Melbourne Students & Learning - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableLibraries Building Bridges & Capacities: Data Stewardship at the University of Melbourne( 2020-04-01)PowerPoint slides for a lightning talk presented as part of the Libraries for Research Data Interest Group session: Libraries Building Bridges & Capacities: Updates & Discussion on Current Topics. This session was due to be held at the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Plenary 15 in Melbourne, which was cancelled, so was held virtually online instead.
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ItemEstablishing Digital Preservation at the University of Melbourne(Swiss National Library, Bern, 2016)
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ItemEquity of access to primary healthcare for vulnerable populations: the IMPACT international online survey of innovations(BMC, 2016-04-12)BACKGROUND: Improving access to primary healthcare (PHC) for vulnerable populations is important for achieving health equity, yet this remains challenging. Evidence of effective interventions is rather limited and fragmented. We need to identify innovative ways to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations, and to clarify which elements of health systems, organisations or services (supply-side dimensions of access) and abilities of patients or populations (demand-side dimensions of access) need to be strengthened to achieve transformative change. The work reported here was conducted as part of IMPACT (Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation), a 5-year Canadian-Australian research program aiming to identify, implement and trial best practice interventions to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations. We undertook an environmental scan as a broad screening approach to identify the breadth of current innovations from the field. METHODS: We distributed a brief online survey to an international audience of PHC researchers, practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders using a combined email and social media approach. Respondents were invited to describe a program, service, approach or model of care that they considered innovative in helping vulnerable populations to get access to PHC. We used descriptive statistics to characterise the innovations and conducted a qualitative framework analysis to further examine the text describing each innovation. RESULTS: Seven hundred forty-four responses were recorded over a 6-week period. 240 unique examples of innovations originating from 14 countries were described, the majority from Canada and Australia. Most interventions targeted a diversity of population groups, were government funded and delivered in a community health, General Practice or outreach clinic setting. Interventions were mainly focused on the health sector and directed at organisational and/or system level determinants of access (supply-side). Few innovations were developed to enhance patients' or populations' abilities to access services (demand-side), and rarely did initiatives target both supply- and demand-side determinants of access. CONCLUSIONS: A wide range of innovations improving access to PHC were identified. The access framework was useful in uncovering the disparity between supply- and demand-side dimensions and pinpointing areas which could benefit from further attention to close the equity gap for vulnerable populations in accessing PHC services that correspond to their needs.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFrom zero to hero – the journey of a timeline from text heavy to interactive- creating more inclusive websites(2015 ALIA, 2017)In the minds of many, dense text and limited photos equals boring—yet numerous libraries and content providers use this format to present the valuable information that is burrowed away in their databases and catalogues. Innovative new methods of information dissemination are required to pique public interest, capture attention, and enticing people to engage with content. Digital humanities tools can make content go from zero to hero, just by changing the aesthetic. The Find & Connect web resource (Find & Connect web resource project, 2011 - 2016) is a government-funded initiative, which provides information for individuals raised in Australian out-of-home care from the beginning of the last century. Anecdotal feedback, and formal usability testing, regarding the site suggested it relied too heavily on text to deliver the content. To alter this perception, the pre-existing plain text hyperlinked timeline was transformed into a visually engaging and interactive experience for the user—using TimelineJS software by Knight Lab (Northwestern University, 2015). The new format brings together otherwise disperse content into an easily navigable, intuitive interface. Modifying the timeline code template to create a well-referenced robust tool, that was also visually appealing, was not always simple and required the resolution of several broader issues. A fundamental shift in the design process involved moving away from the Google Spreadsheet provided, and into JSON files. In addition, the hosting of the timeline was relocated to internal servers to remove the reliance on external providers. Large images, limited text, and interaction are three points of variation of the newly created timeline on the Find & Connect web resource. Initial feedback suggests this timeline version vastly improves user experience. The new timeline engages the user, encourages exploration of the content on the site, and showcases certain elements of the collection reviving a story that was otherwise lost and forgotten.
