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Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Debate, pluralism, and power in epistemological violence: Reply to Simpson et al. (2026)(2026) Koot, Stasja; Anyango-van Zwieten, Nowella; Sullivan, Sian; Dressler, Wolfram; Spierenburg, Marja; Trogisch, Lisa; Marijnen, Esther; Fletcher, Robert; Rakhmani, Inaya; Afiff, Suraya Abdulwahab; Benjaminsen, Tor A.; Milne, Sarah; Svarstad, Hanne; Büscher, Bram; Dutta, Anwesha; Rai, Nitin D.Item type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Encouraging residents’ stewardship of street trees in Canberra: Perspectives in the context of the ACT Government's Street Forestry Program(2021) Choy, Ming HuiUrban forests are increasingly important as a ‘nature-based solution’ to climate change, and for the many other benefits they deliver to urban residents. Therefore, many cities globally are focusing on enhancing the extent and quality of their urban forests. Canberra, Australia’s capital city, introduced an Urban Forest Strategy in recognition of these issues. One of its goals is to engage residents in stewardship of street trees in their neighbourhoods, which requires a better understanding of residents' perceptions and attitudes to these trees. Whilst there is some knowledge of these amongst Canberra residents, there are also gaps, particularly about residents’ willingness to play a stewardship role for urban trees. Furthermore, most literature situates urban tree stewardship in the context of organised neighbourhood groups, with less focus on individual stewardship. This thesis therefore explores Canberra residents’ attitudes and behaviours to stewardship of street trees in their neighbourhoods, in the context of an ACT Government pilot initiative, the Street Forestry Program, and considers the implications for such initiatives. In April and May 2021, the Street Forestry Program conducted a survey of residents and pop-up consultations in six suburbs, and a webinar. I was able to draw on the survey results, undertake participant observations at consultations and the webinar, and conduct interviews with residents in two suburbs. Results suggest a widespread view that street trees are important, for a range of reasons: the top five were aesthetic, shading, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and erosion control. Around 70% of survey respondents reported that they engaged in stewardship behaviour, primarily watering trees and picking up branches and leaves; this proportion was greatest in the 45-65 age group. Interview responses suggest the main factors influencing stewardship behaviour are individual motivations, perceptions and attitudes; personal circumstances; and government policies and programs. These factors were incorporated into a model of stewardship behaviour for trees on public land in Canberra, adapted from that of Moskell and Allred. Interviewees appreciated the Street Forestry Program for its inclusiveness and efforts to green the suburbs, but had greater expectations for the Program and the ACT Government in the broader context of urban greening issues in Canberra. These results suggest that, to encourage stewardship by residents, the ACT Government should engage in a suite of best practices: these include an adaptive approach to community engagement, guided by models of public participation; strengthening of coordination of operations; and collaboration with neighbourhood groups. Further research should expand upon the foundations established by this study, addressing the knowledge gaps identified here, including wider themes of equity in urban development and socio-demographic factors. Like the Street Forestry Program, this study was limited in scope. A larger sample population across a wider range of Canberra suburbs would help inform future work to foster urban tree stewardship. Nevertheless, the findings of this study inform and support the ACT Government’s efforts to foster urban tree stewardship behaviour in the community, which will in turn facilitate the success of Canberra’s Urban Forest Strategy.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Implementation of Child Healthy Weight Guidelines in the Dental Setting: A Pilot Study(2026) Villarosa, Amy R.; Maneze, Della; Ramjan, Lucie; Patterson-Norrie, Tiffany; Srinivas, Ravi; Yaacoub, Albert; Kumar, Tanya; George, AjeshBackground: There has been an increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity worldwide and locally, with a quarter of Australian children now considered overweight. To address this, the New South Wales government in Australia released guidelines calling for all public dental services to identify children above a healthy weight and refer them to appropriate services. This study was part of a larger study that aimed to codesign and pilot implementation strategies to facilitate the translation of these guidelines into dental staff's practice. Methods: A pre-post-test design was used to evaluate the strategies across two health districts in NSW. Strategies were codesigned by dental staff and parents of patients and included linguistically appropriate resources; discharge summaries from referral pathways; refresher training; involvement of dental assistants; templates for longitudinal BMI measures and growth assessment flyers for patients. A validated questionnaire measuring intention to engage in the guidelines and self-reported practice was distributed to interested staff before and after the delivery of strategies (2019–2022). Data describing dental staff's' actual practices over this time were also retrieved from patient information management systems. