ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4880-6711
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 29-03-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-08-2020
DOI: 10.3390/FIRE3030040
Abstract: In the southern hemisphere summer of 2019–20, Australia experienced its most severe bushfire season on record. Smoke from fires affected 80% of the population, with large and prolonged exceedances of the Australian National Air Quality Standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) recorded in all major population centers. We examined if AirRater, a free smartphone app that reports air quality and tracks user symptoms in near real-time, assisted those populations to reduce their smoke exposure and protect their health. We distributed an online survey to over 13,000 AirRater users to assess how they used this information during the 2019–20 bushfire season, and why it was helpful to aid decision-making in reducing personal smoke exposure. We received responses from 1732 users (13.3%). Respondents reported the app was highly useful, supporting informed decision-making regarding daily activities during the smoke-affected period. Commonly reported activities supported by information provided through the app were staying inside (76%), rescheduling or planning outdoor activities (64%), changing locations to less affected areas (29%) and informing decisions on medication use (15%). Innovative and easy-to-use smartphone apps such as AirRater, that provide in idual-level and location-specific data, can enable users to reduce their exposure to environmental hazards and therefore protect their health.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.13684
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 14-10-2020
Abstract: C us community gardens (CCGs) can potentially improve student health and wellbeing, mitigate social and ecological problems, and nurture university-community relationships. However, CCGs are located in complex socio-political and ecological settings and many community gardens struggle or fail. However, few studies have assessed the socio-political/ecological context of a garden setting prior to its development to understand the potential barriers and enablers of success. Our study assessed the socio-spatial context of a proposed CCG at a student university accommodation site. We engaged erse university and community stakeholders through interviews, focus groups and a survey to explore their perceptions of the space generally and the proposed garden specifically. Visual observations and public life surveying were used to determine patterns of behavior. Results confirmed known problems associated with an underutilized site that provides little opportunity for lingering or contact with nature and unknown barriers, including socially disconnected stakeholders and community distrust of the university. The research also uncovered positive enablers, such as stakeholder appreciation of the social, wellbeing and ecological benefits that a CCG could deliver. Our findings suggest that an in-depth exploration of a proposed garden context can be an important enabler of its success.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-09-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S10453-021-09726-3
Abstract: Pollen allergies are responsible for a considerable global public health burden, and understanding exposure is critical to addressing the health impacts. Atmospheric pollen counts are routinely used as a predictor of risk however, immune responses are triggered by specific proteins known as allergens, which occur both within and on the surface of the pollen grain. The ratio between atmospheric pollen counts and allergen concentrations (‘pollen potency’) has been shown to be inconsistent, with potentially important implications for pollen monitoring practice. Despite this, there has been no previous synthesis of the literature and our understanding of the factors that influence pollen potency remains poor. We conducted a scoping review with the aim of deriving a current understanding of: (a) the factors that influence pollen potency (b) its variation through time, between taxa and by location and (c) the implications for pollen monitoring practice. Our synthesis found that pollen potency is highly variable within and between seasons, and between locations however, much of this variability remains unexplained and has not been deeply investigated. We found no predictable pollen potency patterns relating to taxon, geography or time, and inconclusive evidence regarding possible driving factors. With respect to human health, the studies in our synthesis generally reported larger associations between atmospheric allergen loads and allergy symptoms than whole pollen counts. This suggests that pollen potency influences public health risk however, the evidence base remains limited. Further research is needed to better understand both pollen potency variability and its implications for health.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 02-02-2017
DOI: 10.1086/690112
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-12-2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 18-07-2023
