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This article considers the regulatory problems of online tracking behaviour, lack of consent to data collection, and the security of data collected with or without consent. Since the mid-1990s the United States Federal Trade Commission has been using its power under the United States consumer protection regime to regulate these problems. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), on the other hand, has yet to bring civil or criminal proceedings for online privacy or data security breaches, which indicates a reluctance to employ the Australian Consumer Law (‘ACL’) in this field. Recent legislative action instead points to a greater application of the specifically targeted laws under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘Privacy Act’), and the powers of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), to protect consumer privacy and data security. This article contends that while specific legislation setting out, and publicly enforcing, businesses’ legal obligations with respect to online privacy and data protection is an appropriate regulatory response, the ACL's broad, general protections and public and/or private enforcement mechanisms also have a role to play in protecting consumer privacy and data security.
To tackle Britain's housing crisis, we need a commitment to build more than 300,000 new homes a year (the government's current commitment) and at least 150,000 of new homes should be social homes for rent.
The principles underlying Labour's housing policy should be that ‘levelling up’ means nothing less than demolishing inequality. Residential property and housing development are major economic sectors. Relatively cheap borrowing and house price inflation have been significant drivers of inequality, not only in higher end owner occupation, but also in the private rented sector, where incentives to private landlords have allowed them to outrun the capacity of ordinary renters to buy in. The private rented sector has also been fuelled by the ‘right’ to buy council homes with a high proportion no longer in owner occupation long term.
Planning and levelling up
We believe that for too long Labour has failed to recognise that the planning system, and in particular planning policy, provide wellestablished tools to enable us to fulfil our policy objectives. So long as the National Planning Policy Framework and local development plans contain the right locational social objectives, planning authorities will be able to decide whether a proposal (whether for housing or another form of development) is in conformity with those objectives and make planning decisions accordingly. They will also be able to use planning agreements, not merely to facilitate but also positively to promote socially acceptable development, such as affordable housing. The use of these powers will be critical in enabling authorities to insist on key regional development sites being invested in rather than those where the biggest profits can be made. Labour should review and implement changes to financial viability assessments and appraisals that are currently used to drastically reduce the number of affordable houses being delivered in developments across the country. It has already been noted that changes on viability could increase the numbers of affordable homes.
Labour had rightly pledged to end the inclusion of ‘hope value’ in the valuation of land being purchased by local authorities under a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO). This will enable more land to be purchased for socially acceptable development.
Ambitious reform, and resources, are necessary so that all three housing sectors – homeownership, the social rented sector and the private rented sector (PRS) – become accessible, affordable and safe. These sectors cannot be considered in isolation from one another. The proposals to enhance the rights of renters and homeless applicants considered in this chapter will be of limited practical benefit without measures to significantly increase the availability of all forms of housing, considered in Chapter 6.
The core value of any Labour programme for housing and law reform should be a commitment to housing as a human right. This would mean that Labour will respect and implement Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights: ‘[T] he right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.’
The rights we propose are meaningless if they cannot be enforced. The legal aid sector is in a crisis of sustainability and Law Society research shows that 26 million people do not have access to a local legal aid housing lawyer. This chapter concludes with proposals to significantly increase the availability of advice and representation for people experiencing housing issues.
Private rented sector
After 40 years of little or no regulation of the PRS, the government published, on 17 May 2023, the Renters’ (Reform) Bill, implementing its pledge to abolish s.21 ‘no fault’ evictions four years after having committed to do so. At the time of writing, the Bill had (on 15 May 2024) passed its Second Reading in the House of Lords. It is now doubtful when it will come into force owing to amendments from Conservative MPs, which have been accepted by the government, and which postpone implementation until the Lord Chancellor has assessed the operation of the process for obtaining possession orders in the County Court. Abolition of s.21, along with the establishment of a PRS Ombudsman and a database for residential landlords are welcome and we support them. However, a number of the new mandatory grounds for possession are open to abuse.
We characterised the soils and vegetation in 15 sets of four quadrats on and around mounds of Macrotermes annandalei (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) on a plain of deep dystric clay over limestone in Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest in Northern Thailand. Termites have excavated the mounds from the deep calcareous substrate. The mound soils have darker subsoils, larger contents of clays and exchangeable cations, and higher pH values than the surrounding dystric clay loams. The thickets on the mounds are visually different from the surrounding Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest. They have few dipterocarps and are floristically similar to the regionally important Mixed Deciduous Forest. The clear visual differences are confirmed by floristic similarity, cluster, and canonical correspondence analyses for each of the tree, sapling and seedling size classes. The differences between the mound clays and surrounding red clay loams and the associations between soil and forest types are confirmed by ‘t tests’ and the significant correlations of the soil base status with the main floristic axis of the canonical correspondence analyses. Soil variability due to termites and other agents of pedoturbation can significantly contribute to short-range floristic and structural diversity in some dry tropical forests.
