Evolution of life drama program

Life Drama is a program of drama-based experiential learning activities involving groups of community leaders and members. The three-year project evolved from a theatre-in-education approach to an intercultural theatre approach incorporating Papua New Guinean performance traditions. It involved Australian, English and Papua New Guinean researchers at four key sites: Tari, Southern Highlands Province; Port Moresby, National Capital District; Madang, Madang Province; and Karkar Island, Madang Province. The project was innovative in a number of ways, including: a Participatory Action Research approach, involving community leaders at various levels as co-researchers; a participatory theatre approach as opposed to a performance approach; emphasis on sexual health promotion and HIV prevention through an experiential learning paradigm; addressing the norms and realities of the community rather than targeting only individual behaviour; an International Theatre Research Laboratory to explore the fusion of traditional cultural elements with contemporary health promotion aims; and an innovative method-assemblage approach to collecting and triangulating quantitative, qualitative, and performative data. The project attracted over $350,000 in funding and support from the Australian Research Council, National AIDS Secretariat in PNG, and private sector and non-government partners. Findings were presented at various conferences and symposia including the annual Medical Symposium in Wewak (2010), the triennial Research in Drama Education conference in Exeter (2011), and the International Research in Drama Education conference (Sydney 2009 and Limerick 2012). A number of peer-reviewed journal articles have been published. Elements of the program have been incorporated into the University of Goroka's compulsory HIV awareness program for undergraduate students. A national dissemination strategy for Life Drama in Papua New Guinea is now underway, with seed funding of AUD$74,000 from the National AIDS Council Secretariat, PNG.

Experiences of a walking intervention in a University community : Qualitative perspectives

Background: This study explored the experiences of university employees that participated in a walking intervention that encouraged individuals to walk more throughout their workday. The 10-week program was comprised of 5 phases (i.e. baseline, anticipating barriers, short planned walks, longer planned walks and maintenance) and utilized a pedometer diary and an online website for logging steps. The pedometer diary included “action plans” for addressing barriers and planning walking and the online dashboard provided graphical outputs that allowed participants to visualize whether they were reaching or exceeding their step targets. Methods: A subsample of 12 academic and administrative employees from the study completed open ended questionnaires at the end of the study. The questions focused on capturing the major themes of benefits/mediators and problems/moderators of the program and were assessed using phenomenological approaches. Results: Participants found a raised consciousness of physical inactivity throughout the work day. They also found it useful to have a graphical display of physical activity patterns, but found time constraints and lack of managerial support to be the primary barriers/moderators of the program. Those most likely to withdraw from the program experienced technical difficulties with objective monitors and the online website. Conclusions: Findings highlight the value in being involved in a group forum and provide insights into the challenges of supporting such programs within the workplace.

Environmental pollution from shipbreaking industry : international law and national legal response

The international legal regime on shipbreaking is in its formative years. At the international level, the shipbreaking industry is partially governed by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. However, how far this convention will be applicable for all aspects of transboundary movement of end-of-life ships is still, at least in the view of some scholars, a debatable issue. Against this backdrop, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted a new, legally binding convention for shipbreaking. There is a rising voice from the developing countries that the convention is likely to impose more obligations on recycling facilities in the developing countries than on shipowners from rich nations. This may be identified as a clear derogation from the globally recognized international environmental law principle of common but differentiated treatment. This article will examine in detail major international conventions regulating transboundary movement and environmentally sound disposal of obsolete ships, as well as the corresponding laws of Bangladesh for implementing these conventions in the domestic arena. Moreover this article will examine in detail the recently adopted IMO Ship Recycling Convention.

Changes in health profiles of participants in an Australian police department’s Wellness program

Background: Little is known about the health effects of worksite wellness programs on police department staff. Objective: To examine 1-2 year changes in health profiles of participants in the Queensland Police Service’s wellness program. Methods: Participants underwent yearly physical assessments. Health profile data collected during assessments from 2008 to 2012 were included in the analysis. Data Analysis: Repeated-measures ANOVA was used for continuous outcome variables, related-samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank test for non-normally continuous variables, and McNemar’s test for binary variables. Results: Significant changes in physical measures included decreases in waist circumference and percent body fat, and increases in cardiorespiratory fitness and flexibility (p<0.01). Changes in serum cholesterol, haemoglobin, total cholesterol ratios, HDL, LDL and Triglyceride levels were also significant (p<0.01). Conclusion: Participants’ health profiles mostly improved between cycles although most changes were not clinically significant. As this evaluation used a single-group pre-test post-test design, it provides initial indications that wellness programs can benefit staff in police departments.