Abstract: Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) is the Australian national research network established to support improvements to health, the Australian health system, and the environment in response to the unfolding climate crisis. The HEAL Network comprises researchers, community members and organisations, policymakers, practitioners, service providers, and other stakeholders from erse backgrounds and sectors. HEAL seeks to protect and improve public health, reduce health inequities and inequalities, and strengthen health system sustainability and resilience in the face of environmental and climate change, all with a commitment to building on the strengths, knowledge, wisdom, and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, and communities. Supporting applied research that can inform policy and practice, and effective research translation, implementation, and impact are important goals across the HEAL Network and essential to achieve its intended outcomes. To aid translation approaches, a research translation, implementation, and impact strategy for the HEAL Network was developed. The strategy has been created to inform and guide research translation across HEAL, emphasising communication, trust, partnerships, and co-design with communities and community organisations as well as the decision-makers responsible for public policies and programs. Development of the strategy was guided by research translation theory and practice and the Health in All Policies and Environment in All Policies frameworks. As described in this paper, the strategy is underpinned by a set of principles and outlines preliminary actions which will be further expanded over the course of the HEAL Network’s activities. Through these actions, the HEAL Network is well-positioned to ensure successful research translation and implementation across its program of work.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-11-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-06-2020
Abstract: Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in the environment (i.e., environmental microbiomes) provide vital ecosystem services and affect human health. Despite their importance, public awareness of environmental microbiomes has lagged behind that of human microbiomes. A key problem has been a scarcity of research demonstrating the microbial connections across environmental biomes (e.g., marine, soil) and between environmental and human microbiomes. We show in the present article, through analyses of almost 10,000 microbiome papers and three global data sets, that there are significant taxonomic similarities in microbial communities across biomes, but very little cross-biome research exists. This disconnect may be hindering advances in microbiome knowledge and translation. In this article, we highlight current and potential applications of environmental microbiome research and the benefits of an interdisciplinary, cross-biome approach. Microbiome scientists need to engage with each other, government, industry, and the public to ensure that research and applications proceed ethically, maximizing the potential benefits to society.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-04-2021
Abstract: During extreme air pollution events, such as bushfires, public health agencies often recommend that vulnerable in iduals visit a nearby public building with central air conditioning to reduce their exposure to smoke. However, there is limited evidence that these “cleaner indoor air shelters” reduce exposure or health risks. We quantified the impact of a “cleaner indoor air shelter” in a public library in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia when concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were elevated during a local peat fire and nearby bushfires. Specifically, we evaluated the air quality improvements with central air conditioning only and with the use of portable high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter air cleaners. We measured PM2.5 from August 2019 until February 2020 by deploying pairs of low-cost PM2.5 sensors (i) inside the main library, (ii) in a smaller media room inside the library, (iii) outside the library, and (iv) co-located with regulatory monitors located in the town. We operated two HEPA cleaners in the media room from August until October 2019. We quantified the infiltration efficiency of outdoor PM2.5 concentrations, defined as the fraction of the outdoor PM2.5 concentration that penetrates indoors and remains suspended, as well as the additional effect of HEPA cleaners on PM2.5 concentrations. The infiltration efficiency of outdoor PM2.5 into the air-conditioned main library was 30%, meaning that compared to the PM2.5 concentration outdoors, the concentrations of outdoor-generated PM2.5 indoors were reduced by 70%. In the media room, when the HEPA cleaners were operating, PM2.5 concentrations were reduced further with a PM2.5 infiltration efficiency of 17%. A carefully selected air-conditioned public building could be used as a cleaner indoor air shelter during episodes of elevated smoke emissions. Further improvements in indoor air quality within the building can be achieved by operating appropriately sized HEPA cleaners.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 16-02-2017
Abstract: Tasmania’s dry, inland east is ideally positioned to inform models of late Quaternary environmental change in southern Australasia. Despite this, it remains poorly represented in the palaeoecological record. Here, we seek to address this with a ,000-year vegetation and fire history from Stoney Lagoon, a site at the eastern margin of Tasmania’s inland Midlands plains. Pollen and charcoal analysis indicates that here, a relatively moist early deglacial was followed by a dry later deglacial (ca. 14,000–12,000 cal. BP), when sclerophyll forests became well established and burning increased. This suggests that the Midlands’ vegetation responded to the climatic signals characterising Australia’s south-eastern coast rather than those governing developments in western Tasmania. Dry sclerophyll forest persisted throughout the Holocene with a pronounced transition