In science we trust? Public trust in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections and accepting anthropogenic climate change.

One barrier to action on climate change is public trust in climate science, and projections made by climate scientists. However, climate science projections are rarely measured in public surveys. We designed survey questions based on two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections regarding global warming and coral reef decline. We gauge Australians' trust in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections, and explore how trust in climate science is associated with accepting anthropogenic climate change. A slim majority of Australian adults trust Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections, with trust correlated positively with accepting anthropogenic climate change. While partisan divisions are extant in accepting anthropogenic climate change, partisan influences are attenuated substantially after controlling for trust in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections, as trust in climate science mediates the influence of partisanship on the acceptance of anthropogenic climate change. A minority of those who accept anthropogenic climate change have low trust in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections, viewing scientists' computer models as unreliable, or believing climate scientists benefit from overstating the impact of climate change.

Your money or your life? Public support for health initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many Australians agree with the need for COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a vocal minority of citizens loudly voice opposition to government restrictions, characterised as impositions on 'free speech' and impacting the Australian economy. National data from the 2020/21 Australian Survey of Social and Attitudes and Tasmanian survey data enable an examination of those who support or oppose health initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of the pandemic. The majority of Australians believed government imposed restrictions were 'about right', although women were more likely than men to be concerned about the health implications of COVID-19. Tasmanian data show that controlling for social background, those who prioritise the economy are less likely than those concerned about the health implications of COVID-19 to wear masks in public, less likely to be tested in case they have to self-isolate, less likely to check in, and less likely to be vaccinated. Alternatively, higher trust in university research, and trust in scientists as a source of information about COVID-19 was positively associated with attitudes and behaviour designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

Climate patriots? Concern over climate change and other environmental issues in Australia.

Echoing the anti-pollution and resource conservation campaigns in the United States in the early-to-mid-twentieth century, some scholars advocate mobilising support for environmental issues by harnessing the notion of environmental patriotism. Taking action to reduce the impact of global warming has also been cast as a patriotic cause. Drawing upon quantitative data from a recent national survey, we examine the link between patriotism and environmental attitudes in Australia, focussing upon climate change. We find that patriotism has a largely neutral association with concern over environmental issues, with the exception of climate change and, to a lesser extent, wildlife preservation. Expressing concern over climate change appears to be unpatriotic for some Australians. Even after controlling for political party identification and other important correlates of environmental issue concerns, patriots are less likely than others to prioritise climate change as their most urgent environmental issue and less likely to believe that climate change is actually occurring.

A New Standard in Dementia Knowledge Measurement: Comparative Validation of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale and the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the psychometric performance of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) and the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) when administered to a large international cohort before and after online dementia education. DESIGN: Comparative psychometric analysis with pre- and posteducation scale responses. SETTING: The setting for this research encompassed 7,909 individuals from 124 countries who completed the 9-week Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer respondents who completed the DKAS and ADKS before (n = 3,649) and after (n = 878) completion of the Understanding Dementia MOOC. MEASUREMENTS: Assessment and comparison of the DKAS and ADKS included evaluation of scale development procedures, interscale correlations, response distribution, internal consistency, and construct validity. RESULTS: The DKAS had superior internal consistency, wider response distribution with less ceiling effect, and better discrimination between pre- and posteducation scores and occupational cohorts than the ADKS. CONCLUSION: The 27-item DKAS is a reliable and preliminarily valid measure of dementia knowledge that is psychometrically and conceptually sound, overcomes limitations of existing instruments, and can be administered to diverse cohorts to measure baseline understanding and knowledge change.

Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale: Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a reliable and valid dementia knowledge scale to address limitations of existing measures, support knowledge evaluation in diverse populations, and inform educational intervention development. DESIGN: A five-stage, systematic scale development process was employed to construct and assess the psychometric properties of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS). SETTING: Data for the study were generated in an online environment and during clinical dementia care placements from Australian (n = 1,321) and international respondents (n = 446). PARTICIPANTS: Volunteers from a dementia-related massive open online course (n = 1,651), medical students on clinical placement in a residential aged care facility (n = 40), and members of the Australian health workforce (n = 76). MEASUREMENTS: Psychometric properties of the DKAS were established using a literature review to assess the veracity of scale items, respondent feedback during pilot testing, a Delphi study with dementia experts, construction and review by an expert panel, evaluation of item difficulty, item-total and interitem correlations. Principal components analysis (PCA) was also performed along with measures of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, construct validity, and concurrent validity. RESULTS: The pilot DKAS was reduced from 40 to 27 items during analysis. PCA identified four distinct and interpretable factors. The revised DKAS displays high levels of test-retest reliability; internal consistency; and preliminary construct, concurrent, and factorial validity. CONCLUSION: The 27-item DKAS is reliable and shows preliminary validity for the assessment of knowledge deficiencies and change in those who provide care and treatment for people with dementia.

