Geekdom for Grrrls health : Australian undergraduate experiences developing and promoting women’s health in cyberspace

There is an increasing global reliance on the Internet for retrieving information on health, illness, and recovery (Sillence et al, 2007; Laurent et al, 2009; Adams, 2010). People suffering from a vast array of illnesses, conditions, and complaints, as well as healthy travelers seeking advice about safe practices abroad, and teens seeking information about safe sexual practices are all now more likely to go to the internet for information than they are to rely solely on a general practitioner or physician (Santor et al, 2007; Moreno et al, 2009; Bartlett et al, 2010). Women in particular seek advice and support online for a number of health-related concerns regarding issues such as puberty, conception, pregnancy, postnatal depression, mothering, breast-cancer recovery, and ageing healthily (van Zutphen, 2008; Raymond et al, 2005). In keeping with this increasing socio-technological trend, the Women’s Health Unit at the Queensland University of Technology (Q.U.T), Brisbane, Australia, introduced the research, design, and development of online information resources for issues affecting the health of Australian women as an assessment item for students in the undergraduate Public Health curriculum. Students were required to research a particular health issue affecting Australian women, including pregnancy, pregnancy terminations, postnatal depression, returning to the work force after having a baby, breast cancer recovery, chronic disease prevention, health and safety for sex-workers, and ageing healthily. Students were required to design and develop websites that supported people living with these conditions, or who were in these situations. The websites were designed for communicating effectively with both women seeking information about their health, and their health practitioners. The pedagogical challenge inherent in this exercise was twofold: firstly, to encourage students to develop the skills to design and maintain software for online health forums; and secondly, to challenge public health students to go beyond generating ‘awareness’ and imparting health information to developing a nuanced understanding of the worlds and perspectives of their audiences, who require supportive networks and options that resonate with their restrictions, capabilities, and dispositions. This latter challenge spanned the realms of research, communication, and aesthetic design. This paper firstly, discusses an increasing reliance on the Internet by women seeking health-related information and the potential health risks and benefits of this trend. Secondly, it applies a post-structural analysis of the de-centred and mobile female self, as online social ‘spaces’ and networks supersede geographical ‘places’ and hierarchies, with implications for democracy, equality, power, and ultimately women’s health. Thirdly, it depicts the processes (learning reflections) and products (developed websites) created within this Women’s Health Unit by the students. Finally, we review this development in the undergraduate curriculum in terms of the importance of providing students with skills in research, communication, and technology in order to share and implement improved health care and social marketing for women as both recipients and providers of health care in the Internet Age.

Deleuze and "The Intercessors"

The late French philosopher Gilles Deleuze has enjoyed significant notoriety and acclaim in American academia over the last 20 years. The unique disciplinary focus of the contemporary discussion has derived from Deleuze the architectural possibilities of biotechnology, systems theory, and digital processualism. While the persistence of Deleuze’s theory of science and the formalist readings of Mille Plateaux and Le Bergsonisme have dominated the reception since the 1990s, few are aware of a much earlier encounter between Deleuze and architects, beginning at Columbia University in the 1970s, which converged on the radical politics of Anti-OEdipus and its American reception in the journal Semiotext(e), through which architecture engaged a much broader discourse alongside artists, musicians, filmmakers, and intellectuals in the New York aesthetic underground, of which Deleuze and Félix Guattari were themselves a part.

Important omitted spatial variables in safety models: Understanding contributing crash causes at intersections

Advances in safety research—trying to improve the collective understanding of motor vehicle crash causation—rests upon the pursuit of numerous lines of inquiry. The research community has focused on analytical methods development (negative binomial specifications, simultaneous equations, etc.), on better experimental designs (before-after studies, comparison sites, etc.), on improving exposure measures, and on model specification improvements (additive terms, non-linear relations, etc.). One might think of different lines of inquiry in terms of ‘low lying fruit’—areas of inquiry that might provide significant improvements in understanding crash causation. It is the contention of this research that omitted variable bias caused by the exclusion of important variables is an important line of inquiry in safety research. In particular, spatially related variables are often difficult to collect and omitted from crash models—but offer significant ability to better understand contributing factors to crashes. This study—believed to represent a unique contribution to the safety literature—develops and examines the role of a sizeable set of spatial variables in intersection crash occurrence. In addition to commonly considered traffic and geometric variables, examined spatial factors include local influences of weather, sun glare, proximity to drinking establishments, and proximity to schools. The results indicate that inclusion of these factors results in significant improvement in model explanatory power, and the results also generally agree with expectation. The research illuminates the importance of spatial variables in safety research and also the negative consequences of their omissions.

