Description:
We systematically reviewed the peer-reviewed literature to establish the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among immigrants in Australia and whether being an immigrant is a CVD risk factor. Of 23 studies identified, 12 were included. Higher prevalence of CVD was found among Middle Eastern, South Asian and some European immigrants. Higher prevalence of CVD risk factors was found among Middle Eastern and Southern European immigrants. Higher alcohol consumption was found among immigrants from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Smoking and physical inactivity were highly prevalent among most immigrants.
Description:
After more than 35 years of economic reforms, China's urbanization has been increased from 17.92% in 1978 to 51.27% in 2011. A large number of migrants have moved from rural areas to large metropolitan cities, especially cities on the East coast and Southeast coast of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, seeking employment and better lives. However, the massive increase in city size has brought many issues such as overpopulation, traffic congestion, and crime. It is commonly believed that the influx of rural migrants is associated with increased crime. However, very few comprehensive studies based on reliable crime records have been conducted in China. This paper investigates the available crime records in five districts of Shanghai between 2008 and 2012. It focuses on China's internal migration and associated crime rate using Shanghai as a case study. Analysis of China's historical, economic, social, and cultural factors is presented to interpret the outcomes of this investigation.
Description:
After more than 35 years of economic reforms, China's urbanization has been increased from 17.92% in 1978 to 51.27% in 2011. A large number of migrants have moved from rural areas to large metropolitan cities, especially cities on the East coast and Southeast coast of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, seeking employment and better lives. However, the massive increase in city size has brought many issues such as overpopulation, traffic congestion, and crime. It is commonly believed that the influx of rural migrants is associated with increased crime. However, very few comprehensive studies based on reliable crime records have been conducted in China. This paper investigates the available crime records in five districts of Shanghai between 2008 and 2012. It focuses on China's internal migration and associated crime rate using Shanghai as a case study. Analysis of China's historical, economic, social, and cultural factors is presented to interpret the outcomes of this investigation.
Description:
In the century preceding World War I, the world experienced a series of gold rushes. The wealth derived from these was distributed widely because of reduced migration costs and low barriers to entry. While gold mining itself was generally unprofitable for diggers and mine owners, the increase in the world's gold supply stimulated global trade and investment. In this introductory article we integrate the histories of migration, trade, colonisation, and environmental history to identify endogenous factors that increased the world's gold supply and generated sustained economic growth in the regions that were affected by gold rushes.
Description:
Introduction: Issues associated with the employment of overseas trained nurses (OTNs) in regional and rural practice settings have received little professional attention in Australia. The global nursing workforce crisis has dominated discussion about the migration of nurses. This review explored the contemporary understandings of the employment of OTNs in Australian regional and rural practice settings. Methods: An integrative literature review was undertaken to incorporate a range of literature types related to OTN employment. A search of electronic databases and relevant web pages was undertaken for the publication period 1995-2008. Integrative literature reviews incorporate assessment of empirical research as well as theoretical and opinion-based literature to present a broad synthesis of the topic of interest. Following identification of relevant literature, thematic analysis was undertaken to reveal patterns and relationships among concepts facilitating synthesis of findings across the range of literature. Results: There is an abundance of literature exploring the international migration of nurses that demonstrates an imbalance of migration from poorer countries to more affluent countries. This review identified a number of economic and ethical issues, together with risks for potential exploitation of migrant nurses. There was minimal literature specific to the experiences of OTNs working in regional and rural areas. However, there has been some exploration of issues associated with medical recruitment to rural areas. Conclusions: The employment of OTNs is accompanied by complex and varied issues which require resourceful and proactive responses by healthcare employers. Further research is needed to understand the challenges OTNs have in working in rural settings, particularly in Australia. Increased understanding in clinical settings of factors that influence nurses to migrate, as well as the range of barriers they face in working and living in host countries, may assist in the retention of these nurses.
Description:
In March 2011 scholars met in Prague at the conference Interculturalism, Meaning and Identity. This event revitalised this important theme related to Diversity and Recognition. The terms 'interculturalism' and 'integration' are experiencing a renaissance. As the extent of human movement between nations increases attempts are made to balance cultural difference and social cohesion. In some contexts immigration and settlement policies are becoming more draconian in response. Because of this, interculturalism can take on many meanings. However, pivotal to the way interculturalism is understood is identification. As the relationship between nation, ethnicity and language becomes more complex so too do the ways in which people represent them selves. The cultural resources drawn on and the processes used to form identities are examined in this truly international collection. So too are the implications of these developments for how we theorise culture, meaning and identity.
