tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72866527413043157212024-03-14T06:54:39.360+11:00the publics healthan exploration of interdependence in public health and the occasional dabble in health protection.Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-87751205369415917682016-12-04T15:25:00.000+11:002016-12-04T15:28:03.436+11:00Stephen Hawking and Martha Nussbaum Agree - Leftist Elites Need to be Nicer
Those of us on the Left know the electrifying surge of self-righteous indignation as we expound our views on inequality, discrimination or climate change and "other" those on the "Right" or "wrong" side. But is it we who fertilise the ground for Trump and Hanson like politicians by destroying the space for polite discussion and applying a scorched earth policy to any basis of truth held Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-43757873643184740732016-06-07T09:56:00.000+10:002016-12-04T14:20:06.714+11:00Peter Singer on Rio Games Travel - ? unethical
Peter Singer's article in Project Syndicate finishes his article on Zika virus and the decision by WHO not to recommend the cancellation or postponement of the Rio Olympics with: "Until qualified experts have laid out all the facts, the world should stay away." I have worked on disease outbreaks on three continents since my training as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at CDC in Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-27601542103079325172016-05-15T00:01:00.000+10:002016-06-10T00:03:08.953+10:00More on Bullshit...Pseudo-profound and Classical
Another article on Pseudo-profound Bullshit - Misperceiving Bullshit as Profound Is Associated with Favorable Views of Cruz, Rubio, Trump and Conservatism has been published and I wrote this response - after which I had a really nice exchange with the lead author Stefan Pfattheicher. What was funny was the PLoS profanity filter blocked submission of any letter/Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-7202337613003438522016-04-03T01:20:00.001+11:002016-04-05T10:03:13.318+10:00Obesity bigger problem than Underweight says Lancet Study - Really???
Maybe the Lancet didn't really say this, but the SMH subeditor certainly did. MPH students - is this is anexample of how a graph can abstract us from the lived experience of those who are graphed? Yes the lines showing % of population with obesity and underweight cross around 2006 - but are these meant to be equal "problems" measured on the same scale? I suspect the suffering of the Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-14938714192040140692016-03-30T19:30:00.000+11:002016-04-03T01:20:59.177+11:00International Workshop on Participatory Surveillance (IWOPS) in Newcastle
Just had the wonderful opportunity to convene the 3rd IWOPS in Newcastle. Great to catch up with colleagues from around the world working on participatory surveillance. Thanks so much to the Skoll Global Threats Fund for supporting the workshop. The workshop ended with a seminar at HMRI which is available on Youtube. I interviewed a range of innovators on the enablers and supports Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-72271945092076044952016-02-02T12:30:00.000+11:002016-04-03T00:44:41.846+11:00Bullshit for You - Transcendence for MeSo for some reason I wrote a response (the reason will be the subject of a later post) to Gord Pennycook's article On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit entitled Bullshit for You; Transcendence for Me. I admit I was way out of my depth but I found the editorial process mediated by the journal editor Jonathan Baron very stimulating. Even though I was Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-88098577637125725132015-09-14T13:35:00.002+10:002015-09-14T13:36:35.762+10:00The Public Service has to do More with Less - Unquestionable?
So this is an email I just found that I sent to the NSW Public Service Commission general feedback email address on 30th November 2011 - with no response:
'Hi I have some feedback on the Workwise newsletter - actually its more a question..
In the newsletter it states:
"Productivity
All public sectors around the world are under pressure to deliver more services to the public with Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-72018228794787298422015-09-02T22:59:00.001+10:002015-09-05T16:28:21.937+10:00Contemplative Practice Workshop Primer for Public Health Congress
So here is a primer for the Contemplative Practice in Public Health Workshop I will be running at the Public Health Congress in Hobart on Tuesday morning next week.
Hopefully this will help prepare everyone so we can get the maximum benefit from the workshop time together. The workshop will be approximately 1/3 theory and 2/3 practice. Theory - how are the roots of contemplative Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-61751799824875018402015-06-01T23:57:00.001+10:002015-09-01T22:49:38.387+10:00Housing Bubble identified by Google Trends ahead of commentators?
Error (title should read Google Trends, not Flu trends)
First the disclaimer - I am a medical epidemiologist not a real estate data analyst, and no real experience analysing Google Trends data streams - although I did receive some insights into this when invited to Google in 2010 and left very impressed by their methods. (yes even Google Flu Trends). But draw your own conclusions Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-3314782957140425842015-05-27T22:50:00.000+10:002015-06-01T23:21:40.682+10:00Flutracking breaks record of 23,000 responses per week in 2015
2015 has started as a big year for FluTracking.net, we are receiving over 23,000 responses from across Australia every week (most within 24 hours of sending the Monday morning survey. We are still seeing low level early season influenza activity at this stage. Please invite your friends and work colleagus to join. You can see the real time engagement on our website on a Monday morning Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-54393011345167344772015-01-05T23:02:00.000+11:002015-06-01T23:04:40.366+10:00How to investigate health and coal mining in the Hunter
Published an article Investigating the health impacts of particulates associated with coalmining in the Hunter Valley in Air Quality and Climate Change.
