Minerva Elements Records
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ItemExploring the oral health curriculum in Australian pharmacy schools( 2019)Introduction Poor oral health continues to be prevalent in Australia despite ongoing advancements in oral health knowledge and care. Without innovative strategies to improve the oral health of the population, the quality of life for an increasing number of Australians will be negatively affected as poor oral health extends beyond the mouth and can affect general health and well-being. Beyond the dental clinic setting, pharmacists have been recognised in the literature to have an important role in oral health care. The potential to expand the role of pharmacists as oral health advisors has also been acknowledged. While previous studies explored the knowledge and opinions of pharmacists regarding oral health, no research has been completed to explore the extent of oral health content that is currently included in Australian pharmacy schools’ curricula or on the knowledge and opinions of the pharmacy students who are about to graduate as health professionals. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards the role of pharmacists in oral health among final year pharmacy students in Australia, and to investigate the extent of the oral health content in Australian pharmacy curricula. Methods A cross sectional study of pharmacy students across 8 Australian pharmacy courses was undertaken using an anonymous online survey. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacy course coordinators or convenors to discuss the oral health content in their course curricula. Survey results were analysed using SPSS software (SPSS 25.0, Chicago Il, USA) and the findings summarised using descriptive statistics. Phone interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results A total of 45 pharmacy students across the nation completed the online survey. Almost half of the students (48.9%) reported that oral health was not included in their course. Many believed that pharmacists have an important role in oral healthcare, however only 38.9% perceived that pharmacists were appropriately trained to provide oral health education. Most students (91.7%) believed that professional relationships between pharmacists and dental practitioners could be improved, and that pharmacists had the potential to be more involved with preventing oral health issues (86.1%). Three main themes emerged from the course convenor interview study: (1) That pharmacists have a role in oral healthcare, (2) That oral health is being taught in pharmacy courses, however each did so in a varied manner, (3) Lack of space in course curricula is the key barrier for further inclusion of oral health care content in pharmacy courses. Conclusion Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence that the oral health content in pharmacy curricula in Australia is inconsistent, with students indicating that they wanted more education on oral health topics. Both students and course convenors recognised that pharmacists have an important role in oral healthcare. Therefore, pharmacy courses in Australia should consider expanding the coverage of oral health content to provide graduates with the confidence and skills they need to improve the oral health of the community.
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ItemPoetic narrative: new visions of documentary photography( 2018)The research focuses on narratological possibilities in the so-called photographic series within documentary photography. Instead of causal, plot-based links, it considers other interrelations between images, invoking a linking principle outside canonical narrative forms. The research ultimately investigates a poetic logic, of which the photographic series is an articulation, distinct from apparent rationality, as a way by which the world, or worlds are exposed beyond mere recording, using questions constellated around notions of national identity as an example of this methodology.
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ItemInvestigation of the risk of Toxoplasma gondii to the establishment of the ‘extinct in the wild’ eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) on Phillip Island.( 2018)The eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii, is currently considered extinct in the wild, and is extant only as intensively managed reintroduced populations. Phillip Island, in Westernport Bay, Victoria, has been proposed as a potential reintroduction site for this species. Feral cats, Felis catus, the definitive host for the coccidian parasite Toxoplasma gondii, are present on the island, and eastern barred bandicoots are known to be susceptible to toxoplasmosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of T. gondii on Phillip Island, and the potential risk to the establishment of eastern barred bandicoot populations. The prevalence of T. gondii in the feral cat population on Phillip Island was determined using real time PCR (qPCR), and seroprevalence was determined using the modified agglutination test (MAT). A total of 161 feral cats was sampled between June 2016 and November 2017. Overall prevalence by qPCR was 79.5 % (95 % confidence interval [95% CI] 72.6 - 85.0), and overall seroprevalence was 91.8 % (95% CI 84.6 – 95.8). Additionally, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of both testing methods, and the true prevalence of T. gondii in feral cats on Phillip Island, were evaluated using Bayesian modelling. The sensitivity and specificity of the MAT in cats were estimated as 96.1 % (95 % credible interval [95% CrI] 91.5 – 98.8) and 82.0 % (95% CrI 65.1 – 93.3), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the qPCR method in cats were estimated as 90.1 % (95% CrI 83.5 – 95.6) and 96.2 % (95% CrI 82.2 – 99.8), respectively. The true prevalence of T. gondii infection in feral cats on Phillip Island was estimated as 90.2 % (95% CrI 83.1 – 95.2). Environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts was assessed. Soil was collected from two sites on the island, Summerland Peninsula and Cape Woolamai, in September and October 2017. A total of 