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to assess the study outcomes and any differences across districts (n = 16). Results: There was no improvement in behavioural determinants of providing a growth assessment as indicated by the overall intention to engage in Children's Healthy Weight guideline (iCHEW) scale scores, however attitude scores had the largest observed improvement (from 30.1 to 35.2) and this was most pronounced in District 2 (27.2–34.3). A significant improvement in adherence to children's healthy weight guidelines was also seen in District 2 (increase of 20.54%, 95% CI 14.09–27.44). In District 1, children had 1.5 times the odds of receiving a growth assessment if they were treated by a dental officer (OR = 1.54; 95% CI 1.00–1.72). Conversely, children in District 2 had significantly lower odds of receiving a growth assessment if they were treated by a dental officer (OR = 0.203; 95% CI 0.12–0.35) or if they were treated at a satellite clinic (OR = 0.572; 95% CI 0.45–0.73). Conclusion: Dental staff can play a key role in addressing childhood overweight and obesity, although this can be challenging. The findings suggested some improvements in behavioural determinants and self-reported behaviours following supportive strategies. Further research to confirm these findings using larger sample sizes is recommended.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Cross-definition GWAS of IBS in 2.8 million individuals reveals cardiometabolic and triglyceride-linked mechanisms(2026-07-09) Di Lorenzo, Biagio; Camargo Tavares, Leticia; Díaz-Muñoz, Cristian; Heredia-Fernández, Francisco; Bozzarelli, Isotta; Esteban Blanco, Cristina; Wang, Zhe; Smit, Roelof A.J.; Loos, Ruth J.F.; Hirbo, Jibril; Cox, Nancy J.; Straub, Peter; Favé, Marie Julie; Awadalla, Philip; Pozdeyev, Nikita; Gignoux, Christopher R.; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Jonsdottir, Ingileif; Stefansson, Kari; Abner, Erik; Palta, Priit; Williams, Alexander T.; Coley, Kayesha; Sze, Gerald; John, Catherine; Richmond, Anne; McCartney, Daniel; Hayward, Caroline; Mulford, Ashley J.; Sanders, Alan R.; Peculis, Raitis; Rovite, Vita; Dombrovska, Marija Simona; Capasso, Mario; Lo Faro, Valeria; Sinha, Trishla; Lopera Maya, Esteban Alexander; Zhernakova, Alexandra; Wang, Ying; Martin, Alicia; Vanderwerff, Brett; Zöllner, Sebastian; Ferolito, Brian R.; Pereira, Alexander C.; Gaziano, John Michael; Cho, Kelly; Caruth, Lanna; Guare, Lindsay; Kripke, Colleen M.Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex disorder of gut-brain interaction, with heterogeneous symptoms, no available biomarkers and limited pathogenetic insight. Objective To identify genetic risk factors and actionable mechanisms for future clinical translation in IBS. Design We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of IBS in 2 775 539 individuals from 22 biobanks. IBS genetics was studied across multiple ancestries, different case definitions and symptom-related subtypes. Heritability and genetic correlations with other traits were estimated, and Mendelian randomisation was used to test causal relationships. GWAS data were functionally annotated and fine-mapped to prioritise tissues, cell types, pathways, candidate genes, specific mechanisms and druggable targets. Results Significant heritability was only detected in individuals of European ancestry, with near-identical genetic architecture across case definitions. Genetic correlations with GI, psychiatric and cardiometabolic traits were observed, including causal relationships with triglyceride (TG) levels. Functional annotation of IBS risk loci highlighted cell types and pathways relevant to brain, enteric neuro-glial and cardiometabolic domains, as well as actionable targets like GCKR, a regulator of TG metabolism. Druggability analyses converged on cardiometabolic mechanisms, including TG modulation. IBS polygenic risk scores were derived and showed a significant association with case status in an independent case-control dataset, supporting further evaluation in external population-based and clinically ascertained cohorts Conclusions This study provides the most comprehensive assessment of IBS genetics to date, demonstrating reproducible polygenic inheritance. We link IBS risk to convergent neurogastrointestinal and novel cardiometabolic mechanisms, highlight specific biological pathways and actionable mechanisms and outline translational opportunities emerging from integrated computational analyses.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , A Social Dimension(CARD Practice, 2026) Heffernan, Tim