ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9862-2101
Current Organisations
Simon Fraser University
,
Simon Fraser Elementary
,
University of New South Wales
,
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
,
The University of Manitoba
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2006
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1071/SB01043
Abstract: The mulga complex (Acacia aneura and closely related taxa) is a widespread group that is dominant in much of arid Australia. The group is taxonomically difficult, due to a complex interaction of sympatry and putative hybridisation between the major species, geographic variation within species and sympatric variation within A. aneura. Mulga is highly variable in a wide range of vegetative and reproductive characters and it is not unusual to find five or six distinct forms growing side by side. The aim of this project was to gain a better understanding of the relationships among mulga species and A. aneura varieties, as well as the maintenance of this variation. A single site in the Northern Territory, containing A. ayersiana, A. minyura and two varieties of A. aneura, was s led intensively. Six morphotypes were observed in the field and five were strongly supported by morphometric analysis. Although the mulga complex is generally tetraploid (2n = 52), triploid (2n = 39) and pentaploid (2n = 65) seedlings were produced in the study population. Microsatellite primers developed for A. mangium (sect. Juliflorae) were lified in in iduals of each morphotype, resulting in genetic marker patterns consistent with polyploidy. Genetic and morphometric distances were correlated and differences between morphotypes account for 63% of the total genetic variation (ΦPT = 0.63, P 0.001). Allele sequences confirmed the presence of genuine heterozygosity and clonality was suggested by the low genotypic ersity and the lack of allele segregation. Seedlings had identical genotypes to the maternal plants and polyembryony was observed in each taxon, consistent with apomictic reproduction. Both variation of the ploidy level and apomixis may restrict gene flow among morphotypes, playing a role in the maintenance of morphological ersity at the study site. The success of the group in arid and semi-arid Australia may also be due, in part, to these factors.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1753-6405.2010.00614.X
Abstract: To analyse news portrayals of lung cancer and associated inferences about responsibility in Australian television news. Analysis of television news reports, broadcast on Sydney's five free-to-air television channels between 2 May 2005 and 31 August 2009, for all statements pertaining to lung cancer. Of 2,042 reports mentioning any cancer, 45 made reference to lung cancer, and 28 (62%) referred to diagnoses of lung cancer in non-smokers. Of 157 statements in these reports, 107 (68%) noted that the person featured was a non-smoker. Non-smokers were portrayed sympathetically and as tragic victims, implying they were not responsible for their condition, the sub-text being that smokers are responsible for theirs. Television news portrays non-smokers with lung cancer with considerable sympathy. Conversely, smokers are implicitly and occasionally explicitly depicted as responsible for their disease. The marginalisation of tobacco caused lung cancer in news, together with sympathetic reporting of lung cancer in non-smokers may contribute to stigma surrounding smoking caused disease that may promote delay in seeking treatment, and de-emphasise the role of the tobacco industry's decades-long smoker reassurance program in promoting smoking.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1753-6405.2009.00361.X
Abstract: To describe the range and frequency of reportage of tobacco-related disease on Australian television news. Content analysis of all news items mentioning smoking-related disease broadcast on five free-to-air Sydney television channels 2 May 2005 to 31 December 2007. Three in four tobacco-related disease news reports focus on lung cancer. Other cancers and smoking attributable diseases attract modest coverage. Television news coverage may contribute to public misconceptions regarding the associated health risks of smoking, limiting understanding about the many risks involved. Tobacco control advocates should seek to increase the newsworthiness of diseases in addition to lung cancer. While the Australian public is generally aware of the connection between lung cancer and tobacco, considerable misconception exists as to the broad range of tobacco-related mortality and disease. Given television's role as a key source of public information on health issues in Australia, such coverage can limit understanding about the many attributable risks involved. Tobacco control advocates need to find ways to improve the newsworthiness of tobacco related illness.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-10-2010
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-04-2018
DOI: 10.1002/APP5.242
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 07-06-2007
Publisher: E.U. European Publishing
Date: 12-11-2018
DOI: 10.18332/TID/98957
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-03-2010
DOI: 10.1007/S13187-010-0083-0
