Expanded statistical analysis of squats on the Great Britain (GB) mainline network.

Squat defects are one of the most common rail surface defects. Significant research effort has gone into understand squat defects over the last 10 years which has brought about important developments in the understanding of their initiation mechanism; however, further work is still required to fully understand squat and the best methods to control them. This study considers records of squat defects over a period 9 years, considering 2600 km of track across 8 different routes on the GB mainline network.

Australian Aboriginal kinship: a means to enhance maternal well-being.

Background: The relocation of women from their rural communities to birth in a centralised hospital is becoming increasingly common as maternity units close in rural areas of Australia. The significance for Aboriginal women when they are denied the support of kin around the time of birth but have that support re-established postnatally is explored.

Methods: This paper gathered data from multiple sources including in-depth interviews with three Aboriginal mothers and one partner; observational field notes; and during debriefing, the knowledge and experience of an Aboriginal midwife.

'Mind you, there's no anaesthetist on the road': women's experiences of labouring en route.

Introduction: The aim of this article was to learn from women in rural New South Wales (NSW) Australia, their experiences of labouring en route to birth in a centralised maternity unit.

Methods: This qualitative study was exploratory and descriptive. It was part of a larger project that explored women's experiences when they birthed away from their rural communities.

'You can drop dead': midwives bullying women.

Background: This paper describes how women experienced what came to be labelled as 'bullying' by a small number of midwives when they were evacuated from their rural and remote areas of NSW, Australia to a maternity unit to birth.

Research Question: What is the experience of women who are required to travel away from their NSW rural/remote communities to birth?

Participants And Methods: Forty-two participants together with a number of their partners/support people were interviewed in depth for this qualitative, exploratory study. Upon thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews, an unexpected finding was that four participants (plus one partner) described experiences which were interpreted as bullying, by a small number of midwives working with them.

The accuracy and clinical interpretation of serum ferritin assays.

The accuracy of methods used to assay serum ferritin was determined in two ways. In one a serum, to which the UK ferritin standard had been added, was issued to the participants in an inter-regional quality assurance scheme. The overall recovery was close to that expected.