Weacknowledgethetraditionalcustodiansoftheland,community,sea,andwaterswhereweliveandwork. Wepayour
respects to elders past, present and future and value the contributions Indigenous Australians make in our society. We
acknowledgethechallengeforIndigenousleadersandfamiliestoovercometheunacceptablyhighlevelsofearhealthissues
amongfirstAustralians.
Break the Sound Barrier is uniting our entire sector for a common cause - to make hearing a
national priority.
Hearing is not one of Australias national health priorities. It means there we do not have the
adequate investment in services and research we need. It also means there is not a focus on
community education. Its a barrier that is preventing too many Australians from reaching their
potential.
academics
find
The Health Department has removed Medicare data from its website amid an investigation into
whether personal information has been compromised.
Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has launched an investigation after academics
found it was possible to figure out some service provider ID numbers in the Medicare Benefits
Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule datasets, published on August 1.
The University of Melbourne academics said they notified the department of the issue on
September 12, adding that the data was then "immediately removed".
In a joint report, Drs Chris Culnane, Benjamin Rubinstein and Vanessa Teague described the
incident as "serious". "If we can reverse-engineer the details in a few days, then there is a risk
that others could do so too," they stated.
They said the dataset was created by selecting a random 10 per cent of Medicare patients, whose
claims from 1984 to 2014 were included. While the medical treatments were not encrypted or
put into a special code to prevent unauthorised access to such information the ID numbers
describing who provided the service were.
In a statement, the Department of Health said the dataset published on data.gov.au did not
include names or addresses of service providers and no patient information was identified.
"However, as a result of the potential to extract some doctor and other service provider ID
numbers, the Department of Health immediately removed the dataset from the website to ensure
the security and integrity of the data is maintained," it stated.
"No patient information has been compromised, and no information about the health service
providers has been publicly identified or released."
Health Minister Sussan Ley has apologised, telling a gathering of doctors in Perth that "there will
always be risks" in publishing data. Ms Ley said there was no release of confidential information
in the public arena and no patient information had been compromised. "Its certainly something
we take seriously and we apologise for any concern this may cause you as providers," she said.
Ms Ley said the government had "acted swiftly in the public interest" by making changes to the
Privacy Act 1998.
In a statement, Senator Brandis said changes to the Act would made it illegal to re-identify
government data which had been "de-identified".
"It will also be an offence to counsel, procure, facilitate, or encourage anyone to do this, and to
publish or communicate any re-identified dataset," he said.
ABC News http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-29/medicare-pbs-dataset-pulled-over-encryptionconcerns/7888686
The Care for Kids' Ears resources have been designed and produced by the Australian
Government to increase awareness of ear disease and hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities.
While Otitis Media (also known as 'ear disease' and 'middle ear infection') is a fairly common
disease in children generally, the prevalence, recurrence and degree of infection recorded in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is significantly higher than in non-Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people. Left untreated, ear infections can lead to hearing loss which may
limit a childs capacity to develop socially and emotionally.
http://www.careforkidsears.health.gov.au/internet/cfke/publishing.nsf
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http://www.printacall.com.au/hearingloops/
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http://captioningstudio.com/
A new Affordable Access project aims to make low-cost accessible technology more widely
known.
Media Access Australia in conjunction with the Australian Communications Consumer Action
Network announced the launch of a new website and supporting downloadable resources
designed to make digital accessibility for those with a disability easier and more affordable.
Affordable Access is an online resource where people with hearing, sight, mobility or cognitive
disabilities and impairments can find information and make educated choices on low-cost software
and devices that support their everyday needs.
The content-rich website contains freely-downloadable resources on options priced up to $250,
specifically created for different audience groups including: students, carers and parents, seniors,
and those in the workforce. The options presented include commonly-used everyday products
plus additional options for those who are more tech savvy. To help people find what they are
after quickly, the site is divided into four categories: Whats accessible, Whats available, Whats
suitable, and Whats possible.
http://affordableaccess.com.au/
Symphony of Stories
CICADA Queensland released its second book of personal stories of Cochlear implant recipients in
their own words.
This book is a resource for those seeking information on cochlear implants with stories from the
people that have them. It will aid in making informed decisions.
Purchase a copy at $10.00 per copy plus $3.00 postage.
Contact CICADA Queensland at secretary@cicadaqld.com.au
Conference Program
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Deaf Australia Annual General Meeting
5:00pm - 12:00am
Conference Opening Welcome Function
Australias BIGGEST Deaf Club
9:00am - 9:30am
Opening Ceremony
Opening Address - Alastair McEwin, Disability Discrimination Commissioner
(Auslan)
9:30am - 10:30am
Keynote Presentation -The Designated Interpreter - A Model For a New Era?
Dr Jules Dickinson (English)
Stream A: Empowering the Deaf Community
4:30pm - 5:00pm
Closing Ceremony
David Parker
11am - 3pm
11 am..AGM
In the study, birds were trained to peck a specific key when they heard a whole zebra finch song
and another key when the heard a song with a deleted syllable, a broken song. This identification
task demonstrated the birds' ability to differentiate between a natural whole song and an
unnatural broken song. The researchers then replaced the missing syllable with another sound,
altering its intensity, frequency, location and time. Using ecologically relevant stimuli for the study
is a novel departure from other research that used either pure tones or white noise. The intensity
of that missing syllable was significant. When played softly, the birds heard a broken song, but
increasing the intensity caused the birds to hear a whole song. Playing the syllables from different
locations, like hearing Do-Re-Mi from three different places, was also recognized as broken.
"The birds are using spatial cues and intensity cues to distinguish whole songs from broken
songs." she says.
To determine the relevance of pitch, researchers played the missing syllable with half of the
frequency content missing. Deleing the high end didn't matter, but deleting the bottom half
changed the percept to a broken song.
"This suggests they're following the lowest contour of the frequency when they're listening to
song," says Dent.
While intensity, location and frequency affect stream segregation, time appeared to be the least
important cue for the birds. Changing the amount of time between each syllable was not
important. Although these laboratory observations do not necessarily equate to the natural
environment, the research is an important foundation for future study of sound segregation in
animals, says Dent.
From Science Daily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/