Abstract: Ninety four percent of new breast cancer cases in Australian women occur in those aged over 40. Mammographic breast screening programs target women over 40, especially those aged 50-69, but participation rates in this age group have recently declined. To test the hypothesis that young women, at low risk for breast cancer, are overrepresented in television news, we analyzed all televised news reports on age and breast cancer shown on five free-to-air Sydney television stations, from 3 May 2005 to 28 February 2007, to determine the age of women shown with, or at risk for, the disease. Over half (55%) of statements about age and breast cancer referred to young women stated or known to be aged under 40. Sixty seven percent of images of women in breast cancer reports were known or judged to be women aged under 40. Three cases in young celebrity women accounted for 53% of all statements and 24% of all images about young women and breast cancer. Overrepresentation of young women with breast cancer in television news coverage does not reflect the epidemiology of the disease. This imbalance may contribute to public uncertainty regarding screening policy.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-12-2008
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-04-2015
DOI: 10.1093/PHE/PHV010
Publisher: E.U. European Publishing
Date: 12-11-2018
DOI: 10.18332/TID/98957
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 15-04-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-06-2016
DOI: 10.1093/PHE/PHW027
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 15-12-2010
Abstract: The tobacco industry is not obligated to disclose ingredients and additives used in manufactured tobacco production. This paper describes global reaction to a press release highlighting evidence that porcine haemoglobin ("pig's blood") was sometimes used in cigarette manufacturing while never being disclosed to smokers. The case study illustrates the power of press releases to ignite major interest in tobacco control issues.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 2007
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1002/PON.1567
Abstract: To examine the coverage of colorectal cancer on Australian television news over a 3 year period commencing May 2005, and compare it with that given to other cancers. News reports on colorectal cancer broadcast on Sydney's five free-to-air television channels between 3 May 2005 and 30 May 2008 were reviewed for statements by news actors. The frequency of coverage was compared with that for other cancers. Colorectal cancer news reports accounted for 4.1% (95% CI 2.9-5.1%) of all cancer news reports while the cancer represents 13.5% of cancer incidence and 11.5% of cancer deaths. Compared to cancers receiving greater television news coverage, there was a near total absence of reports of celebrity diagnoses, and of representations by colorectal advocacy groups. A national colorectal screening programme received limited coverage. Media neglect of colorectal cancer may be an important factor in explaining low participation in the Australian colorectal screening programme. Those advocating for colorectal cancer screening face ingrained cultural challenges in gaining broad media coverage, but investment in efforts to generate news and commentary would appear to be overdue.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-12-2019
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-2007
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.HLC.2018.04.293
Abstract: Smoking cessation (SC) care in the perioperative period of cardiothoracic surgery is important to reduce surgical risk and help achieve long-term smoking abstinence in patients who continue to smoke. The implementation of clinical guidelines for SC care in the perioperative period has proved challenging, yet little is known of what influences the inter-disciplinary team involved in the cardiothoracic area. This qualitative study explored the views of the clinicians involved in perioperative period of cardiothoracic surgery in Australia on their SC advice and support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 cardiothoracic surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and physiotherapists in three public tertiary referral hospitals and three private hospitals in New South Wales (NSW). Data was thematically analysed, and categorised using the Behaviour Change Wheel "Capabilities, Opportunity, Motivation & Behaviour" (COM-B) analysis framework to understand the factors that influence clinicians' views and perceived abilities to provide SC care. Barriers and facilitators to providing SC care were identified. The most commonly identified barriers in capability were the lack of knowledge, training and institutional engagement. Opportunity was hindered by lack of time, hospital support and resources, yet facilitated by the existence of a collaborative, multidisciplinary team and the ability to follow-up patients long term. In motivation, clinicians' attitudes and experience negatively influenced the initiation of the cessation conversation, while intrinsic attributes of empathy and positivity were drivers to provide SC care. Clinicians' views, together with inadequate SC training, resources and engagement to implement clinical guidelines, contribute to inconsistent SC care. There is a need for hospitals to provide adequate SC resources and training to all clinicians to improve SC care to cardiothoracic surgery patients throughout the perioperative period.