Modeling crash outcome probabilities at rural intersections: Application of hierarchical binomial logistic models

It is important to examine the nature of the relationships between roadway, environmental, and traffic factors and motor vehicle crashes, with the aim to improve the collective understanding of causal mechanisms involved in crashes and to better predict their occurrence. Statistical models of motor vehicle crashes are one path of inquiry often used to gain these initial insights. Recent efforts have focused on the estimation of negative binomial and Poisson regression models (and related deviants) due to their relatively good fit to crash data. Of course analysts constantly seek methods that offer greater consistency with the data generating mechanism (motor vehicle crashes in this case), provide better statistical fit, and provide insight into data structure that was previously unavailable. One such opportunity exists with some types of crash data, in particular crash-level data that are collected across roadway segments, intersections, etc. It is argued in this paper that some crash data possess hierarchical structure that has not routinely been exploited. This paper describes the application of binomial multilevel models of crash types using 548 motor vehicle crashes collected from 91 two-lane rural intersections in the state of Georgia. Crash prediction models are estimated for angle, rear-end, and sideswipe (both same direction and opposite direction) crashes. The contributions of the paper are the realization of hierarchical data structure and the application of a theoretically appealing and suitable analysis approach for multilevel data, yielding insights into intersection-related crashes by crash type.

Recent developments : loss of chance in medical litigation : Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12.

Following the judgement of the High Court in Tabet v Gett [2010]HCA 12 handed down on 21 April 2010 it appears that in Australia there is now very limited scope for recovery in negligence for the loss of a chance of a better medical outcome.

Towards a method of constructing self-efficacy narratives.

This paper outlines a method of constructing narratives about an individual’s self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as “people’s judgments of their capabilities to organise and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances” (Bandura, 1986, p. 391), and as such represents a useful construct for thinking about personal agency. Social cognitive theory provides the theoretical framework for understanding the sources of self-efficacy, that is, the elements that contribute to a sense of self-efficacy. The narrative approach adopted offers an alternative to traditional, positivist psychology, characterised by a preoccupation with measuring psychological constructs (like self-efficacy) by means of questionnaires and scales. It is argued that these instruments yield scores which are somewhat removed from the lived experience of the person—respondent or subject—associated with the score. The method involves a cyclical and iterative process using qualitative interviews to collect data from participants – four mature aged university students. The method builds on a three-interview procedure designed for life history research (Dolbeare & Schuman, cited in Seidman, 1998). This is achieved by introducing reflective homework tasks, as well as written data generated by research participants, as they are guided in reflecting on those experiences (including behaviours, cognitions and emotions) that constitute a sense of self-efficacy, in narrative and by narrative. The method illustrates how narrative analysis is used “to produce stories as the outcome of the research” (Polkinghorne, 1995, p.15), with detail and depth contributing to an appreciation of the ‘lived experience’ of the participants. The method is highly collaborative, with narratives co-constructed by researcher and research participants. The research outcomes suggest an enhanced understanding of self-efficacy contributes to motivation, application of effort and persistence in overcoming difficulties. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the research process by the students who participated in the author’s doctoral study.

Values, wellness and the social sciences curriculum

Recent initiatives in values education in Australia emphasise the importance of the process of valuing and general methodologies that foster this in the classroom. Although a range of strategies are available, this chapter argues that inquiry-based approaches in the Social Sciences play a significant role in linking valuing processes with decision making skills. Collectively, these approaches prompt the development of reasoning and self awareness which also impact on student wellness. This chapter proposes some curriculum approaches to foreground values education in the Australian Social Sciences classroom. It argues that valuing is an important life skill that can be cultivated in the classroom through specific valuing strategies. It contends that the development of the capacity to make informed value choices is a critical factor in promoting wellness and resilience in students and in preparing them for the decision making skills required for effective participation in society.

Loneliness and classroom participation in adolescents with learning disabilities : a social cognitive view

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often experience significant feelings of loneliness. There is some evidence to suggest that these feelings of loneliness may be related to social difficulties that are linked to their learning disability. Adolescents experience more loneliness than any other age group, primarily because this is a time of identity formation and self-evaluation. Therefore, adolescents with learning disabilities are highly likely to experience the negative feelings of loneliness. Many areas of educational research have highlighted the impact of negative feelings on learning. This begs the question, =are adolescents with learning disabilities doubly disadvantaged in regard to their learning?‘ That is, if their learning experience is already problematic, does loneliness exacerbate these learning difficulties? This thesis reveals the findings of a doctoral project which examined this complicated relationship between loneliness and classroom participation using a social cognitive framework. In this multiple case-study design, narratives were constructed using classroom observations and interviews which were conducted with 4 adolescent students (2 girls and 2 boys, from years 9-12) who were identified as likely to be experiencing learning disabilities. Discussion is provided on the method used to identify students with learning disabilities and the related controversy of using disability labels. A key aspect of the design was that it allowed the students to relate their school experiences and have their stories told. The design included an ethnographic element in its focus on the interactions of the students within the school as a culture and elements of narrative inquiry were used, particularly in reporting the results. The narratives revealed all participants experienced problematic social networks. Further, an alarmingly high level of bullying was discovered. Participants reported that when they were feeling rejected or were missing a valued other they had little cognitive energy for learning and did not want to be in school. Absenteeism amongst the group was high, but this was also true for the rest of the school population. A number of relationships emerged from the narratives using social cognitive theory. These relationships highlighted the impact of cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors in the school experience of lonely students with learning disabilities. This approach reflects the social model of disability that frames the research.

