Melbourne Law School - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEnabling higher degree pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-01-01)Increasing the numbers of Indigenous people enrolled in research higher degrees in Australia is important for building the Indigenous academic workforce, broadening the scope of knowledge production in academic institutions and ensuring effective research outcomes for Indigenous Australians. While the numbers of Indigenous research higher degree students are increasing, universities still have a lot to do to bring that number up to parity. In this paper, we explore the value of a pre-doctoral program developed for Indigenous people interested in doing a PhD that provides them the information they need to inform their choices about undertaking a doctoral project. As the only program of this kind in Australia, this research contributes to the emerging literature on the factors that have an influence on why Indigenous people choose to undertake PhD programs and the effectiveness of initiatives to support their pathway to higher degree research. The research outcomes build on the evidence base for improving initiatives across the university sector, highlighting the need for tailored, Indigenous-led pre-doctoral support programs for Indigenous students, the value of cohort experiences and the importance of universities that value Indigenous people and their knowledge systems.
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ItemThe Texture of 'Lives Lived with Law:' Methods for Queering International Law(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2023-03-31)Queer theory’s obligations to critique and problematise the mechanisms of power and discourse, especially law, remain important for revealing, unsettling and destabilising established sexual and gender norms. However, as Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick argues, the emphasis on paranoid or critical practices in queer theorising must be counterbalanced by recognising the queer methods of repair evident in the way LGBTQIA+ people engage with systems of oppression in empowering and transformative ways. In this paper, I draw on the methodological tools that Sedgwick provides to examine LGBTQIA+ engagements with international law in terms of their creative, generative and sustaining capacities. Focusing on the experiences of two Australian LGBTQIA+ activists, Rodney Croome and Dianne Otto and the objects they brought to the interviews I did with them, I highlight the queer sensibilities, or queer reparative practices, operating in and through their commitments to law. In doing so, I expand the registers through which to conceptualise queer theory in relation to law and instantiate the queer jurisprudential work occurring in international law.
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ItemMANDATORY DATA BREACH NOTIFICATION LAWS AND AUSTRALIAN HEALTH DATA PRIVACY: FRAGMENTS AND FAULT LINES(Monash University, 2021)Data privacy breaches — unauthorised access to, disclosure, or loss of people’s personal information — are commonplace, particularly in the health sector. In Australia, provisions under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the My Health Records Act 2012 (Cth) require data breach notification to affected people and the regulator. However, this mandatory notification, as it pertains to health information, has two key problems: fragmentation, and lack of fitness for purpose. In this article, I analyse the goals of the Australian legislative developments and the extent to which these are met in relation to health data. I propose legal and procedural reforms to mend the fragments and fault lines so that breach notification can more effectively address healthcare data breaches in Australia.
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ItemSocial and Behavioural Correlates of High Physical Activity Levels among Aboriginal Adolescent Participants of the Next Generation: Youth Wellbeing Study.(MDPI AG, 2023-02-20)Physical activity typically decreases during teenage years and has been identified as a health priority by Aboriginal adolescents. We examined associations between physical activity levels and sociodemographic, movement and health variables in the Aboriginal led 'Next Generation: Youth Well-being (NextGen) Study' of Aboriginal people aged 10-24 years from Central Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales. Baseline survey data collected by Aboriginal researchers and Aboriginal youth peer recruiters from 2018 to 2020 examined demographics and health-related behaviours. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) for engaging in high levels of physical activity in the past week (3-7 days; 0-2 days (ref), or 'don't remember') associated with demographic and behavioural factors. Of 1170 adolescents, 524 (41.9%) had high levels of physical activity; 455 (36.4%) had low levels; 191 (15.3%) did not remember. Factors independently associated with higher odds of physical activity 3-7 days/week were low weekday recreational screen time [55.3% vs. 44.0%, OR 1.79 (1.16-2.76)], having non-smoking friends [50.4% vs. 25.0%, OR 2.27 (1.03-5.00)] and having fewer friends that drink alcohol [48.1% vs. 35.2%, OR 2.08 (1.05-4.14)]. Lower odds of high physical activity were independently associated with being female [40.2% vs. 50.9%, OR 0.57 (0.40-0.80)] and some findings differed by sex. The NextGen study provides evidence to inform the co-design and implementation of strategies to increase Aboriginal adolescent physical activity such as focusing on peer influences and co-occurring behaviours such as screen time.