from more to less grassy understoreys between ca. 9000 and 7000 cal. BP. From the mid-Holocene, the sclerophyll community remains relatively stable. However, increased fire activity and trends in moisture-sensitive taxa suggest generally drier conditions coupled with greater hydroclimatic variability under the strengthening influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Overall, these results highlight the role of macro-scale climatic shifts in shaping vegetation development in Tasmania’s inland east, while hinting at the concurrent importance of local ecological drivers. This highlights the need for spatially erse studies to understand interactions between drivers of long-term environmental change in sub-humid southern Australia. This research also supports conservation by strengthening understandings of pre-colonial baselines in this highly modified landscape.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 12-2020
Abstract: The evidence base for the benefits of urban nature for people and bio ersity is strong. However, cities are erse and the social and environmental contexts of cities are likely to influence the observed effects of urban nature, and the application of evidence to differing contexts. To explore biases in the evidence base for the effects of urban nature, we text-matched city names in the abstracts and affiliations of 14 786 journal articles, from separate searches for articles on urban bio ersity, the health and wellbeing impacts of urban nature, and on urban ecosystem services. City names were found in 51% of article abstracts and 92% of affiliations. Most large cities were studied many times over, while only a small proportion of small cities were studied once or twice. Almost half the cities studied also had an author with an affiliation from that city. Most studies were from large developed cities, with relatively few studies from Africa and South America in particular. These biases mean the evidence base for the effects of urban nature on people and on bio ersity does not adequately represent the lived experience of the 41% of the world’s urban population who live in small cities, nor the residents of the many rapidly urbanising areas of the developing world. Care should be taken when extrapolating research findings from large global cities to smaller cities and cities in the developing world. Future research should encourage research design focussed on answering research questions rather than city selection by convenience, disentangle the role of city size from measures of urban intensity (such as population density or impervious surface cover), avoid gross urban-rural dualisms, and better contextualise existing research across social and environmental contexts.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-04-2019
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-10-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-05-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S13280-022-01745-9
Abstract: Savanna fire management is a topic of global debate, with early dry season burning promoted as a large-scale emissions reduction opportunity. To date, discussions have centred on carbon abatement efficacy, bio ersity and cultural benefits and/or risks. Here we use a case study of Darwin, Australia to highlight smoke pollution as another critical consideration. Smoke pollution from savanna fires is a major public health issue, yet absent so far from discussions of program design. Here, we assess the likely impacts of increased early dry season burning on smoke pollution in Darwin between 2004 and 2019, spanning the introduction and expansion of carbon abatement programs. We found increased smoke pollution in the early dry season but little change in the late dry season, contributing to a net annual increase in air quality standard exceedances. Geospatial analysis suggests this relates to increased burning in the path of early dry season trade winds. This study highlights the complex health trade-offs involved with any large-scale prescribed burning, including for carbon abatement.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 18-02-2021
Abstract: Stable carbon isotope analysis is increasingly used in archaeology as an indicator of crop water status and/or water management regime. While the technique shows promise, robust modern baseline studies are required to inform and validate archaeological interpretations. Here, we test stable carbon isotope values as a crop water status proxy in a monsoonal climatic context for the first time. Specifically, we test the relationship between grain stable carbon isotope values (δ 13 C grain ), water availability, irrigation and soil type in barley ( Hordeum vulgare L. (Zohary and Hopf.)) in north-west India, with the aim of deriving a locally-appropriate model for isotopic interpretation. We test this relationship across a substantial rainfall gradient (200–1000 mm/year) and find a negative logarithmic relationship between climatic water availability and δ 13 C. However, there is significant noise in the relationship, and we report δ 13 C grain variation of over 3‰ amongst s les drawn from similar climatic contexts. Soil type, irrigation type and irrigation frequency have no clear modifying effects. We conclude that: (1) barley stable carbon isotope values can act as an archaeological water status proxy in monsoonal areas, but will be most sensitive in areas receiving mm rainfall per year and (2) it is not possible to precisely infer water management regimes. On the basis of our results, we propose guidelines for archaeological barley stable carbon isotope interpretation in north-west India and analogous monsoonal climates.