Literacies in place : teaching environmental communications

Reports on the work of a group of primary educators who participated in the collaborative practitioner inquiry stage of River Literacies, and explores what happened when a group of teachers made a serious commitment to rethink and extend the repertoires ofmulti- modal literacy for use with their students.

Turn-around pedagogies: improving the education of at-risk students

Internationally, normative discourses about literacy standards have rapidly proliferated, and spaces for teachers to engage in serious intellectual inquiry seem to be shutting down. Our concern about the impact of these forces on teachers led us to design a cross-generational teacher research project across two states of Australia to tackle some of the toughest challenges teachers face in their workplaces, including the issue of unequal outcomes in literacy achievement. In this article we report on how the project design sustained an intellectual community of inquiry and fostered ‘turn-around pedagogies'. We include excerpts from recent teacher writing (Comber and Kamler, 2005) to illustrate how teachers used technology and popular culture to reengage their most at-risk students. We argue that crossgenerational models of practitioner inquiry hold great promise for improving the learning engagement of students, the productivity of schools and the professional renewal of the teacher workforce.

'I am smart and I am not joking': Aiming high in the middle years of schooling

In this paper, we draw on accounts from students to inform a Middle Schooling movement that has been variously described as "arrested", "unfinished" and "exhausted". We propose that if the Middle Schooling movement is to understand the changing worlds of students and develop new approaches in the middle years of schooling, then it is important to draw on the insights that individual students can provide by conducting research with "students-as-informants". The early adolescent informants to this paper report high hopes for their futures (despite their lower socio-economic surroundings), which reinforces the importance of supporting successful learner identities and highlights the role of schooling in the decline of adolescent student aspirations. However, their insights did not stop at the individual learner, with students also identifying cultural and structural constraints to reform. As such, we argue that students may be both an important resource for inquiry into individual school reform and for the Middle Schooling movement internationally.

Voices of the Unheard

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant. Horace - Roman lyric poet and satirist 65BC – 8 BC This quotation from Horace could well be the chorus to a medley of songs sung by people who face extraordinary adversity and have gained emotional resilience through music making. In this chapter we present three composition ventures that are stories or verses in a new song and whose chorus summarises the nature of the resilience factors present in the narratives. We are aware that words on a page like this can have the effect of filtering out the engaging nature of musical experience and reduce music to a critique or an evaluation of its aesthetic value. This disjuncture between language and the ephemeral, embodied experience is a problem for those who use these creative processes in therapeutic and salutogenic ways (Antonovsky, 1996) for public health. The notion of salutogenic health, put simply, delineates it from therapy in that the processes focus upon wellness rather than therapy. Whilst we include evidence from the fields of community music therapy (Pavlicevic, 2004; Leitschuh et al., 1991), neuroscience (Bittman et al., 2001) and community music (Bartleet et al., 2009) the framework for a salutogenic health outcome in community music is one which seeks to employ music practices and the qualities of music making that provide positive health benefit to communities –to enhance health and well being rather than the “treatment” of disorders. It is essentially a holistic and interdisciplinary study. Therapy and salutogenic health are not mutually exclusive as both depend upon the qualities of music experience to affect change. Collecting, analysing and presenting evidence of change in human behaviour that can be directly attributed to creative music making is a problem of evaluation.

Ambivalence and the experience of China-educated nurses working in Australia

The last decade has seen an increase in research on the experience of immigrant nurses. There are two prevailing approaches in this body of work. One is a focus on the positive or negative aspects of the experience, and the other, a depiction of the experience as a linear movement from struggle to a comfortable state. Based on our study findings on the experience of China educated nurses working in Australia, this study proposes that the concept of ambivalence is more appropriate in portraying the experience of immigrant nurses. Several sources of ambivalence experienced by the participants are represented: a disparity between expectation and reality, conflicting social and cultural norms, the dual reference points of comparison, divergent interests within families, and a sense that although it is unsatisfactory, it is hard to go back. We argue that immigration generates various forms of ambivalence and immigrant nurses must live with more or less ambivalence. The notion of ambivalence can explain a range of behaviours and situations beyond the scope of rational-choice explanations. To date, ambivalence as a theoretical concept in understanding the experience of immigrant nurses has been either ignored or insufficiently addressed in the literature.

Gender equality in national politics : the views of Australian male politicians

Studies of gender and politics have typically been studies of women and politics. In contrast, this paper places men at the centre of its inquiry by drawing on interviews with 15 current federal male politicians. Of concern is exploring the ways in which men conceptualise the question of gender equity in the Australian parliament. Three frameworks are identified in the men's narratives. These are that the parliament is a masculinised space but that this is unavoidable; that the parliament is now feminised and women are advantaged; and that the parliament is gender neutral and gender is irrelevant. It is argued that collectively these framing devices operate to mask the many constraints which exist to marginalise women from political participation and undermine attempts to address women's political disadvantage as political participants. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of the paper beyond the Australian context and calling for further research which names and critiques political men and their discourses on gender and parliamentary practices and processes.