Soil amelioration via strategic deep tillage is occasionally utilized within conservation tillage systems to alleviate soil constraints, but its impact on weed seed burial and subsequent growth within the agronomic system is poorly understood. This study assessed the effects of different strategic deep-tillage practices, including soil loosening (deep ripping), soil mixing (rotary spading), or soil inversion (moldboard plow), on weed seed burial and subsequent weed growth, compared with a no-till control. The tillage practices were applied in 2019 at Yerecoin and Darkan, WA, and data on weed seed burial and growth were collected during the following 3-yr winter crop rotation (2019 to 2021). Soil inversion buried 89% of rigid ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin) and ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus Roth) seeds to a depth of 10 to 20 cm at both sites, while soil loosening and mixing left between 31% and 91% of the seeds in the top 0 to 10 cm of soil, with broad variation between sites. Few seeds were buried beyond 20 cm despite tillage working depths exceeding 30 cm at both sites. Soil inversion reduced the density of L. rigidum to <1 plant m−2 for 3 yr after strategic tillage. Bromus diandrus density was initially reduced to 0 to 1 plant m−2 by soil inversion, but increased to 4 plants m−2 at Yerecoin in 2020 and 147 plants at Darkan in 2021. Soil loosening or mixing did not consistently decrease weed density. The field data were used to parameterize a model that predicted weed density following strategic tillage with greater accuracy for soil inversion than for loosening or mixing. The findings provide important insights into the effects of strategic deep tillage on weed management in conservational agricultural systems and demonstrate the potential of models for optimizing weed management strategies.
We compute $ku^*\left(K\!\left({\mathbb{Z}}_p,2\right)\right)$ and $ku_*\left(K\!\left({\mathbb{Z}}_p,2\right)\right)$, the connective $KU$-cohomology and connective $KU$-homology groups of the mod-$p$ Eilenberg–MacLane space $K\!\left({\mathbb{Z}}_p,2\right)$, using the Adams spectral sequence. We obtain a striking interaction between $h_0$-extensions and exotic extensions. The mod-$p$ connective $KU$-cohomology groups, computed elsewhere, are needed in order to establish higher differentials and exotic extensions in the integral groups.
Crises, defined as a period of acute stress on social systems of all kinds, are a recurrent feature of history. As such, they are best approached and understood from a comparative historical perspective. We can distinguish between those caused or precipitated by an exogenous shock and those that derive from an endogenous process that culminates in the crisis. Crises can be of short or long duration and range from local to global. The most severe are ones that lead to a civilizational collapse or radical simplification process. Historically, severe crises have been localized to specific parts of the planet, even when several occur simultaneously because of global natural phenomena, but in the modern world we have truly global crises. Evidence suggests that such a global crisis is imminent or has already commenced. This raises practical and normative pressing issues.
Water is often referred to as our most precious resource, and for a good reason – drinking water and wastewater services sustain core functions of the critical infrastructure, communities, and human life itself. Our water systems are threatened by aging infrastructure, floods, drought, storms, earthquakes, sea level rise, population growth, cyber-security breaches, and pollution, often in combination. Marginalized communities inevitably feel the worst impacts, and our response continues to be hampered by fragmented and antiquated governance and management practices. This paper focuses on the resilience of water sector (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater [DWS]) to three major hazards (Sea-Level Rise, Earthquake, and Cyberattack). The purpose of this paper is to provide information useful for creating and maintaining resilient water system services. The term resilience describes the ability to adapt to changing conditions and to withstand and recover from disruptions. The resilience of DWS systems is of utmost importance to modern societies that are highly dependent on continued access to these water sector services. This review covers the terminology on water sector resilience and the assessment of a broad landscape of threats mapped with the proposed framework. A more detailed discussion on two areas of resilience is given: Physical Resilience, which is currently a major factor influencing disruptions and failures in DWS systems, and Digital Resilience, which is a rapidly increasing concern for modern infrastructure systems. The resilience of DWS systems should be considered holistically, inclusive of social, digital, and physical systems. The framework integrates various perspectives on water system threats by showcasing interactions between the parts of the DWS systems and their environment. While the challenges of change, shock and stresses are inevitable, embracing a social–ecological–technical system-of-systems and whole-life approach will allow us to better understand and operationalize resilience.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Supported by the State of Alabama, the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative (AGHI) is aimed at preventing and treating common conditions with a genetic basis. This joint UAB Medicine-HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology effort provides genomic testing, interpretation, and counseling free of charge to residents in each of Alabama’s 67 counties. