Academic Services and Registrar - Research Publications
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Item"One country, two systems": Sociopolitical implications for female migrant sex workers in Hong Kong.(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2008-12-12)BACKGROUND: Under the "two countries, one system" policy implemented by China to manage the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty, Hong Kong has maintained a comparatively prosperous economy within the Asian region. This has resulted in an environment which fosters migration from the mainland to Hong Kong, due largely to proximity, higher earning potential, common language, and a relaxing of border control measures. However not all mainland China citizens are equally able to access these new migration schemes and indeed a number of women such as sex workers are either migrating and/or working illegally and without occupational, legal and health protection within Hong Kong. DISCUSSION: Female migrant sex workers are exposed to a number of significant threats to their health, however their illegal status contributes to even greater vulnerability. The prevailing discourses which view these women as either "trafficked women" or as "illegal immigrants" do not adequately account for the complex situations which result in such women's employment in Hong Kong's sex industry. Rather, their position can best be understood within the broader frameworks provided by migration literature and the concept of "structural violence". This allows for a greater understanding of the socio-political issues which are systematically denying migrant sex workers adequate access to health care and other opportunities for social advancement. When these issues are taken into account, it becomes clear that the current relevant legislation regarding both immigration and sex work is perpetuating the marginalised and vulnerable status of migrant sex workers. Unless changes are made, structural barriers will remain in place which impede the ability of migrant sex workers to manage their own health needs and status. CONCLUSION: Female migrant sex workers in Hong Kong are extremely vulnerable to a number of occupational health and safety hazards which have significantly detrimental effects on their health. These risks can best be understood within a broad framework of socio-political factors contributing to their vulnerability. Ensuring that migrant sex workers have adequate support for their health and legal rights requires require structural interventions such as decriminalisation and providing open and inclusive access to health service to counteract such factors.
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ItemA novel BH3 ligand that selectively targets Mcl-1 reveals that apoptosis can proceed without Mcl-1 degradation(ROCKEFELLER UNIV PRESS, 2008-01-28)Like Bcl-2, Mcl-1 is an important survival factor for many cancers, its expression contributing to chemoresistance and disease relapse. However, unlike other prosurvival Bcl-2-like proteins, Mcl-1 stability is acutely regulated. For example, the Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH3)-only protein Noxa, which preferentially binds to Mcl-1, also targets it for proteasomal degradation. In this paper, we describe the discovery and characterization of a novel BH3-like ligand derived from Bim, Bim(S)2A, which is highly selective for Mcl-1. Unlike Noxa, Bim(S)2A is unable to trigger Mcl-1 degradation, yet, like Noxa, Bim(S)2A promotes cell killing only when Bcl-x(L) is absent or neutralized. Furthermore, killing by endogenous Bim is not associated with Mcl-1 degradation. Thus, functional inactivation of Mcl-1 does not always require its elimination. Rather, it can be efficiently antagonized by a BH3-like ligand tightly engaging its binding groove, which is confirmed here with a structural study. Our data have important implications for the discovery of compounds that might kill cells whose survival depends on Mcl-1.
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ItemStrengthening Medicare: will increasing the bulk-billing rate and supply of general practitioners increase access to Medicare-funded general practitioner services and does rurality matter?(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2005-08-20)BACKGROUND: Recent increases in the bulk-billing rate have been taken as an indication that the Federal government's Strengthening Medicare initiative, and particularly the bulk-billing incentives, are 'working'. Given the enduring geographic differences in the supply of general practitioners (GPs) it is timely to reconsider the impact that this increase in the provision of 'free care' will have on access to Medicare-funded GP services in rural and urban areas of Australia. Utilisation has been modelled as two different stochastic processes: the decision to consult and the frequency of consultation. RESULTS: In the decision to consult model the supply of FFS GPs is a more important predictor of utilisation than the bulk-billing rate. Paradoxically the modelling predicts that ceteris paribus increases in either GP supply or the bulk-billing rate appear to have perverse effects in some areas by decreasing utilisation. In the frequency of consultation model, GP density is not a predictor and increasing the bulk-billing rate will unambiguously increase the frequency of consultation across all areas. In both models, the positive impacts associated with changes in supply and cost are constrained outside the inner metropolitan area by reduced geographic accessibility to Medicare-funded GP services. The modelling also shows that people are more likely to consult a GP in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage, although socioeconomic status is not a predictor of frequency of consultation. CONCLUSION: Bulk-billing rates and the supply of FFS GPs are important features of the Australian health care system that are, potentially, amenable to policy manipulation. The implications of this research are that government policies designed to achieve similarity in these characteristics across geographic areas will not result in equity of access because they fail to address problems caused by geographic inaccessibility in rural and remote areas. Attempting to increase bulk-billing rates in some of these areas may, in fact, reduce access to FFS GP services.
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ItemSunjata. A West African Epic of the Mande People, by David C. Conrad(The African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific, 2005)
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ItemConflict and collusion in Sierra Leone, by David Keen(African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific, 2006)
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ItemOuidah. The social history of a West African slaving 'port'. 1727-1892, by Robin Law(The African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific, 2008)
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ItemDigitising and archiving Syliphone recordings in Guinea(African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (AFSAAP), 2009)
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ItemIslands of resilience: the history of the German strong verbs from a systemic point of view(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2007-11-27)
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ItemArchival and Research Resources in Conakry, Guinea(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2009)Archival research in West Africa can present many challenges. In one of the poorest regions of the world, governments struggle to maintain funding for the most basic infrastructure; thus archives and their holdings can often reside in a neglected state. Moreover, research materials may be spread over many departments and buildings, creating a labyrinthine network of officialdom, and requisite access requirements. This paper provides a brief overview of the principal archives located in Conakry, capital of Guinea. It includes current contact information and descriptions of holdings, and expands upon earlier articles by Klein (1981), Ford (1987), Conrad (1993), and Sampson (2002). On 2 October 2008 Guinea celebrated 50 years of independence. Earlier that year many new ministries were created, including the Ministère de la Culture, des Arts et Loisirs. For the first time in the nation's history, Guinea had its own dedicated ministry of the arts, thus potentially streamlining academic and archival research. The new Ministry faced many hurdles, however, for the story of Guinea's archives during the last 50 years is a tale of both marvel and neglect. During the nation's First Republic (1958-1984), Guinea's archives became established under the Presidency of Sékou Touré. The Archives Nationale, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and Radiodiffusion Télévision de Guinée were all created during his reign, and Guinea's archival resources were said to be among the best in West Africa. As Touré's grip on power strengthened, the nation's economic malaise grew, and Klein (1981:333) reported that in the early 1980s, when he conducted research in Conakry, he had been warned to expect significant damage to the archival contents.