From strategic design to design integration

Within a growing awareness of design as central to the strategic success and the sustained competitive advantage of firms, this paper examines how companies pursue design driven innovation (Verganti, 2008, 2009) and respond to design led innovation initiatives (Matthews & Bucolo 2013). Specifically, this paper reports the findings of a collaborative research project where CEO sponsored senior managers from five multi-national organisations, met regularly over a twelve-month period, to discuss their progress on applying a design led approach in their firms. This longitudinal research project traced the process and progress of change instigated by the senior management representatives, as well as the deeper investigation of the barriers and challenges to re-frame design more strategically in their organisation. Data were collected through workshops and interviews throughout the twelve-month period, regarding the firms’ journeys and also the barriers and challenges firms faced in order to become design led. The findings present a novel set of implications for both designers and management scholars. This paper seeks to contribute to research and practice by investigating the processes and outcomes of a design led innovation program and to propose implications for practice for designers and management.

Waves for change : the role of the South Tarawa-based women's interests program in the decolonisation process of the Gilbert Islands

This thesis has created a space for women in the history of the decolonisation of the Gilbert Islands. It traces the historical development of the national women's interests program in the Republic of Kiribati (formerly of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC)) as it was implemented through a network of women's clubs during the 1960s and 1970s. This thesis has provided the first history and interpretation of the Indigenous women's interests movement as it impacted the Gilbert Islands. It offers a narrative of the movement in terms of three overlapping waves of women leaders, based on an analysis of fieldwork, archival research and interviews conducted on South Tarawa, Kiribati.

Mindfulness-meditation on the move : implementation of an ACT-based mindfulness practice intervention and training within a University Dance program

As part of the introduction of a broader dance medicine and science related health and wellbeing program, a 9 week mindfulness-meditation ACT-based program was delivered to all students undertaking full-time University dance training (N = 106). The aim of the program was to assist students in the further development of performance psychology skills that could be applied in both performance and non-performance settings. Participant groups were comprised of both male (N = 12) and female (N = 94) students from across all three year levels of two undergraduate dance courses, divided into three groups by mixed year levels due to timetable scheduling requirements. Pre- and post-testing was undertaken utilising the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-15), a uni-dimensional measure of mindfulness, in addition to qualitative questions checking the current level of awareness and understanding of mindfulness practice and its application. Weekly sessions were conducted by qualified sport and exercise psychologists and covered key practices such as: Mindfulness of Body, Mindfulness of Breathing, Mindfulness of Sounds, ACT-based and general Imagery exercises, Developing Open Awareness, Mindfulness of Emotions, and Developing Inner Stillness. Students were required to maintain a reflective journal that was utilised at the end of each weekly session, in addition to completion of a mid-Semester reflective debrief. Teaching staff additionally attended the weekly sessions and linked the mindfulness practice learnings into the student’s practical dance and academic classes where appropriate. Anecdotal feedback indicates that participation in the mindfulness-meditation sessions and the development of these mental skills has resulted in positive performance and personal outcomes. Observations collated from staff and students, results from the data collection phases and recommendations regarding future applications within dance training settings will be discussed within the presentation.

Teacher education targeting high-poverty schools : the National Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools program

This paper examines the Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (ETDS) program and demonstrates how the outcomes from this teacher education model targeting high-poverty schools have been used to expand the model across other Australian universities. The paper outlines the parameters of ETDS and stresses the importance to the program of academic excellence, a modified teacher education curriculum, targeted practicums and a network of jurisdictional and school-based partnerships. The paper presents data from ETDS that demonstrates 90% of graduates have secured employed as teachers within high-poverty Australian schools. The paper concludes by outlining the impact of philanthropic funding (2 million dollars AUD) that will allow the expansion of the ETDS model into other teacher education universities across Australia.