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Launched in 2017, as a state-wide population cohort, AGHI (1.0) enrolled 6,331 Alabamians and returned individual risk of disease(s) related to the ACMG SF v2.0 medically actionable genes. In 2021, the cohort was expanded to include a primary care cohort. AGHI (2.0) has enrolled 750 primary care patients, returning individual risk of disease(s) related to the ACMG SF v3.1 gene list and pre-emptive pharmacogenetics (PGx) to guide medication therapy. Genotyping is done on the Illumina Global Diversity Array with Sanger sequencing to confirm likely pathogenic / pathogenic variants in medically actionable genes and CYP2D6 copy number variants using Taqman assays, resulting in a CLIA-grade report. Disease risk results are returned by genetic counselors and Pharmacogenetics results are returned by Pharmacists. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We have engaged a statewide community (>7000 participants), returning 94 disease risk genetic reports and 500 PGx reports. Disease risk reports include increased predisposition to cancers (n=38), cardiac diseases (n=33), metabolic (n=12), other (n=11). 100% of participants harbor an actionable PGx variant, 70% are on medication with PGx guidance, 48% harbor PGx variants and are taking medications affected. In 10% of participants, pharmacists sent an active alert to the provider to consider/ recommend alternative medication. Most commonly impacted medications included antidepressants, NSAIDS, proton-pump inhibitors and tramadol. To enable the EMR integration of genomic information, we have developed an automated transfer of reports into the EMR with Genetics Reports and PGx reports viewable in Cerner. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We share our experience on pre-emptive implementation of genetic risk and pharmacogenetic actionability at a population and clinic level. Both patients and providers are actively engaged, providing feedback to refine the return of results. Real time alerts with guidance at the time of prescription are needed to ensure future actionability and value.
Since its introduction the 1980s, transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval has become the most widely accepted method worldwide of accessing the ovaries and retrieving oocytes for use in in vitro fertilsation. This technique allows safe and relatively easy access to the ovaries in the vast majority of women undergoing treatment. However in 1–2% of women ,access via this route proves technically challenging and may or not be achieved using a variety of manoeuvres. In most cases, this impaired accessibility should be established well in advance of the procedure, and treatment plans will be adjusted to compensate for these problems. There will still be occasions, however, when difficult access is encountered when doing a transvaginal oocyte retrieval procedure and this has not been anticipated.
To improve maternal health outcomes, increased diversity is needed among pregnant people in research studies and community surveillance. To expand the pool, we sought to develop a network encompassing academic and community obstetrics clinics. Typical challenges in developing a network include site identification, contracting, onboarding sites, staff engagement, participant recruitment, funding, and institutional review board approvals. While not insurmountable, these challenges became magnified as we built a research network during a global pandemic. Our objective is to describe the framework utilized to resolve pandemic-related issues.
Methods:
We developed a framework for site-specific adaptation of the generalized study protocol. Twice monthly video meetings were held between the lead academic sites to identify local challenges and to generate ideas for solutions. We identified site and participant recruitment challenges and then implemented solutions tailored to the local workflow. These solutions included the use of an electronic consent and videoconferences with local clinic leadership and staff. The processes for network development and maintenance changed to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, aspects of the sample processing/storage and data collection elements were held constant between sites.
Results:
Adapting our consenting approach enabled maintaining study enrollment during the pandemic. The pandemic amplified issues related to contracting, onboarding, and IRB approval. Maintaining continuity in sample management and clinical data collection allowed for pooling of information between sites.
Conclusions:
Adaptability is key to maintaining network sites. Rapidly changing guidelines for beginning and continuing research during the pandemic required frequent intra- and inter-institutional communication to navigate.
The online game EVE Online is of interest to scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines in addition to those concerned with the specific topic of video games as such. That is because the nature of the game and its setup, together with the deliberate policy of its creators, CCP Games, has brought about a complex and evolving emergent order. The phenomenon of emergent or spontaneous order is very important for several disciplines but in this case, the details of the order and the paths the evolution has taken are relevant for several important debates in a number of disciplines. In particular, EVE Online casts light on questions about the ability of rational choice to give a convincing account of the evolution of political orders, the value of Hobbesian state of nature models, and questions about the dynamics and stability or otherwise of interstate systems—to mention just three.