Description:
Chinese gold seekers were the largest non-British group on the goldfields of Australasia and constituted the largest nationality on some diggings. In considering the movement of Chinese miners to and throughout the goldfields colonies of the southwest Pacific, this articles argues there existed a more complex pattern of migration than that suggested by the sojourner model of arrival, brief stay and departure. It examines the links between migration patterns and economic activity, and argues that economic history perspectives complement the insights offered by recent social and cultural history in the field.
Description:
In the immediate post World War Two period, Australian nation building relied on immigration to enact industrialisation. The place in contemporary Australia, of those whose families came from southern Europe during this period is a gauge for the success of an immigration programme that contributed to enormous demographic shifts. The experiences of the Melbourne Greek community represent the place of cultural diversity in the Australian social imaginary. Public pedagogies of belonging and how these manifest through spaces that link with national representations are examined. The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance is positioned as a sacred space. It is symbolic of Australian nationhood through its links with the ANZAC tradition. Processions to the Shrine occur regularly and young people, through their schools, participate. The Melbourne Greek community marches to the Shrine to mark Greece’s National Day. On these occasions, young people become the focus of commemorative activities, thus the Shrine becomes a sacred space for inducting students into various national narratives. Here the focus is on how such occasions engage with the social imaginary of Australianness and through it, diasporic students’ identification.
Description:
'Low income, poor education and related difficulties' diminish the lives of native-born and immigrant, and remain largely unaltered by an emphasis on cultural retention and national migration policy. Perhaps in the end, Gan's criterion remains the only useful measure of migration policy, and a sense of belonging; that regardless of official statements about multiculturalism or embrace of difference, and in the face of continued marginality, a successful settlement is one that survives as 'by and large a good place to live'. -- From the Introduction.
An improved 3-(4,5-dmethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl )-2H-tetrazolium proliferation assay to overcome the interference of hydralazine
Description:
The MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay is one of the most commonly used assays to assess cell proliferation and cytotoxicity, but is subject to interference by testing compounds. Hydralazine, an antihypertensive drug, is commonly investigated in multiple fields such as heart failure, cancer, and blood pressure research. This study reported interference of the MTS assay by hydralazine and a simple modification overcoming this interference. Vascular smooth muscle cells were cultured in the presence or absence of hydralazine (0, 10, 50,100, and 500 mu M) for 2 or 24 h. Cell numbers were analyzed using MTS, trypan blue exclusion, or microscopic assays. A modified version of the standard MTS assay was established, in which an additional step was added replacing the test medium, containing hydralazine, with fresh culture medium immediately before the addition of the MTS reagent. Culture with hydralazine at concentrations of 50, 100, and 500 mu M for 2 h increased absorbance (p< 0.05) in the standard MTS assay, whereas microscopy suggested no change in cell numbers. Culture with 500 mu m hydralazine for 24 h increased absorbance (p< 0.05) in the standard MTS assay, however, trypan blue exclusion and microscopy suggested a decrease in cell numbers. In a cell-free system, hydralazine (>= 10 mu M) increased absorbance in a concentration-dependent manner. The modified MTS assay produced results consistent with trypan blue exclusion and microscopy. In conclusion, a simple modification of the standard MTS assay overcame the interference of hydralazine and may be useful to avoid interference from other tested compounds.
Description:
The MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay is one of the most commonly used assays to assess cell proliferation and cytotoxicity, but is subject to interference by testing compounds. Hydralazine, an antihypertensive drug, is commonly investigated in multiple fields such as heart failure, cancer, and blood pressure research. This study reported interference of the MTS assay by hydralazine and a simple modification overcoming this interference. Vascular smooth muscle cells were cultured in the presence or absence of hydralazine (0, 10, 50,100, and 500 mu M) for 2 or 24 h. Cell numbers were analyzed using MTS, trypan blue exclusion, or microscopic assays. A modified version of the standard MTS assay was established, in which an additional step was added replacing the test medium, containing hydralazine, with fresh culture medium immediately before the addition of the MTS reagent. Culture with hydralazine at concentrations of 50, 100, and 500 mu M for 2 h increased absorbance (p< 0.05) in the standard MTS assay, whereas microscopy suggested no change in cell numbers. Culture with 500 mu m hydralazine for 24 h increased absorbance (p< 0.05) in the standard MTS assay, however, trypan blue exclusion and microscopy suggested a decrease in cell numbers. In a cell-free system, hydralazine (>= 10 mu M) increased absorbance in a concentration-dependent manner. The modified MTS assay produced results consistent with trypan blue exclusion and microscopy. In conclusion, a simple modification of the standard MTS assay overcame the interference of hydralazine and may be useful to avoid interference from other tested compounds.