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ItemCo-design, implementation, and evaluation of plain language genomic test reports(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2022-10-22)Understanding and communicating genomic results can be challenging for families and health professionals without genetic specialty training. Unlike modifying existing laboratory reports, plain language genomic test reports provide an opportunity for patient/family-centered approaches. However, emerging examples generally lack co-design and/or evaluation in real-world settings. Through co-design involving patient groups, plain language experts, educators, and genetic health professionals, plain language genomic test report templates were produced for common test outcomes in rare diseases. Eight plain language genomic test report templates were developed. These reports were piloted and evaluated as part of a national pediatric ultra-rapid genomic testing program. Family and genetic health professional experiences with report layout, content, and use were explored using surveys. Of 154 families and 107 genetic health professionals issued with reports, 51 families and 57 clinicians responded (RR = 33% and 53%, respectively). Most families (82%) found their report helpful in understanding the result. Reports were shared by 63% of families, predominantly with family members (72%), or health professionals (68%). Clinicians (15%) adapted the reports for other settings. Through co-design, plain language genomic test reports implemented in a real-world setting can facilitate patient/family and caregiver understanding and communication of genomic test purpose, outcome, and potential clinical implications.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMedical evidence assisting non-fatal strangulation prosecution: a scoping review(BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, 2023-02)OBJECTIVES: Non-fatal strangulation (NFS) is a serious form of gendered violence that is fast becoming an offence in many jurisdictions worldwide. However, it often leaves little or no externally visible injuries making prosecution challenging. This review aimed to provide an overview of how health professionals can support the prosecution of criminal charges of NFS as part of regular practice, particularly when externally visible injuries are absent. METHOD: Eleven databases were searched with terms related to NFS and medical evidence in health sciences and legal databases. Eligible articles were English language and peer reviewed, published before 30 June 2021; sample over 18 years that had primarily survived a strangulation attempt and included medical investigations of NFS injuries, clinical documentation of NFS or medical evidence related to NFS prosecution. RESULTS: Searches found 25 articles that were included for review. Alternate light sources appeared to be the most effective tool for finding evidence of intradermal injury among NFS survivors that were not otherwise visible. However, there was only one article that examined the utility of this tool. Other common diagnostic imaging was less effective at detection, but were sought after by prosecutors, particularly MRIs of the head and neck. Recording injuries and other aspects of the assault using standardised tools specific for NFS were suggested for documenting evidence. Other documentation included writing verbatim quotes of the experience of the assault and taking good quality photographs that could assist with corroborating a survivor's story and proving intent, if relevant for the jurisdiction. CONCLUSION: Clinical responses to NFS should include investigation and standardised documentation of internal and external injuries, subjective complaints and the experience of the assault. These records can assist in providing corroborating evidence of the assault, reducing the need for survivor testimony in court proceedings and increasing the likelihood of a guilty plea.
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ItemBringing Home Reform: A Principles-Based Approach to Regulation of Construction for Residents' Safety(Monash University, 2023)This article contributes to construction regulatory reform programmes currently underway in Australia, the UK and beyond. It does so by proposing six regulatory design principles in pursuit of a goal of ensuring that dwellings are built so as to keep residents safe. The article critically examines perspectives from regulatory theory, workplace health and safety, and civil aviation to distil the six principles. It concludes by offering an example of how the principles may holistically be applied as a tool for regulatory analysis and design in the context of construction practitioner competence.
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ItemThe P2P wars: How code beat law(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2012-05-01)
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ItemA Bit Liable: A Guide to Navigating the US Secondary Liability Patchwork(Santa Clara University School of Law, 2008)In terms of scholarly and media attention, copyright's secondary liability doctrines long played a bit-part alongside direct liability's leading lady. But since peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing providers began facilitating billions of copyright infringements a decade ago, those unassuming doctrines have been forced into starring roles. This article shines a spotlight on U.S. secondary liability law ten years after it first took center stage, highlighting the myriad uncertainties and controversies that now plague its operation. These uncertainties are illustrated with detailed reference to the hypothetical secondary liability of BitTorrent Inc., the original and as-yet unlitigated provider of the world's most dominant P2P file-sharing tool. This work argues that the rhetoric underpinning the existing secondary liability law is strongly protective of technology, but that the breadth and depth of the uncertainties surrounding its proper application effectively abrogates those protections by stealth.
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ItemOn the (new) New Zealand graduated response law (and why it's unlikely to achieve its aims)(Swinburne University of Technology, 2012-01-01)In 2011 New Zealand controversially introduced a 'three strikes' graduated response law. Under this law, the holders of Internet service accounts which are detected as having infringed copyright via P2P file sharing technologies three times within a specified time period can be ordered by the Copyright Tribunal to pay content owners up to NZ$15,000. The law also provides for Internet access to be suspended, though these provisions are currently inactive pending determination of the efficacy of the financial penalty regime. This paper explores the contours of the NZ graduated response regime - and then outlines a number of technical and practical reasons why it's unlikely to achieve its aims.