Health Workforce Governance: Improved Access, Good Regulatory Practice, Safer Patients

With increasing recognition of the international market in health professionals and the impact of globalism on regulation, the governance of the health workforce is moving towards greater public engagement and increased transparency. This book discusses the challenges posed by these processes, such as improved access to health services and how structures can be reformed so that good practice is upheld and quality of service and patient safety are ensured.

Fundraising and philanthropy : engaging research and practice

The social and corporate trends over five years (1996 - 2000) in Australia clearly demonstrate the need for the nonprofit sector to engage in predictability forecasting to build viable philanthropic partnerships. As business and private enterprise practices have become more common in the management of fundraising effectiveness, nonprofits are in danger of reducing the value of their cause and likewise the cause or need of corporate and individual donors. Shortterm partnerships with short-term objectives do not achieve an outcome of sustainability. This paper analyses the theories of fundraising and philanthropy in the context of the changing Australian environment, and proposes a value measurement approach to the inputs and outputs of nonprofit organisations. By engaging in research, nonprofits are more likely to achieve productivity in fundraising and philanthropic practice.

Best practice business community partnerships

In the last two years or so, the Prime Minister has made the development of a social coalition, involving business partnerships with the community, central to his Government’s vision of a fair and just Australian society. This is clearly a new and exciting era in thinking for government, business and community partnerships. However, there has been a tendency, particularly in the media reporting of these initiatives, especially the Prime Minister's Business Community Partnership awards held in 1999 and in July this year, to concentrate the agenda more on philanthropy and corporate donations, than on some of the many other ways that partnerships can develop...

Streets apart genres of editorial photographs and patterns of photographic practice

My doctoral research contributes to visual scholarship by investigating and defining representational strategies of three photographic genres – press photography, photojournalism, and documentary photography – using an ‘action genre’ approach (Lemke, 1995: 32). That is, rather than taking final photographic forms as being definitive of genre, I identify patterns of ‘activity types’ involved in the production of editorial photography to define genre (1995: 32). While much has been written on editorial photography, there is no organised body of scholarship that distinguishes between these three very different modes of photographic practice. I use a major documentary project to exemplify and analyse the impact of these genres on my own photographic practice, and to explore the production of meaning within the framework of these professional genres. I triangulate the theoretical framework through the use of interviews with established Australian professionals.

Evidence based practice

An integral part of teaching and a principle underpinning professional practice in the early years is the importance of reflecting on and researching our own practice. For example, in Australia, the Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging, Being and Becoming identifies “ongoing learning and reflective practice” (DEEWR, 2009, p. 13) as one of the five principles distilled from theories and research evidence that underpin professional practice in the early years. Recognising teaching as encompassing the role of researching pedagogical practice highlights that teaching is not simply practical or procedural but requires intellectual work. This chapter details evidence based practice (EBP) in early years education and highlights four questions: 1. What is evidence based practice?; 2. What evidence do I draw on?; 3. How might I discern relevant evidence?; and 4. What is my part in generating research evidence?

Environmental reporting in the Australian mining industry : complying with regulation or meeting international best practice?

It is nearly 10 years since the introduction of s 299(1)(f) Corporations Act , which requires the disclosure of information regarding a company's environmental performance within its annual report. This provision has generated considerable debate in the years since its introduction, fundamentally between proponents of either a voluntary or mandatory environmental reporting framework. This study examines the adequacy of the current regulatory framework. The environmental reporting practices of 24 listed companies in the resources industries are assessed relative to a standard set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. These Guidelines are argued to represent "international best practice" in environmental reporting and a "scorecard" approach is used to score the quality of disclosure according to this voluntary benchmark. Larger companies in the sample tend to report environmental information over and above the level required by legislation. Some, but not all companies present a stand-alone environmental/sustainability report. However, smaller companies provide minimal information in compliance with s 299(1)(f) . The findings indicate that "international best practice" environmental reporting is unlikely to be achieved by Australian companies under the current regulatory framework. In the current regulatory environment that scrutinises s 299(1)(f) , this article provides some preliminary evidence of the quality of disclosures generated in the Australian market.

A transition pedagogy for student engagement and first-year learning, success and retention

This chapter argues that higher education institutions (HEIs) must direct coordinated, whole-of-institution attention to changing, both culturally and structurally, the fundamental and prevailing character of the first-year experience (FYE). It leverages evidence from the sector(Nelson, Kift and Clarke, 2011), from research-led practice in our institution (for example, Kift, Nelson and Clarke, 2010; Nelson et al.,in press) and from research conducted under an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Senior Fellowship (Kift, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c) to assert that student engagement and success should not be left to chance, particularly those aspects such as curriculum design and enactment that are within our institutional control.