412 soil samples, from 206 sites, was tested. Soil samples were processed to isolate any protozoan organisms present and qPCR was conducted to specifically detect T. gondii DNA. Toxoplasma gondii oocysts were not detected by qPCR in any of the soil samples collected. Additionally, European rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, were used as an indicator species to predict environmental exposure in eastern barred bandicoots. A total of 134 feral rabbits was sampled from August 2016 to November 2017. Overall prevalence of T. gondii in feral rabbits, as determined by qPCR on tissue, was 10.5 % (95% CI 6.3 - 16.8). Toxoplasma gondii infection was not identified in any rabbits collected from the proposed release site for eastern barred bandicoots, the Summerland Peninsula. Sixty-seven eastern barred bandicoots were released onto the Summerland Peninsula in October and November 2017 as part of an assisted colonisation trial. Sixty-one of these bandicoots were tested for prior exposure to T. gondii using the MAT. No animals were seropositive for T. gondii prior to release on to Phillip Island, and the population could be concluded to be free from disease, at a design prevalence of 6 %. Bandicoots were trapped for blood sample collection in November 2017 after approximately three weeks of habitation on the island (n = 23), and again in February 2018 after approximately four months (n = 21). No bandicoots demonstrated seroconversion to T. gondii on the MAT in either November or February. In November, this was sufficient to conclude that the population was free from infection with T. gondii, at a design prevalence of 6 %. However, in February, the sample size was too small to make this conclusion. Mortality data on the bandicoots was limited, due to difficulties associated with placing radio-transmitters on this species. However, one deceased animal was recovered. This animal had no evidence of T. gondii infection based on qPCR on tissues. These findings suggest that while prevalence of T. gondii infection is very high in feral cats on Phillip Island, other factors, such as low cat density at the site, may translate to a low toxoplasmosis risk for eastern barred bandicoots released onto the Summerland Peninsula. Further studies are required to understand the factors contributing to the observed low level of environmental contamination with oocysts. Additionally, future studies should focus on increasing the sensitivity of mortality surveillance in the eastern barred bandicoot population on the Summerland Peninsula. This will enable the collection of more robust mortality data, further elucidating the importance of toxoplasmosis in this population.
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ItemA pilot study of the seroprevalence of Q fever in cattle, sheep and goats in Victoria( 2018)Q fever is an important public health concern throughout the world and infection can result in debilitating and lifelong illness in some people. It is caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii and the most frequent source of infection for humans are domestic ruminants. Over a quarter of human Q fever cases in Victoria, 192 out of 659 (29%) analysed from 1994 to 2013 (Bond et al., 2018), are locally acquired indicating that it is endemic in the state. In addition, outbreaks of human Q fever in Victoria associated with local livestock is causing concern that the incidence of disease is increasing. However, information regarding the amount of infection present in the animal reservoir are lacking in Victoria. The aim of this pilot study was to survey cattle, sheep and goats in Victoria to estimate the individual animal-level, herd-prevalence and within-herd-prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection. This survey was carried out from February 2015 to May 2017 in Victoria, Australia. Over 1500 blood samples were collected using a two-stage sampling process from farms and abattoirs. Sera were screened using a commercial Q fever ELISA kit for ruminants. True prevalence and intra-class correlation coefficient for each species was estimated using a Bayesian approach to account for known test imperfections. Post-hoc sample size estimates were calculated based on survey results to inform future study planning. Q fever is endemic in domestic ruminants in Victoria at low levels and may even be absent in some parts of the state. Of the herds and flocks that were sampled, 8% (95% confidence interval, 5 to 13%) had at least one animal seropositive for Q fever. Herd-level seropositivity rates were 0% (0, 4.7%) and 8.7% (2.4, 26.8%) for Goulburn Valley and Gippsland cattle respectively, 17.6% (9.6, 30.2%) for sheep and 8.0% (0.2, 25.0%) for goats. The overall pooled true animal-level prevalence was 1.3% (95% HPD, 0.9 to 2%). This was based on true animal-level prevalence of 0% (0, 0%) and 0.4% (0, 3.5%) for cattle in Goulburn Valley and Gippsland respectively, 2.1% (0, 3.7%) for sheep and 1.6% (0, 2.8%) for goats. Although the overall herd- and animal-level prevalence estimates were very low, the individual animal-level prevalence within infected herds (within-herd prevalence) was much higher, ranging from 12 to 19%, by species. Finding a small number of groups of animals with elevated levels of within-herd seroprevalence, whilst not detecting positive results in the rest of the sampled population, indicates that the prevalence of exposure to Coxiella burnetii was geographically uneven, being highly clustered within a small number of farms in Victoria. Post-hoc sample size estimates based on survey results indicate large numbers of farms and animals are required for further studies to confirm this very low rate or the absence of infection in some areas of Victoria. However, a greater priority and more cost-effective approach would be to establish why some farms are at higher risk, and this could be efficiently investigated using a case-control study. The findings of this pilot study present a step forward in understanding the epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii in this region of Australia and point to further areas of investigation and how to conduct such studies.
