A longitudinal study of learning for a group of indigenous Australian university students: Dissonant conceptions and strategies

Conceptions of learning and strategies used by 15 indigenous students in three Australian universities were studied longitudinally over three years. Their academic achievements were good, but at a high cost in terms of time and effort. In spite of the fact that almost half of the students expressed higher-order (qualitative) conceptions of learning in the first year and more in the second and third years, all of the students reported using highly repetitive strategies to learn. That is, they did not vary their way of learning, reading or writing in the beginning of their studies and less than half of them did so at the end of the three years. It is argued that encountering variation in ways of learning is a prerequisite for the development of powerful ways of learning and studying.

Snoring and its association with asthma in Indigenous children living in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area

Objective: Respiratory health of Indigenous and minority ethnic groups in affluent countries is poorer than their non-minority counterparts and sleep disorders are no exception. In children, obstructive sleep apnoea has the potential to result in serious long-term consequences. In 1999, we studied 1650 children and adolescents living in the Torres Strait and the Northern Peninsula Area, Australia. Here we report prevalence of snoring in these communities and relate its association with asthma symptoms. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Torres Strait region. Five indigenous communities were randomly selected and information was collected using a structured face-to-face interview based on a standardized questionnaire. There was a 98% response rate, and 1650 children, 0-17 years of age, were included in the study. Results: Overall, the prevalence of snoring was 14.2% (95% CI 12.5-15.9); 3.6% (95% CI 2.7-4.6) reported snorting, and 6% (95% CI 4.9-7.2) reported restless sleep. The prevalence of snoring was significantly higher among males (17.1% for males and 10.8 for females, P = 0.005). Children were five times more likely to have experienced snoring and snorting if they reported wheezing in the last 12 months. Conclusion: We conclude that the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep problems is relatively high in children of this region. This highlights the need for awareness among the community patients and physicians about the problem of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, especially in children with asthma, and for the need for further studies to measure prevalence of sleep breathing disorders among Indigenous Australians.

Hospital-based case-control study of bronchiectasis in indigenous children in central Australia

Background: Childhood pneumonia has been reported to be associated with the development of bronchiectasis but there are no case-control studies that have examined this. This study examined the relationship between hospital admission for episode(s) of pneumonia and the risk of radiologically proven bronchiectasis. Methods: A medical record-based case-control study of bronchiectasis in Indigenous children was conducted in Central Australia. Controls (183), matched to cases (61) by gender, age and year of diagnosis, were Indigenous children hospitalized with other conditions. Results: There was a strong association between a history of hospitalized pneumonia and bronchiectasis [odds ratio (OR), 15.2; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 4.4-52.7]. This was particularly evident in recurrent hospitalized pneumonia (P for trend < 0.01), severe pneumonia episodes with longer hospital stay (P for trend < 0.01), presence of atelectasis (OR 11.9; 95% CI 3.1-45.9) and requirement for oxygen (P for trend < 0.01). The overall number of pneumonia episodes, rather than its site, was associated with bronchiectasis. Although the total number of pneumonia episodes in the first year of life did not increase the risk of bronchiectasis, more severe episodes early in life did. Malnutrition, premature birth and being small for gestational age were more common findings among cases. Breast-feeding appeared to be a protective factor (OR 0.2; 95% CI 0.1-0.7). Conclusions: Although we cannot fully answer the question of why bronchiectasis is much more common in Indigenous children, we have provided strong evidence of an association between bronchiectasis and severe and recurrent pneumonia episodes in infancy and childhood.

Striving for a common language: A white feminist parallel to Indigenous ways of knowing and researching

In Striving Towards a Common Language I outline an innovative methodology which consists of three strands encompassing an Indigenous-centred approach based on Indigenous Self-determination (participatory action research), relationship as central to socio-cultural dynamics, and feminist phenomenology. This methodology - which I call Living On the Ground was created in direct concert with 13 Indigenous women elders who were my hosts, teachers and walytja (family) as we worked together to create a dynamic cultural revitalisation project for their community, one of Australia's most remote Aboriginal settlements. I explain the processes I went through as a White Irish-Australian woman living with the women elders and their 11 dogs in a one room tin shed for two years, and tell of how the nexus of land, Ancestors, and the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) combined with White cultural practices came to inspire a methodology which took the best from Indigenous and (White) feminist ways of knowing and of being. (c) 2005 Z. de Ishtar. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.