Breaking organizational barriers for greening Australian

Sustainability is an issue for everyone. For instance, the higher education sector is being asked to take an active part in creating a sustainable future, due to their moral responsibility, social obligation, and their own need to adapt to the changing higher education environment. By either signing declarations or making public statements, many universities are expressing their desire to become role models for enhancing sustainability. However, too often they have not delivered as much as they had intended. This is particularly evident in the lack of physical implementation of sustainable practices in the campus environment. Real projects such as green technologies on campus have the potential to rectify the problem in addition to improving building performance. Despite being relatively recent innovations, Green Roof and Living Wall have been widely recognized because of their substantial benefits, such as runoff water reduction, noise insulation, and the promotion of biodiversity. While they can be found in commercial and residential buildings, they only appear infrequently on campuses as universities have been very slow to implement sustainability innovations. There has been very little research examining the fundamental problems from the organizational perspective. To address this deficiency, the researchers designed and carried out 24 semi-structured interviews to investigate the general organizational environment of Australian universities with the intention to identify organizational obstacles to the delivery of Green Roof and Living Wall projects. This research revealed that the organizational environment of Australian universities still has a lot of room to be improved in order to accommodate sustainability practices. Some of the main organizational barriers to the adoption of sustainable innovations were identified including lack of awareness and knowledge, the absence of strong supportive leadership, a weak sustainability-rooted culture and several management challenges. This led to the development of a set of strategies to help optimize the organizational environment for the purpose of better decision making for Green Roof and Living Wall implementation.

Elementary teacher education in papua new guinea: towards a culturally connected perspective of teaching

Global and national agendas for quality education have led to reforms in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) elementary education, but criticism of the learner-centred, Western pedagogies has emerged. One key influence on quality teacher education relates to perspectives of teaching. Existing research shows teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching influence their practice, however to date little research has investigated perspectives of teaching for elementary education in PNG. This single exploratory case study investigated the perspectives of teaching for eighteen elementary teacher trainers as they studied for a Bachelor of Early Childhood (Teacher Education). The study, drawing on an interpretivist paradigm, analysed journals and course planning documents using a thematic approach. The findings revealed that while the trainers’ perspectives of teaching children tended to reflect a learning-centred perspective (focused on what the teacher does), their perspectives of teaching adults were both learning-centred and learner-centred (what the learner does). Based on these findings, a culturally connected perspective of teaching is advocated for PNG elementary teacher education. This perspective enables the co-existence of both the learning-centred and learner-centred perspectives of teaching in the PNG cultural context and has implications for teacher education and the communities involved in elementary education in general.

Projecting change through construction innovation

In projecting change for the critical Australian construction industry, the CRC for Construction Innovation envisions a culture of self improvement through applied research and technology transfer. Construction Innovation is driving research outcomes into business practice in areas such as innovativeness, sustainability, procurement, project diagnostics and site safety. The group has also led the formation of an international alliance to ensure its activities are hitting the mark nationally and internationally. Through initiatives like these, the CRC for Construction Innovation is already providing a potent vehicle for change.

Dietetic confidence working with clients with depression/anxiety is associated with client-focused practice and advocacy skills

Confidence in a professional role is a key element in the successful transition to competent practice. New graduate dietitians report that whilst they are confident about their general dietetic ability, they are not as confident when working with clients experiencing depression or anxiety. This study aimed to develop and validate a scale which measured confidence about working with clients with depression/anxiety. The 21-item Dietetic Collaborative Practice Scale was developed using research about dietetic practice in mental health (Dowding et al., 2011), coping self-efficacy literature (Chesney et al., 2006) and collaboration with industry experts. A convenience sample of 189 Australian dietitians completed the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis suggests that dietetic confidence is best represented by a two-dimensional solution consisting of (a) Client-focused practice (CFP, 50.8% variance); and (b) Advocacy for self and client care (ASC, 9.7% variance). The alpha coefficient of both dimensions (CFP α=.95, ASC α=.84) demonstrates the internal consistency of components. Combined, these two components account for 60.5% of variance. The scale components were not related to years of practice or working with mental health clients but were significantly related to overall dietetic confidence (ODC). Correlation coefficients between ODC and CFP were .501 (p<.01), ODC and ASC were correlated at .465 (p<.01) and CFP and number of years as a dietitian were weakly correlated at 0.24 (p<.05). Results have implications for dietetic training and professional development. Client focus and advocacy for self and client appear to be important factors in overall confidence as a dietitian.

Youth alcohol and drug practice guide 2: Legal and ethical dimensions of practice

This Guide is designed to assist workers better understand the and negotiate the complex interplay of ethical, legal and organisational considerations in their practice. The goal is to provide frontline workers and managers with information, questions and principles which promote good youth AOD practice. Legal information provided relates to Queensland, Australia.