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ItemUnlearning Cook: decolonising photography, the monument and self( 2017)The practice-led research encompassed in Unlearning Cook: Decolonising photography, the monument and self has been developed as a counterpoint to dominant colonial histories. The project draws a correlation between photography, history and ways of seeing. The research presented here addresses the question of unlearning Eurocentric colonial histories, specifically those relating to Captain James Cook, creating space for non-dominant narratives and reflecting critically on colonial heritages. The spectre of Captain Cook looms large, with the impact of his three voyages felt throughout the Pacific and in his home country of England. By using a variety of photographic methods, the body of creative work seeks to examine the medium's role in colonisation and question the historical narratives signified through colonial monuments, buildings and the built environment. Existing research into decolonisation has informed the studio project. Through situating knowledge, the artworks offer a decolonial approach to multiple perspectives on contested histories. This is a conflicted, unresolved space. The creative output of this research comprises the installation of a camera obscura structure, a number of cyanotype works on paper, lumen prints and a lightbox displaying an analogue negative. Documentation of the examined works is presented in the appendix.
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ItemOswald Brierly and the art of patronage: a colonial journey( 2016)This thesis seeks to evaluate the nature and significance of artistic patronage in colonial Australia by an examination of the patronage received by Oswald Walters Brierly [later Sir Oswald] (1817-1894) associated with his time in Australia and the extent to which this patronage informed his art. The thesis explores Brierly’s role as a professionally trained artist in the emerging artistic environment of the Australian colonies in the 1840s and seeks to show how his colonial experiences influenced the subject matter of his later art; particularly the impact of his direct engagement with the whaling industry at Twofold Bay in New South Wales between 1843 and 1848, under the patronage of his first Australian mentor, the flamboyant entrepreneur, Benjamin Boyd (1801– 1851). It also examines his role as a shipboard artist on voyages of discovery aboard H.M.S Rattlesnake and to a lesser extent H.M.S. Maeander. It will be shown that following Brierly’s second visit to Australia with H.R.H. Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh (1844-1900), on the first Royal visit to Australia in 1867-1868, the artist attracted new Australian patronage: patrons who sought to enhance their own prestige and status by acquiring works by an artist who enjoyed strong royal connections. It proposes that the examination of Brierly’s work associated with Australia sheds new light on the changing nature of artistic patronage in Australia between the largely convict dependent society of the 1840s and the confident and prosperous world of the Boom Period following the discovery of gold, especially in Victoria. The thesis will demonstrate that Brierly’s art reflects these changed circumstances and the expanding aspirations of his Australian patrons.
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ItemPhotographic interpretation through slippage( 2016)This research asks the question; can photography provide a framework to be both understood and be formed through a series of cultural and linguistic misinterpretations? Through the creation and development of two distinct methodologies of practice - functional parallelism and formation through dislocation - three bodies of work were created. Each body of work centers on a recognition of cultural and linguistic slippage that I have experience as a Japanese person living in Australia that alerted me to a possible way of reinterpreting and subsequently making photographs. It is what I have come to term a ‘roundabout way’ of interacting with the image where the viewer to see the state of the photograph occurring from the relationship among subjects as images. This thesis is accompanied by demonstrations of photographic works and interpretations forming in each stage through the slippage.