Particularly want to thank the authorship team and in particular C. Arden Pope III as senior author on the paper. Interestingly, some commentators on reading the paper alleged we were "pro-mining" but there was no dispute on the facts presentedCraig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-29007597085777156972014-12-27T12:00:00.000+11:002015-09-02T23:10:55.606+10:00Dangers of Western Methods in Indigenous Research
During my time teaching public health in Bhutan I became very aware that many of the supposedly value-free public health concepts I was teaching were dripping with western world views that were almost invisible to me. Even our ideas of time and space in the west can undermine Indigenous world views. I got to feeling that just exposing Indigenous students to these ideas was a Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-2869792225376633272014-12-13T22:00:00.000+11:002015-08-25T11:52:45.711+10:00Bath milk - cosmetic or bacteria-laden drink - Conversation piece
So the satirical tone of my article in The Conversation was a little too subtle and some folks thought it was actually an article about cosmetic safety, not food safety.... hereCraig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0Newcastle NSW, Australia-32.926689 151.77892050000003-33.779925500000004 150.48802700000002 -32.0734525 153.06981400000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-58524228737374087062014-09-12T15:23:00.000+10:002014-09-12T15:23:19.098+10:00Tax Inspectors Without Borders may prevent next Ebola outbreak
While much of the focus has been on the public health and medical response to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, in terms of prevention we need to think beyond medical interventions such as new vaccines. If we think about the broader determinants of health in society it may be that the work of Tax Inspectors Without Borders will lead the prevention of Ebola outbreaks in the Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-83895337569547786822014-05-26T17:18:00.004+10:002014-05-26T17:19:29.238+10:00Flutracking Launch Video - Tracking Flu Near You
Flutracking has launched again for 2014 - we made this short animated explainer video. Invite all your friends to join Flutracking.net - takes just 10 seconds per week!Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-84514335170366943212014-03-19T15:24:00.001+11:002015-09-02T23:03:02.878+10:00Rapping for Marriage Equality - Professor Macklemore
Something I recently put in the Newcastle Herald. The concert was great! He has a huge heart!
This IS public health in Action.
If you haven't seen it already - watch the Same Love music video here and share it with your friends - it could really save lives. Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-10486672960074880722013-07-10T15:05:00.000+10:002014-03-19T15:17:16.312+11:00Young Gay Men Bullied to Death - more data just in..As if we need more data to convey the impact of homophobia, stigmatisation and outright bullying on suicide among young gay males, adding to the prior post on this subject, this article in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health: Intersecting Identities and the Association Between Bullying and Suicide Attempt Among New York City Youths: Results From the 2009 New York City Youth Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-30074062201573766222013-06-07T00:00:00.000+10:002013-06-17T02:03:05.176+10:00Duelling Rail Corridor Coal Dust Studies Confuses Community
THE latest of three local (Newcastle, Australia) rail-corridor studies on coal dust was released last week. I published an opinion piece on the confusion these duelling dust studies are causing in the community.
The
first study was released by the Australian Rail Track Corporation
(ARTC) in October 2012. It had multiple limitations and was dismissed by
community activists. Under the auspicesCraig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-12249835020222636872013-05-03T22:06:00.001+10:002015-06-01T23:34:55.483+10:00Same Love - Rapper Leads Public Health Campaign for Marriage Equality
When I think of needless public health tragedies, uppermost in my mind are smoking and the suicide of young gay men who feel there is no place for them in a homophobic world. Lutwaks short piece and accompanying references in The Impact of Not Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community in the American Journal of Public Health again Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-57662693382744776502013-04-16T11:03:00.000+10:002013-04-27T11:04:53.038+10:00International Online Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Systems Unite
On April 15 in Amsterdam, the three largest online ILI surveillance systems in the world signed an agreement to share data and harmonise analysis and data display to help build a global picture of influenza transmission. The collaborators at the official signing were the lead researchers (from L to R) from Flutracking.net Australia (Craig Dalton),Influenzanet Europe (Ronald Smallenburg Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0Amsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167899999933152.2151137 4.5724443999999327 52.5253177 5.2178913999999335tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-2788627756197649432013-04-10T20:30:00.000+10:002013-04-27T11:05:07.545+10:00Submission to the Air Pollution and Health Senate Inquiry
I made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Impacts on Health of Air Quality in Australia as a private citizen entitled How to investigate the impact of coal mining on community health - a Hunter Valley Perspective.
It focused on 3 suggested solutions:
1. Integrate toxicological and epidemiological research to identify the major sources of
environmental health risk and quantify theCraig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-19706440831079480112013-04-03T16:28:00.000+11:002013-04-03T16:28:37.020+11:00H7N9 - Betting its not a pandemic in the making.
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Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-30775206508767522812013-03-20T21:00:00.000+11:002013-03-21T09:44:44.901+11:00CDC Conference 2013, Canberra, Australia - Day 2
Day 2 of CDC 2013, the main themes were foodborne disease, vaccine preventable diseases and anti-microbial resistance.
Professor Karl Ekdahl presented the experience of setting up the European Centre for Disease Control - of great relevance given the discussion at this conference regarding the need for an Australian CDC. It is a purely technical institution with no policy role - that Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-61744808227509237472013-03-20T11:48:00.000+11:002013-04-03T16:13:33.786+11:00Blogging CDC 2013 Canberra, Australia, Day 1
Blogging some highlights from the Australian CDC 2013 Conference - the peak biannual communicable disease surveillance conference in Australia. The presentations should be available on the website soon. Some highlights from the morning panel session was John Kaldor's (from Kirby Institute) comment that the decreased rate of viral warts in young men prior to the roll out of the male HPV vaccine Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7286652741304315721.post-57058833721803953402013-03-04T02:54:00.002+11:002013-03-04T02:55:05.395+11:00Randomness is lumpy
Randomness is lumpy. Can you imagine anything less random than a bunch of trees all growing in a matrix each 2 metre apart, perfectly 2 metres apart. Or, if you dropped a handful of jelly beans and each one fell, perfectly 3 cm apart from each other. Unlikely, and not "random". So why are we so surprised in public health (and life in general) when we see a "cluster" (a time space Craig Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02782136290615855737noreply@blogger.com0