Measuring community strength and social capital

In 2001/02 five case study communities in both metropolitan and regional urban locations in Australia were chosen as test sites to develop measures of community strength on four domains: natural capital; produced economic capital; human capital; and social and institutional capital. Secondary data sources were used to develop measures on the first three domains. For the fourth domain social and institutional capital primary data collection was undertaken through sample surveys of households. A structured approach was devised. This involved developing a survey instrument using scaled items relating to four elements: formal norms; informal norms; formal structures; and informal structures which embrace the concepts of trust, reciprocity, bonds, bridges, links and networks in the interaction of individuals with their community inherent in the notion social capital. Exploratory principal components analysis was used to identify factors that measure those aspects of social and institutional capital, with confirmatory analysis conducted using Cronbach's Alpha. This enabled the construction of four primary scales and 15 sub-scales as a tool for measuring social and institutional capital. Further analyses reveals that two measures anomie and perceived quality of life and wellbeing relate to certain primary scales of social capital.

A community leadership web site project: Sustainability and other issues

This paper reports on an ongoing partnership between Queensland University of Technology and Volunteering Queensland regarding the development and revision of a website for community leaders. The website, designed in late 2003, was established to provide a range of learning activities for community leaders including a problem based learning activity, case studies of community leaders and a range of resources deemed significant for leaders in the community. To date, anecdotal evidence as well as some more hard evidence (i.e. number of visits to the site), indicates that the site appears to be a valuable resource for community leaders. The purpose of this paper was firstly to investigate the utility of the site and secondly to consider some bigger issues concerning its sustainability. To achieve this, the paper explores the perceptions of (i) a group of community leaders regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the site; and (ii) key stakeholders (from QUT and Volunteering Queensland) who participated in a focus group discussion to consider important issues relating to its management and sustainability. Themes emerging from the two groups are provided and implications for small scale partnership projects such as this one are discussed.

Community paediatrics: Soft science or firm foundations?

Community paediatrics strives to integrate the biology of health into the social and psychological worlds within which children grow and develop. Consumer demand for limited community paediatric clinical services is increasing and medico-legal pressures escalate professional and personal concern. Meanwhile, the profession, through training and professional support, has struggled to keep up. Research into community paediatrics and its integration into policy and clinical practice remains limited, raising the perception that it is a 'soft' science. Our viewpoint is that necessary progress in this field requires leadership, apprenticeship and research. We argue that to build firm foundations for the future requires structures to enable clinical specialisation and continuing professional development in this area.

Anthropometric-based selection and sprint kayak training in children

A 12 week kayak training programme was evaluated in children who either had or did not have the anthropometric characteristics identified as being unique to senior elite sprint kayakers. Altogether, 234 male and female school children were screened to select 10 children with and 10 children without the identified key anthropometric characteristics. Before and after training, the children completed an all-out 2 min kayak ergometer simulation test; measures of oxygen consumption, plasma lactate and total work accomplished were recorded. In addition, a 500 m time trial was performed at weeks 3 and 12. The coaches were unaware which 20 children possessed those anthropometric characteristics deemed to favour development of kayak ability. All children improved in both the 2 min ergometer simulation test and 500 m time trial. However, boys who were selected according to favourable anthropometric characteristics showed greater improvement than those without such characteristics in the 2 min ergometer test only. In summary, in a small group of children selected according to anthropometric data unique to elite adult kayakers, 12 weeks of intensive kayak training did not influence the rate of improvement of on-water sprint kayak performance.

Community structure of Quaternary coral reefs compared with Recent life and death assemblages

This paper assesses the reliability with which fossil reefs record the diversity and community structure of adjacent Recent reefs. The diversity and taxonomic composition of Holocene raised fossil reefs was compared with those of modern reef coral life and death assemblages in adjacent moderate and low-energy shallow reef habitats Of Madang Lagoon, Papua New Guinea. Species richness per sample area and Shannon-Wiener diversity (H') were highest in the fossil reefs, intermediate in the life assemblages, and lowest in the death assemblages. The taxonomic composition of the fossil reefs was most similar to the combination of the life and death assemblages from the modern reefs adjacent to the two fossil reefs. Depth zonation was recorded accurately in the fossil reefs. The Madang fossil reefs represent time-averaged composites of the combined life and death assemblages as they existed at the time the reef was uplifted. Because fossil reefs include overlapping cohorts from the life and death assemblages, lagoonal facies of fossil reefs are dominated by the dominant sediment-producing taxa, which are not necessarily the most abundant in the life assemblage. Rare or slow-growing taxa accumulate more slowly than the encasing sediments and are underrepresented in fossil reef lagoons. Time-averaging dilutes the contribution of rare taxa, rather than concentrating their contribution. Consequently, fidelity indices developed for mollusks in sediments yield low values in coral reef death and fossil assemblages. Branching corals dominate lagoonal facies of fossil reefs because they are abundant, they grow and produce sediment rapidly, and most of the sediment they produce is not exported. Fossil reefs distinguished kilometer-scale variations in community structure more clearly than did the modern life assemblages. This difference implies that fossil,reefs may provide a better long-term record of community structure than modern reefs. This difference also suggests that modern kilometer-scale variation in coral reef community structure may have been reduced by anthropogenic degradation, even in the relatively unimpacted reefs of Madang Lagoon. Holocene and Pleistocene fossil reefs provide a time-integrated historical record of community composition and may be used as long-term benchmarks for comparison with modern, degraded, nearshore reefs. Comparisons between fossil reefs and degraded modern reefs display gross changes in community structure more effectively than they demonstrate local extinction of rare taxa.

Relationship between use of technology and employment rates for people with physical disabilities in Australia: Implications for education and training programmes

This study examined the impact of computer and assistive device use on the employment status and vocational modes of people with physical disabilities in Australia. A survey was distributed to people over 15 years in age with physical disabilities living in the Brisbane area. Responses were received from 82 people, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Of respondents 46 were employed, 22 were unemployed, and 12 were either students or undertaking voluntary work. Three-quarters of respondents used a computer in their occupations, while 15 used assistive devices. Using logistic regression analysis it was found that gender, education, level of computer skill and computer training were significant predictors of employment outcomes. Neither the age of respondent nor use of assistive software were significant predictors. From information obtained in this study guidelines for a training programme designed to maximize the employability of people with physical disabilities were developed.

Theoretical Underpinnings of Community-based Sentences and Custody for Young Offenders in Hong Kong

Much has been written about youth crime, justice and corrections in Hong Kong in the past three decades, in particular, about the historical roots of the youth justice system, causes of juvenile delinquency, and the outcomes of different rehabilitative programmes for young offenders. However, little is known in theory, practice and policy about how community-based and custodial sentences can achieve the goals of rehabilitation and correction for young offenders. In this paper, the author analyses the purposes of penal measures with reference to the classical theories of punishment, rather than empirical data or statistics. The author argues that a community-based sentence, in many respects, performs as or more effectively than a custodial programme in achieving the various sentencing aims.

The Role of Non-Market Valuation in Forest Management and Recreation Policy

Forests, and particularly those where native and mixed species are gown, provide a variety of non-wood values, important among which are recreation and environmental services. Substantial progress has been made in recent years in estimating economic values on these services. A considerable amount of research on forest values has been carried out recently in tropical and sub-tropical eastern Australia, some of which is reported in the following papers. The need for estimates of non-wood forest benefits is apparent, and it is clear that further development of techniques and a greater understanding of the way these values can be integrated into public-sector decision making is required.