Description:
Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.
Description:
Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.
Description:
As a field of significant activity for historical sociologists in recent decades, civilizational analysis has produced extensive and incisive works examining Japan as a historical formation of Eurasia. However, the same cannot be said of Japan's Pacific relationship with the United States, which is neglected in the major historical sociologies of Japanese modernity. This essay seeks to address that unnecessary oversight by putting that relationship into focus as an international dimension of the institution of both states. It would be tempting to elucidate the entanglement of the two as an encounter of civilizations, but the author instead casts it as intercivilizational engagement, that is a deeper set of connections generated by routine contacts and migratory movements, trade in commerce and culture, and selective appropriation of models of statehood. Delineating the lines of exchange in all four domains of connectivity between Japan and the US, the essay profiles the international and imperial extensions of both states. In altering the perspective on Japan's relations with the world, the author outlines a larger potential historical sociology of intercivilizational engagement between two Pacific-edge civilizational constellations.
Description:
As a field of significant activity for historical sociologists in recent decades, civilizational analysis has produced extensive and incisive works examining Japan as a historical formation of Eurasia. However, the same cannot be said of Japan's Pacific relationship with the United States, which is neglected in the major historical sociologies of Japanese modernity. This essay seeks to address that unnecessary oversight by putting that relationship into focus as an international dimension of the institution of both states. It would be tempting to elucidate the entanglement of the two as an encounter of civilizations, but the author instead casts it as intercivilizational engagement, that is a deeper set of connections generated by routine contacts and migratory movements, trade in commerce and culture, and selective appropriation of models of statehood. Delineating the lines of exchange in all four domains of connectivity between Japan and the US, the essay profiles the international and imperial extensions of both states. In altering the perspective on Japan's relations with the world, the author outlines a larger potential historical sociology of intercivilizational engagement between two Pacific-edge civilizational constellations.
Description:
Background: The recruitment, retention and migration of health workers is a global phenomenon. The literature shows push factors associated with leaving rural areas and developing countries in general are explored in depth. However importantly, some health workers behave differently and decide to stay in or return to a developing country. Less is known about the reasons/ pull factors of this groups' decision making. Methods: This paper aims to explore the perceptions of Pakistani physicians regarding their career decisions to remain in their country, or resettle back after working abroad for some time. Thirteen Pakistani physicians were interviewed via telephones who were working in Pakistan and Australia. Results: The motivation for Pakistani physicians to remain or resettle back into their country stems from the perceived better quality of life in Pakistan compared to the better standard of life overseas. Other reasons include a perceived differentiation between locals and non-locals abroad and the availability of a permanent job in Pakistan. Conclusion: The main factors that contributed to Pakistani physicians' retention and resettlement decisions were mostly personal and family or societal factors and there was a minimal role for professional or health system related factors in their career decisions, except for the availability of permanent jobs in Pakistan.
Description:
Background: The recruitment, retention and migration of health workers is a global phenomenon. The literature shows push factors associated with leaving rural areas and developing countries in general are explored in depth. However importantly, some health workers behave differently and decide to stay in or return to a developing country. Less is known about the reasons/ pull factors of this groups' decision making. Methods: This paper aims to explore the perceptions of Pakistani physicians regarding their career decisions to remain in their country, or resettle back after working abroad for some time. Thirteen Pakistani physicians were interviewed via telephones who were working in Pakistan and Australia. Results: The motivation for Pakistani physicians to remain or resettle back into their country stems from the perceived better quality of life in Pakistan compared to the better standard of life overseas. Other reasons include a perceived differentiation between locals and non-locals abroad and the availability of a permanent job in Pakistan. Conclusion: The main factors that contributed to Pakistani physicians' retention and resettlement decisions were mostly personal and family or societal factors and there was a minimal role for professional or health system related factors in their career decisions, except for the availability of permanent jobs in Pakistan.