EVE Online is perhaps the best known and most widely discussed example of the genre of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (Achterbosch, Pierce, and Simmons, 2008). This is despite its having far fewer subscribers and active players than some other MMOGs, such as World of Warcraft for example. EVE has appeared on major mainstream news outlets such as the BBC and has already become the topic of a scholarly literature (BBC, 2013; Carter, Bergstrom, and Woodford, 2016). Interest from mainstream media reflects distinctive features of the game, such as its single server and the lack of prohibitions against conduct that would be considered “grieving” and lead to barring in almost all other games (Evans, 2010). This results in spectacular scams and acts of betrayal and, most notably, massive armed conflicts in the virtual world of EVE, the best known of which destroyed capital assets worth $300,000 in real money (Moore, 2014). The scale of these events is what attracts the popular attention. The scholarly interest has two foci. One is the way in which the game is different from others in terms of its organization and the degree of control exerted by the designers as well as in other ways. It is thus an example of a different kind of online game to the normal or typical models. It is therefore of interest to those concerned with the internal logic, nature, and development of the genre of virtual worlds.
To identify: 1) best practice aged care principles and practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older peoples, and 2) actions to integrate aged care services with Aboriginal community-controlled primary health care.
Background:
There is a growing number of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and an unmet demand for accessible, culturally safe aged care services. The principles and features of aged care service delivery designed to meet the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have not been extensively explored and must be understood to inform aged care policy and primary health care planning into the future.
Methods:
The research was governed by leaders from across the Aboriginal community-controlled primary health care sector who identified exemplar services to explore best practice in culturally aligned aged care. In-depth case studies were undertaken with two metropolitan Aboriginal community-controlled services. We conducted semi-structured interviews and yarning circles with 46 staff members to explore key principles, ways of working, enablers and challenges for aged care service provision. A framework approach to thematic analysis was undertaken with emergent findings reviewed and refined by participating services and the governance panel to incorporate national perspectives.
Findings:
A range of principles guided Aboriginal community-controlled aged care service delivery, such as supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, connection with elders and communities and respect for self-determination. Strong governance, effective leadership and partnerships, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce and culturally safe non-Indigenous workforce were among the identified enablers of aged care. Nine implementation actions guided the integration of aged care with primary health care service delivery. Funding limitations, workforce shortages, change management processes and difficulties with navigating the aged care system were among the reported challenges. These findings contribute to an evidence base regarding accessible, integrated, culturally safe aged care services tailored to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In the crowded field of leadership research, Indigenous leadership remains under-researched. This article explores the Leadership Model of an Aboriginal Community Controlled Primary Health Care Organisation providing services to the Yolngu people of remote northern Australia: the Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation (Miwatj).
Background:
The limited research which does exist on Indigenous leadership points to unique challenges for Indigenous leaders. These challenges relate to fostering self-determination in their communities, managing significant community expectations, and navigating a path between culturally divergent approaches to management and leadership.
Methods:
Guided by Indigenous methodology and using a mixed methods approach, semi-structured interviews, self-reported health service data, organisational and publicly available documents, and literature were analysed using a framework method of thematic analysis to identify key themes of the Miwatj Leadership Model.
Findings:
The Miwatj Leadership Model is underpinned by three distinctive elements: it offers Yolngu people employment opportunities; it supports staff who want to move into leadership positions and provides capacity building through certificates and diplomas; and it provides for the physical, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of all Yolngu staff. Furthermore, the model respects traditional Yolngu forms of authority and empowers the community to develop, manage and sustain their own health. The Miwatj Leadership Model has been successful in providing formal pathways to support Indigenous staff to take on leadership roles, and has improved the accessibility and acceptability of health care services as a result of Yolngu employment and improved cultural safety.
Conclusions:
Translating the Miwatj Leadership Model into other health services will require considerable thought and commitment. The Miwatj Leadership Model can be adapted to meet the needs of other health care services in consideration of the unique context within which they operate. This study has demonstrated the importance of having a formal leadership model that promotes recruitment, retention, and career progression for Indigenous staff.
To evaluate the provision of recommended medical equipment on forensic psychiatric inpatient wards in Mersey Care's secure division, as outlined by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in their 2019 guidance “Brief Guide: Physical Healthcare In Mental Health Settings”. It has been documented that people with severe and enduring mental illness are at risk of dying on average 15 to 20 years earlier than people without, two thirds of which are due to avoidable physical illnesses. It was our aim to use these data to improve the provision of physical healthcare equipment on the wards of Mersey Care's secure division, in turn allowing for the safe assessment of patients in the acute setting, and the monitoring their chronic health conditions.