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 22-12-2022
DOI: 10.2196/38471
Abstract: Climate change is projected to increase environmental health hazard risks through fire-related air pollution and increased airborne pollen levels. To protect vulnerable populations, it is imperative that evidence-based and accessible interventions are available. The environmental health app, AirRater, was developed in 2015 in Australia to provide information on multiple atmospheric health hazards in near real time. The app allows users to view local environmental conditions, and input and track their personal symptoms to enable behaviors that protect health in response to environmental hazards. This study aimed to develop insights into users’ perceptions of engagement, comprehension, and trust in AirRater to inform the future development of environmental health apps. Specifically, this study explored which AirRater features users engaged with, what additional features or functionality needs users felt they required, users’ self-perception of understanding app information, and their level of trust in the information provided. A total of 42 adult AirRater users were recruited from 3 locations in Australia to participate in semistructured interviews to capture location- or context-specific experiences. Participants were notified of the recruitment opportunity through multiple avenues including newsletter articles and social media. Informed consent was obtained before participation, and the participants were remunerated for their time and perspectives. A preinterview questionnaire collected data including age range, any preexisting conditions, and location (postcode). All participant data were deidentified. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12 (QSR International). Participants discussed app features and functionality, as well as their understanding of, and trust in, the information provided by the app. Most (26/42, 62%) participants used and valued visual environmental hazard features, especially maps, location settings, and hazard alerts. Most (33/42, 78%) found information in the app easy to understand and support their needs, irrespective of their self-reported literacy levels. Many (21/42, 50%) users reported that they did not question the accuracy of the data presented in the app. Suggested enhancements include the provision of meteorological information (eg, wind speed or direction, air pressure, UV rating, and humidity), functionality enhancements (eg, forecasting, additional alerts, and the inclusion of health advice), and clarification of existing information (eg, symptom triggers), including the capacity to download personal summary data for a specified period. Participants’ perspectives can inform the future development of environmental health apps. Specifically, participants’ insights support the identification of key elements for the optimal development of environmental health app design, including streamlining, capacity for users to customize, use of real time data, visual cues, credibility, and accuracy of data. The results also suggest that, in the future, iterative collaboration between developers, environmental agencies, and users will likely promote better functional design, user trust in the data, and ultimately better population health outcomes.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-03-2019
Abstract: Epidemic thunderstorm asthma (ETA) is an emerging public health threat in Australia, highlighted by the 2016 event in Melbourne, Victoria, that overwhelmed health services and caused loss of life. However, there is limited understanding of the regional variations in risk. We evaluated the public health risk of ETA in the nearby state of Tasmania by quantifying the frequency of potential ETA episodes and applying a standardized natural disaster risk assessment framework. Using a case–control approach, we analyzed emergency presentations in Tasmania’s public hospitals from 2002 to 2017. Cases were defined as days when asthma presentations exceeded four standard deviations from the mean, and controls as days when asthma presentations were less than one standard deviation from the mean. Four controls were randomly selected for each case. Independently, a meteorologist identified the dates of potential high-risk thunderstorm events. No case days coincided with thunderstorms during the study period. ETA was assessed as a very low risk to the Tasmanian population, with these findings informing risk prioritization and resource allocation. This approach may be scaled and applied in other settings to determine local ETA risk. Furthermore, the identification of hazards using this method allows for critical analysis of existing public health systems.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Penelope Jones.