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ItemCircuits, computers, cassettes, correspondence: the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre 1976 - 1984( 2016)This thesis examines the production and presentation of experimental music, art, performance and installation by a group of musicians, visual artists, writers, performers and film makers who were involved in the activities taking place at the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre, Melbourne from 1976 until 1984. This thesis will investigate the musical influence of the generation of practitioners who founded the Clifton Hill and taught at the La Trobe University Music Department. It will examine their influence upon the younger generation, with focus on the close relationships both generations had with the broader music and visual art scenes of Melbourne and Australia. This thesis traces a transitional moment in artistic production between the older and younger generations, which was an illustration of the broader shift in Australian artistic culture from modernism to postmodernism. I will document the artistic work of a younger generation at the Music Centre as a symptom of a new postmodern mode of engagement in order to determine what place the Clifton Hill occupies within a history of emergent postmodern theories in Australian art.
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ItemThe cure depends on us: the role of Australian patient organisations in rare disease research( 2015)In this thesis, I explore how Australian patient organisations devoted to specific rare diseases are involved in biomedical research. As with patient organisations for more common diseases, many rare disease patient organisations (RDPOs) have broadened their historical focus on self-help and now seek to advance research on “their” diseases. RDPOs are thought to have special opportunities to influence researchers because they can provide resources – such as funding, study participants, and disease-related knowledge – which are often scarce in rare disease research. RDPOs’ involvement in research is important to theorists concerned with the “public shaping” of science, but it also has immense practical significance. Collectively, rare diseases are estimated to affect six to eight per cent of the population; and most are life-threatening or chronically disabling conditions with no specific or effective treatments. The need to accelerate therapy development, and the absence of government or industry-funded research for many rare conditions, underpins growing international interest in strengthening collaborations between RDPOs and researchers. In the first study of RDPOs in Australia, I reviewed 112 RDPO websites, conducted an online survey completed by 61 RDPO leaders, and interviewed ten RDPO leaders and two key informants. Consistent with international literature and empirical case studies, I found that RDPOs are highly motivated to support research. However, while some Australian RDPOs have helped to advance the understanding and treatment of their diseases, I argue that RDPOs are far from the robust challengers of the research establishment portrayed in the literature. In fact, RDPO leaders face considerable difficulties in upholding organisational interests in their various forms of engagement with academic and industry researchers. For example, leaders may struggle to direct RDPO funding in ways which best meet the goals of the organisation; they may lack the expertise or power to assert their knowledge and ideas when collaborating with researchers; and they may run the risk of real or perceived conflicts of interest in financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies. These problems are related to RDPOs’ limited funds and capabilities, the competing interests of researchers, and the marginalisation of rare diseases in Australian health and research policy. I argue that my study provides a more realistic picture of the challenges faced by “ordinary” RDPOs than previous studies focusing on the successes of large, well-resourced organisations and groups with highly driven, entrepreneurial leaders. Despite the difficulties I identify, I contend that RDPOs have much to contribute to research. They can also play an important role in providing their members with information about biomedical research, including the risks and benefits of participating in mainstream and novel forms of research – such as participant-led clinical trials and crowd-sourced health studies. I suggest that there are considerable opportunities in Australia, building on the findings of this study and international initiatives, to support and safeguard RDPOs’ involvement in research, for the benefit of Australian research and people affected by rare diseases.
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ItemRe-imagining political theatre for the twenty-first century( 2012)One of key struggles of the globalised twenty-first century is against the disempowerment of the individual imagination. I believe that the challenge for the political theatre director is to stimulate and disturb the imagination of audiences in order to re-awaken critical thought. In so doing, audiences can picture what has been untold or become unimaginable, and thus, be prompted to action. By directing a theatrical production of War Crimes by Angela Betzien, I attempted to re-envision Brechtian techniques by fusing them with popular cultural forms in order to challenge and reawaken the imagination of audiences. In turn, I also attempted to subvert common assumptions about the form and content of contemporary political theatre. The accompanying exegesis provides an analysis of my creative practice and my thinking on the currency and relevance of political theatre, particularly for young audiences. I contextualize my practical work through an interrogation of the techniques I applied in my production of War Crimes in order to consolidate and affirm the role of political theatre in the twenty-first century.