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ItemReport on the Melbourne Bach Forum held by the Australian Bach Society, July 2014(London Bach Society, 2014)
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ItemProtocol for a randomised controlled trial of a web-based healthy relationship tool and safety decision aid for women experiencing domestic violence (I-DECIDE)(BioMed Central, 2015-08-01)Background: Domestic violence is a serious problem affecting the health and wellbeing of women globally. Interventions in health care settings have primarily focused on screening and referral, however, women often may not disclose abuse to health practitioners. The internet offers a confidential space in which women can assess the health of their relationships and make a plan for safety and wellbeing for themselves and their children. This randomised controlled trial is testing the effectiveness of a web-based healthy relationship tool and safety decision aid (I-DECIDE). Based broadly on the IRIS trial in the United States, it has been adapted for the Australian context where it is conducted entirely online and uses the Psychosocial Readiness Model as the basis for the intervention. Methods/design: In this two arm, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, women who have experienced abuse or fear of a partner in the previous 6 months will be computer randomised to receive either the I-DECIDE website or a comparator website (basic relationship and safety advice). The intervention includes self-directed reflection exercises on their relationship, danger level, priority setting, and results in an individualised, tailored action plan. Primary self-reported outcomes are: self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale) immediately after completion, 6 and 12 months post-baseline; and depressive symptoms (Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Revised, 6 and 12 months post-baseline). Secondary outcomes include mean number of helpful actions for safety and wellbeing, mean level of fear of partner and cost-effectiveness. Discussion: This fully-automated trial will evaluate a web-based self-information, self-reflection and self-management tool for domestic violence. We hypothesise that the improvement in self-efficacy and mental health will be mediated by increased perceived support and awareness encouraging positive change. If shown to be effective, I-DECIDE could be easily incorporated into the community sector and health care settings, providing an alternative to formal services for women not ready or able to acknowledge abuse and access specialised services.
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ItemPathways, parallels and pitfalls: the Scholarly Web, the ESRC and Linked Open Data(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2016-08-01)
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ItemCryo-EM structure of the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome bound to the anti-protozoan drug emetine(ELIFE SCIENCES PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2014-06-09)Malaria inflicts an enormous burden on global human health. The emergence of parasite resistance to front-line drugs has prompted a renewed focus on the repositioning of clinically approved drugs as potential anti-malarial therapies. Antibiotics that inhibit protein translation are promising candidates for repositioning. We have solved the cryo-EM structure of the cytoplasmic ribosome from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in complex with emetine at 3.2 Å resolution. Emetine is an anti-protozoan drug used in the treatment of ameobiasis that also displays potent anti-malarial activity. Emetine interacts with the E-site of the ribosomal small subunit and shares a similar binding site with the antibiotic pactamycin, thereby delivering its therapeutic effect by blocking mRNA/tRNA translocation. As the first cryo-EM structure that visualizes an antibiotic bound to any ribosome at atomic resolution, this establishes cryo-EM as a powerful tool for screening and guiding the design of drugs that target parasite translation machinery.
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ItemBut where is the library ...?: Reframing the library at the University of Melbourne in a shared services environment(IATUL, 2016)Commencing in late 2013 and continuing through 2014, the University of Melbourne, a research-intensive and highly ranked Australian university, undertook an extensive review of all services, business processes and the required resourcing profile to deliver them. This review, known as the Business Improvement Program, ultimately led to a complete reconceptualization of the University’s operating model, the most significant in its 160 year history. The scale of the change was sweeping and the speed was audacious, resulting in the implementation of a new shared-services model across the University known as the Melbourne Operating Model. The entire University has been reorganized according to the principles of this operating model. The model has three core elements – Chancellery (responsible for leadership of overarching University strategy, policy, brand and capital); Academic Divisions (or Faculties and Schools), and University Services where the operational activities of the University are grouped together as shared services to support Academic Divisions (Faculties) to deliver on their teaching, research and engagement agendas. How did the Library fare? As a formal, visible organisational unit, the University Library ceased to exist. The University Librarian took on the mantle of University Librarian & Executive Director, Collections and was placed in Chancellery to provide strategic direction and policy oversight to the Library as well as to the University’s other cultural collections located in Faculties. However Library services, delivered by the two directorates of Scholarly Information and Research and Collections, were positioned as discrete operational units within the Academic Services division of University Services, so that both Directors (who formerly reported to the University Librarian), now report to the Executive Director for Academic Services. In this presentation the authors outline the background and rationale of the Business Improvement Program at the University of Melbourne and describe the current organisational structure under the Melbourne Operating Model. They present their personal views on how the Model has impacted the Library’s operational activities and priorities within the wider Academic Services context and describe how operational separation from the strategic leadership of the University Librarian position has been managed.
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ItemA collection of Australian Drosophila datasets on climate adaptation and species distributions(NATURE RESEARCH, 2015-01-01)The Australian Drosophila Ecology and Evolution Resource (ADEER) collates Australian datasets on drosophilid flies, which are aimed at investigating questions around climate adaptation, species distribution limits and population genetics. Australian drosophilid species are diverse in climatic tolerance, geographic distribution and behaviour. Many species are restricted to the tropics, a few are temperate specialists, and some have broad distributions across climatic regions. Whereas some species show adaptability to climate changes through genetic and plastic changes, other species have limited adaptive capacity. This knowledge has been used to identify traits and genetic polymorphisms involved in climate change adaptation and build predictive models of responses to climate change. ADEER brings together 103 datasets from 39 studies published between 1982-2013 in a single online resource. All datasets can be downloaded freely in full, along with maps and other visualisations. These historical datasets are preserved for future studies, which will be especially useful for assessing climate-related changes over time.