charged and often ambiguous about its sexuality. It is for that reason alone that Michael Hutchence has been referred to as Australia's only international rock star (Carney 1997).

CANCER AND CANCER RISK IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA: WHAT EVIDENCE FOR A RURAL–URBAN HEALTH DIFFERENTIAL?

Objective: To determine the extent of evidence for a rural–urban health differential in cancer and cancer risk in South Australia Design: Secondary analysis and synthesis of data available between 1977 and 2000 from the publications of the South Australian Cancer Registry and reports of population health surveys carried out by the South Australian Department of Human Services. Results: The mean annual age‐standardised incidence of all forms of cancer combined was about 4% lower for rural residents (265.2 per 100 000 cf. 274.9 per 100 000). Of 31 types of cancer listed, the incidence of three was significantly higher among rural residents, the incidence of eight was significantly higher among urban residents and for 20 types there was no significant difference. Five year case survival for all cancers combined was 52% in both urban and rural residents. Significant survival differences were identified for only 10 cancers and survival for each was higher among urban residents. Melanomas were diagnosed in situ more often in the country, but invasive cases tended to be thicker. There was no rural– urban difference in early detection rates for breast cancer or bladder cancer. There were no substantial reported differences in major risk factors and early detection experiences apart from higher rates of smoking in the country. Conclusions: There is little evidence for substantial or systematic differences in risk factors for, and incidence and early detection of cancers between urban and rural South Australia. However, the apparent consistently poorer survival among rural residents warrants further study.

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