Method
We conducted a closed loop, two cycle audit of all forensic inpatient wards in Mersey Care's secure division measuring the provision of physical health equipment against the CQC's 2019 guidance. The intervention was to present our findings and implement physical health equipment boxes in the clinic rooms on the wards. Low, medium, high, and secure learning disability (LD) wards were audited, with a control sample of non-secure wards (addiction, old age, general adult, and LD non-secure) in the initial cycle for comparison.
Result
On initial audit, the mean availability of equipment across the secure division was 66% (range 50.9%-88.9%), and 75% across our sample of wards in the non-secure divisions (range 61.1%-88.9%). Following the intervention in the secure units, the mean availability increased to 73.5% (range 72.2%-77.8%). The mean percentage increase in equipment availability following intervention was 12.5% (range -12.5% to 41.8%).
Conclusion
Following the intervention, the re-audit conducted found an overall improvement with 73.5% of recommended equipment available. Despite this improvement in equipment availability in the secure unit wards, the equipment is still less available than on the non-secure control wards. Due to this, further intervention and another re-audit have been planned. In the second cycle, significant items such as disposable gloves, pulse oximeters, sphygmomanometers, thermometers and stethoscopes were available across all wards. This was an improvement from the initial audit and allows for the safe assessment of patients in the acute setting.
The Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, Ireland is best known for its megalithic monuments, in particular the great developed passage tombs of Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange, and its abundance of megalithic art. However, our understanding of the wider Brú na Bóinne landscape has changed beyond all recognition in the last decade owing to the application of modern, non-invasive survey technologies – in particular LiDAR and large-scale geophysical survey – and most recently as a result of the hot, dry summer of 2018 which revealed a series of remarkable cropmarks between Newgrange and the River Boyne. Despite a lack of excavation it can be argued, based on their morphological characteristics, that many of the structures revealed belong within the corpus of late Neolithic ritual/ceremonial structures, including earthen henges, square-in-circle monuments, palisaded enclosures, and pit/post-alignments. These display both extraordinary diversity, yet also commonality of design and architecture, both as a group and with the passage tombs that preceded them. This paper provides an up-to-date survey of the late Neolithic and presumed late Neolithic landscape of Brú na Bóinne. It provides new evidence and new insights from ongoing survey campaigns, suggesting parallels within the British Neolithic but also insular development within some monument classes.
This study aimed to identify a well-fitting and theoretically justified item-level latent factor structure for the Wechsler Memory Scales (WMS)-IV verbal paired associates (VerbalPA) subtest to facilitate the ease and accuracy of score interpretations for patients with lateralized temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).
Methods:
Archival data were used from 250 heterogeneous neurosciences patients who were administered the WMS-IV as part of a standard neuropsychological assessment. Three theoretically motivated models for the latent structure of VerbalPA were tested using confirmatory factor analysis. The first model, based on cognitive principles of semantic processing from hub-and-spoke theory, tested whether performance is related to specific semantic features of target words. The second, motivated by the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) model of cognitive abilities, investigated whether the associative properties of items influence performance. A third, Hybrid model tested whether performance is related to both semantic and associative properties of items. The best-fitting model was tested for diagnostic group effects contrasting the heterogeneous neuroscience patients with subsets of left and right TLE (n = 51, n = 26, respectively) patients.
Results:
The Hybrid model was found to have the best fit. Patients with left TLE scored significantly less well than the heterogeneous neurosciences sample on selected semantic factor scores, although the effect size was small.
Conclusions:
Future editions of the WMS may consider implementing a semantic scoring structure for the VerbalPA to facilitate test score interpretation. Additionally, these results suggest that principles of hub-and-spoke theory may be integrated into CHC cognitive ability taxonomy.
Priorities in Medical Research (PMR) was published in 1988 by a select committee of the House of Lords. The report ushered in an era of NHS research and development (R & D) that lasted from 2001 to 2006. The inquiry's origins lay in concerns about academic medicine in the United Kingdom, yet PMR gave relatively little attention to this subject. Instead the report focused critically on the disconnect between the Department of Health and the NHS in R & D. This, the committee argued, had led to the neglect of research into health services and public health. To sidestep the report's unwelcome proposal for a National Health Research Agency, the department eventually grafted R & D management onto structures created as part of wider NHS reforms. The Medical Research Council successfully pursued a strategy of keeping the committee's attention away from sensitive aspects of its own programme. The final focus of PMR was shaped by an alignment between committee members with an industrial view of research and champions of health services research. The actions of the various actors involved are interpreted using elite models of the state, and the applicability of these models is critically examined.