What should we know about dementia in the 21st century? A Delphi consensus study.

BACKGROUND: Escalating numbers of people are experiencing dementia in many countries. With increasing consumer needs, there is anticipated growth in the numbers of people providing diagnostic evaluations, treatments, and care. Ensuring a consistent and contemporary understanding of dementia across all of these groups has become a critical issue. This study aimed to reach consensus among dementia experts from English speaking countries regarding essential and contemporary knowledge about dementia. METHODS: An online Delphi study was conducted to examine expert opinion concerning dementia knowledge with three rounds of data collection. A sample of dementia experts was selected by a panel of Australian experts, including a geriatrician and three professors of aged care. Purposive selection was initially undertaken with the sample expanded through snowballing. Dementia experts (N = 19) included geriatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, dementia advocates, and nurse academics from the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. In the first round, these participants provided open-ended responses to questions determining what comprised essential knowledge about dementia. In the second round, responses were summarised into 66 discrete statements that participants rated on the basis of importance. In the third round, a rank-ordered list of the 66 statements and a group median were provided and participants rated the statements again. The degree of consensus regarding importance ratings was determined by assessing median, interquartile range, and proportion of experts scoring above predetermined thresholds. Correlation scores were calculated for each statement after the final round to identify changes in statement scores. RESULTS: The Delphi experts identified 36 statements about dementia that they considered essential to understanding the condition. Statements about care for a person experiencing dementia and their care giver represented the largest response category. Other statements, for which full or very high consensus was reached, related to dementia characteristics, symptoms and progression, diagnosis and assessment, and treatment and prevention. CONCLUSIONS: These results summarise knowledge of dementia that is considered essential across expert representatives of key stakeholder groups from three countries. This information has implications for the delivery of care to people with the condition and the development of dementia education programs.

The influence of Green parties on postmaterialist values.

This paper contributes to the debate on value change by advancing a new explanation of the relationship between political parties and generational-based values in advanced industrialized nations. Through multivariate analysis of World Values and other survey data from 29 countries, we show that the relationship between generations and values tends to vary between polities dominated by major parties and those in which many parties achieve electoral success. Green parties enhance the uptake of postmaterialist values and speed the decline of materialist ones, particularly among younger generations, by promoting a political discourse and agenda that contributes to the formative experiences underpinning value change. This research suggests that institutional structures and political parties need to be given far greater prominence in theories of postmaterial value change.

Developing metrics for hospital medical workforce allocation.

Public hospitals deliver a broad range of specialist treatments to patients, with public demand for hospital services almost always outstripping supply. Health department and hospital managers prioritise requests for additional resources, such as medical staffing, across the full spectrum of services delivered. Without a clear and equitable basis of workload comparison across medical specialties, this decision-making process can be controversial and internally divisive. This paper outlines the development of a metric to guide the allocation of hospital medical staff. It suggests that a valid comparison of workload can be gained from the consideration of the number of inpatients (weighted for case complexity) and the number of outpatient presentations, as seen by each full-time hospital medical practitioner per annum. While this supports a "common sense" understanding of hospital medical activity, it also reflects limitations in the quality and quantity of data available. The replication and testing of this methodology in other jurisdictions is encouraged.

Colonial and post-colonial aspects of Australian identity.

Since the 1988 Bicentennial and the 2001 centenary of federation celebrations colonial images have flourished in Australia, highlighting the roles of convicts and free settlers during early colonization. Old sites, such as Port Arthur have been re-invigorated, and in 2004 Tasmanians celebrated the bicentenary of 'white' settlement. However, social scientists have given little attention to the role of colonial and post-colonial figures and myths as aspects of Australian national identity. We seek to address this issue by examining how convicts, free settlers, bushrangers and ANZACs are associated with contemporary identity in Australia. We examine evidence from the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and find that historical figures such as the ANZACs and post-World War II immigrants comprise important aspects of national identity. A substantial majority of Australians judged ANZACs to be important, countering recent claims of the 'demise of the digger'. Sporting heroes are also at the core of Australian identity. Colonial figures appear to be far less important, although views on national identity vary according to social location. In particular, left-wing, university educated, younger, postmaterialist Australians view convicts and bushrangers as relatively important, indicating the salience of the larrikin in Australian identity.