Learnings from the implementation of performance psychology as a subject within a university dance program

Similar to the focus on training in the technical, physical and artistic areas of dance, dance professionals, students and educators alike appear to be developing an increased awareness of how important training in psychology is to their success within dance. Over the past 4 years, lectures in performance psychology have been incorporated as part of a compulsory professional skills subject for second and third year students within a University dance program. The following presentation aims to share practitioner experience and learnings regarding the implementation of this subject within this context, its perceived effectiveness, and recommendations for future use.

Book Review: "Below the Line: Producers and Production Studies in the New Television Economy by Vicki Mayer", Duke University Press, 2012

Vicki Mayer’s book is unusual in that, despite its title, it is not about television producers at all, or at least not in the sense that scholars and the television industry itself have traditionally understood the role. Rather than referring to those in creative, managerial or financial control, or those with substantial intellectual input into a program, Mayer uses the term in a deliberately broad sense to mean, essentially, anyone ‘whose labor, however small, contributes to [television] production’ (179).

Where to after Drink Rite: An evaluation of opportunities for police and community promotion of an anti-drink driving message in the licensed venue setting. Report to the National Drug Strategy Law Enforcement Funding Committee

Estimating the prevalence of drink driving is a difficult task. Self‐reported drink driving indicates that drink driving is far more common than official statistics suggest. In order to promote a responsible attitude towards alcohol consumption and drink driving within the Queensland community, the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Health and Queensland Transport developed the ‘Drink Rite’ program (Queensland Police Service information sheet, 2009). However, the feasibility of the program is now in doubt as the National Health and Medical Research Council’s guidelines for alcohol consumption changed in 2009 to state “For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol‐related injury arising from that occasion” (NHMRC Publication, 2009, p. 51). As such, adhering to the NHMRC guidelines places restrictions on how the existing Drink Rite program can be operated (i.e. by reducing the number of standard drinks provided to participants from eight to four). It is arguable that a reduction in the number of alcoholic drinks provided to participants in the program will result in a large reduction in observed BAC readings. This, in turn, will lead to a potential loss of message content when discussing the variation in the effects of alcohol.

The impact of the health insurance program on the near-poor in Vietnam

This thesis is a cross-sectional study of a health insurance scheme for a representative sample of the near-poor in Cao Lanh district, Dong Thap province, Vietnam. It examines insurance coverage, health service utilisation, out-of-pocket expenditures and their associated factors. The research findings contribute evidence for policy makers who seek to improve the health insurance scheme for socioeconomically disadvantaged people in Vietnam, which is an important component of national efforts to implement universal health insurance. This community-level research adds to the evidence-base needed to improve the insurance system and thereby influence the quality of health care services.

Making connections within the Asia-Pacific region: Case study around the Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET) program

University strategic plans emphasise the essential nature of partnerships at national and international levels. Along with establishing collaborative research partnerships, providing professional development to key stakeholders is considered a crucial activity for making and sustaining partnerships. Utilising knowledge from professional development in Australian contexts can be managed creatively for making connections internationally. Indeed, knowledge transfer is a cornerstone for the globalisation of education and needs to occur as a multiplex dialogue between participating countries. This paper presents a qualitative study around the Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET) program, its growth and development nationally (e.g., scope and impact) along with insights into making connections within the Asia-Pacific region. At a national level, we outline how to facilitate a program though relationship building and face-to-face implementation of professional learning. Internationally, we highlight how to mould and shape Australian professional learning for the Asia-Pacific region, particularly with regard to facilitating fluid interactions within environments outside of Australia. The contexts for the study include a university in Hong Kong and another university in the Philippines. In this presentation, examples will be provided from the MET program to demonstrate contextual differences and similarities for implementation in Australian and Asian contexts. For instance, determining strategies for mentoring pedagogical knowledge can elicit viewpoints that align between cultures (e.g., use of specific teaching and questioning strategies) and also present alternative ideas as a result of cultural differences. We have learnt about having a structured program that draws on the research yet has sufficient flexibility to cater for cultures and contexts. With openmindedness, facilitating professional learning can become a two-way knowledge transfer, where learnings from other cultures and contexts can be refined for advancing programs in Australia.