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 29-09-2021
Abstract: hile social media is commonly used in public health c aigns, there is a gap in our understanding of what happens after the c aign is seen by the target audience. Frequently reported social media metrics, such as reach and engagement, do not reflect whether the audience accepts the c aign, or more importantly, whether they take up the c aign’s message. This study investigates whether analysing social media comments can provide insight into how a c aign is received, by examining Facebook comments about the Shisha No Thanks c aign. Shisha No Thanks aims to raise awareness of the harms of shisha (also known as waterpipe) smoking among young people from Arabic-speaking background in Sydney, Australia. A c aign video was produced and shared widely on social media, where it received over 10,000 Facebook comments. his study aims to understand how the Shisha No Thanks video was received by the target audience by analysing Facebook comments posted to it. Specifically, this study aims to determine whether the audience accepted or rejected the c aign’s message. s le of the Facebook comments was extracted using Facebook’s Graph API (application programming interface). The study team developed content categories consistent with the research question. The categories were: ‘Accept’ the c aign message, ‘Reject’, and ‘Unclear’. Subcategories were developed based on common themes in each category. The categories were reviewed by Cultural Support Workers (health workers who support multicultural communities) to ensure the cultural meanings of the comments were captured. Each comment was then coded by three team members, and only assigned a category if there was agreement by at least two members. he Shisha No Thanks video reached 435,811 people and received over 11,000 comments. Of the n=4,990 comments that were s led, 9.1% (n=456) accepted the c aign message, 22.9% (n=1,144) rejected the message, 21.8% (n=1,089) were unclear, and 46.1% (n=2,301) contained only tagged names. Of our s le, 2.8% (n=138) indicated the commenter took on board the c aign message by expressing an intention to stop smoking shisha, or asking a friend to stop smoking shisha. Of the comments that showed rejection of the c aign, the majority were people dismissing the c aign by laughing at it or expressing pro-shisha sentiments. his study demonstrates that conducting content analyses of social media comments can provide important insight into how a c aign message is received by the target audience. Analysing Facebook comments on the Shisha No Thanks video showed that almost one in 10 people who commented accepted the c aign message, and almost 3% took up the c aign message. On the other hand, analysing the Facebook comments also provides important insight into perspectives of people who did not accept the c aign message, which can be useful in developing future interventions on this issue.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 21-08-2015
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1071/BT01099
Abstract: With over 960 species, Acacia is the largest genus of plants in Australia with all but nine of these species classified as subgenus Phyllodineae. DNA sequences for the chloroplast trnK region were sequenced for over 100 species to test sectional classification and survey species relationships within this subgenus. Only one of the seven recognised sections was found to be monophyletic however, the close relationship of sect. Botrycephalae to certain racemose, uninerved species of sect. Phyllodineae is confirmed. Support is found for an expanded version of Vassal's Pulchelloidea, with the addition of sect. Lycopodiifoliae and several members of sect. Phyllodineae. These species, while morphologically distinct in adult foliage, possess similar seedling characteristics. The multinerved species are unresolved, indicating a rapid morphological radiation with little chloroplast sequence ergence among these species. The low levels of sequence ergence, large numbers of morphological species groups and the adaptive radiation of the group are discussed.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-05-2012
DOI: 10.1093/PHE/PHS008
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 08-2008
Abstract: The efforts of members of the tobacco industry to portray themselves as responsible corporations via ostensible commitment to improved labour practices and public philanthropy have attracted growing criticism. This is particularly true of corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes undertaken in emerging nations that are designed to rehabilitate the tobacco industry's image among public, government and market opinions in North America and western Europe. In the case of Thailand, sponsorship of arts events and community groups has been one avenue of promoting the industry in a regulatory environment that severely curtails promotion and advertising. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Art Award, sponsored by Philip Morris (PM) has provided one such outlet for 10 years. Analysis of PM funding announcements since the end of the ASEAN art programme in Thailand reveals that recent donations to tobacco-related community organisations reinforces the extent to which seemingly generous acts are driven by corporate self-interest rather than social responsibility.
Publisher: CMA Joule Inc.
Date: 12-04-2010
DOI: 10.1503/CMAJ.090993
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-01-2012
DOI: 10.1093/PHE/PHR035
Publisher: The Sax Institute
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.17061/PHRP2721714
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-01-2016
DOI: 10.1093/PHE/PHV039
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-11-2017
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 11-2017
DOI: 10.5694/MJA17.00310
Publisher: E.U. European Publishing
Date: 18-10-2022
DOI: 10.18332/TID/153543
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2004
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-11-2012
DOI: 10.1093/NTR/NTS237
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2004
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2004
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-2005
DOI: 10.1534/GENETICS.105.042952
Abstract: Marker-based methods for estimating heritability and genetic correlation in the wild have attracted interest because traditional methods may be impractical or introduce bias via G × E effects, mating system variation, and s ling effects. However, they have not been widely used, especially in plants. A regression-based approach, which uses a continuous measure of genetic relatedness, promises to be particularly appropriate for use in plants with mixed-mating systems and overlapping generations. Using this method, we found significant narrow-sense heritability of foliar defense chemicals in a natural population of Eucalyptus melliodora. We also demonstrated a genetic basis for the phenotypic correlation underlying an ecological ex le of conditioned flavor aversion involving different biosynthetic pathways. Our results revealed that heritability estimates depend on the spatial scale of the analysis in a way that offers insight into the distribution of genetic and environmental variance. This study is the first to successfully use a marker-based method to measure quantitative genetic parameters in a tree. We suggest that this method will prove to be a useful tool in other studies and offer some recommendations for future applications of the method.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-2012
Abstract: The enforced opening of Thailand’s cigarette market to imports in 1990 has become a cause celebre in debates about the social and health impacts of trade agreements. At the instigation of leading US-based cigarette manufacturers, the US Trade Representative (USTR) threatened trade sanctions against Thailand to compel the government to liberalize its domestic cigarette market. Thailand’s challenge to the USTR led to referral to General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) arbitration. While GATT ruled in favour of the USTR on market access, it also found that Thailand could subsequently enact non-discriminatory tobacco control regulation without contravening the GATT agreement. This article contributes to existing literature via its analysis of tobacco industry documents that highlight not only USTR responsiveness to lobbying from tobacco corporations, raising concerns about the drivers of globalization and the limited protection afforded to public health concerns in trade agreements. Significantly, the documents also indicate that USTR support of the tobacco industry was not unconditional, being subject to wider pressures of global trade negotiations. Such qualification notwithstanding, however, ongoing governmental willingness to advance the international interests of tobacco corporations remains a concern from a public health perspective, particularly given the failure of the US to ratify the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-02-2010
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 31-01-2017
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 31-01-2017
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 06-2008
Abstract: Summary In August 2006, the Australian government announced that Herceptin (Trastuzumab) would be added to the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) of government-subsidized drugs, for treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy of HER2 breast cancer. Following initial reticence, the health minister responded to a c aign by patients and patient advocacy groups by announcing PBS subsidization which lowered the cost of a weekly dose from A$1000 to A$30. The cost to the government would be A$470 million over three years for treatment of an estimated 2100 women annually. We analysed the news frames used in all direct and attributed statements ( n=239) in television news coverage of the discourse preceding the Herceptin decision by the Australian government. Five Sydney free-to-air channels between October 2005 and August 2006. News frames or themes. Of five news frames identified, one (‘desperate, sick women in double jeopardy because of callous government/incompetent bureaucracy’) accounted for 54% of all reported statements. Government financial parsimony was framed as responsible for the women's plight, with drug industry pricing never mentioned. Claimed benefits of Herceptin often conflated cancer non-recurrence and survival and favoured quantification rhetoric which emphasized percentage increases in improvement rather than the more modest increases in absolute survival. News frames invoking key tenets of the ‘rule of rescue’ dominated television discourse on Herceptin. Clinicians, patients, their families and patient advocacy groups invoking the rule of rescue can increase the likelihood of achieving their objective of gaining access to expensive healthcare such as pharmaceuticals. Rational, criteria-based public health policy will find it hard to resist the rule of rescue imperative.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Start Date: 2001
End Date: 2004
Funder: Rockefeller Foundation
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2013
End Date: 2014
Funder: Macquarie University
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2013
End Date: 2017
Funder: National Institutes of Health
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2001
End Date: 2005
Funder: National Institutes of Health
View Funded Activity