Program, agency and effect sustainability in health promotion

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Achieving sustainability is often considered a key objective of health promotion efforts despite a lack of consensus as to what sustainability is.

MATERIAL: A review of the international health promotion literature was conducted to identify understandings of sustainability in health promotion.

RESULTS:Three distinct understandings of sustainability in respect of programs, health promotion agencies and program effects were identified.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite a strong emphasis on program sustainability in the health promotion field, clear criteria for why programs should be continued is required rather than assuming that it is the best option. Arguably more important than the maintenance of either programs or the agencies which support them is the ability to produce sustainable program effects.

Exploratory economic analyses of two primary care mental health projects : implications for sustainability

We evaluated an Internet-based psychological intervention supported by either general practitioners or psychologists (Panic Online), and a Primary-care Evidence-based Psychological-interventions (PEP) strategy which involves training GPs to deliver specific psychological interventions.

Economic modelling suggests that Panic Online is cost-effective when supported by either GPs or psychologists.

Threshold analysis of the psychological training of GPs suggests that a modest effect size for clinical benefit would be sufficient to provide an acceptable cost-effectiveness ratio.

The sustainability of these approaches depends on a range of factors, including funding, workforce availability, and acceptability to consumers and health care providers.

Economic growth and sustainability - an empirical study of the Thai development experience

Increasing economic growth has long been the dominant position within the public policies of all South East Asian countries. More recently, a new issue, sustainability, has emerged within development economic literature, which has significant implications for the continual pursuit of economic growth. Sustainability is concerned with ensuring the current generation meets their present needs without threatening future generations' ability to do likewise. This ability is dependent on a healthy and functioning socio-economic environmental (SEE) system. Economic growth can damage the SEE-system, though, through resource degradation, over-harvesting and pollution. Therefore, achieving economic growth and sustainability simultaneously may not be possible. This paper discusses these tensions between economic growth and sustainability by undertaking a number of SEE-based adjustments to GDP in order to measure sustainability. Thailand is used as a case study for a 25 year period, 1975-1999. The adjustments include the environmental costs caused by economic growth such as noise pollution, water pollution, the depletion of non-renewable resources, and deforestation. The results show a stark difference in terms of GDP per capita and the SEE-adjusted GDP per capita figure. The paper concludes that with increasing environmental costs of economic growth, pursuing high growth objectives without considerations to the environment threatens sustainability

Environmental reporting initiatives: towards triple-bottom line reporting or the intergration of financial and environmental performance

This objective of this study was to investigate the quantity and quality of voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual reports of the top 500 firms listed by market capitalisation on the Australian Stock Exchange. The periods examined were those immediately prior and subsequent to the release of the Exposure Draft Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics (CERES) Global Reporting Initiatives(GRI) issued in March 1999. Using content analysis to focus on the environmental aspects, and drawing heavily on the research of Gamble et al (1995), the study compared 425 annual reports over a two year period and 60 environmental reports, in order to explore reporting practices in the periods surrounding this intervention. The results suggest a trend to triple bottom reporting, and a significant change in the quality and quantity of environmental information, albeit in specific categories.

'Green' treatment of acid mine drainage - a step towards sustainability

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the mining and mineral processing industries and must incorporate the associated waste products. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one such by-product and is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the minerals industry today. The oxidation of sulphidic mine wastes often continues for a substantial period of time after mine closure, resulting in difficult and costly remediation and rehabilitation works. Mining companies are often reluctant to spend increasing amounts of money on waste treatment when the mine life is limited or even finished. Hence a simple, low maintenance and low-cost method of treating AMD is required. Whilst this paper does not address the issue of AMD, it does propose methods for removal of individual species from AMD with potential benefits, including raising AMD pH.

A novel concept of using biosolids as a biological adsorbent, or ‘biosorbent’, of metals from AMD is being investigated at a laboratory/pilot scale level. Biosolids are a by-product resulting from the biological treatment of wastewater, and have been previously shown to adsorb metals from aqueous solutions. This could lead to an environmentally sustainable or ‘green’ method for treating both AMD discharges and disposing/reusing the biosolids.

The result of a laboratory-scale study of the biosorption of Zn(II) is presented in this paper. Physical parameters including reaction kinetics, mixing speed and solution pH were investigated. Solution pH also rose an average of 2 pH units over the 24 hour equilibrium time – a valuable side effect when treating acid mine drainage. The outcome of the study highlights the usefulness of biosolids as a biosorbent for the removal/recovery of metal ions from acid mine drainage. A simple, low-cost treatment technology requiring low maintenance would be beneficial to the mining industry to address some issues relating to AMD and would help integrate environmental and economic considerations into sustainable environmental management.

Multiple criteria sustainability modelling

This paper describes the research supported by a recent AIQS research grant to develop a computer-based tool for sustainability modeling using multiple criteria. The model enables a sustainability index with an accept/reject threshold of one that has the potential to completely replace traditional net present value methods. Minimum performance benchmarks are prescribed and must be observed - often by trading off performance across the full criteria set. Sustainability is shown to be capable of objective (numeric) analysis for new projects, existing facilities, or indeed any product or asset. A combination of investor-centred and community-centred motivations can also be explored in the model. Known as SINDEX, the tool has industry-wide application, both locally and abroad, and represents a paradigm shift in project evaluation techniques. Furthermore, its multi-discipline considerations underscore the importance of a team approach to sustainability modeling and the need for people to work more closely together when dealing with complex problems

The 6 by the power of 3 model for enhancing academic teachers' capacities for effective online teaching and learning: benefits, initiatives and future directions

To gain the full educational benefits of the major new investments in corporate technologies supporting online teaching and learning it is argued that a strategic, systems based approach of academic professional development (APD) is required. Such an approach requires a clear view of the key areas of potential and enduring teaching and learning benefit which can be realised from online developments, including an understanding of the changing role of the academic teacher in higher education, the identification of the desired professional capacities to educate online and the implementation of a number of coordinated initiatives to develop these professional capacities in order to engage constructively with the learning and technology opportunities. Based on previous work, we propose a '6' by the power of '3' model of Academic Professional Capacities Development for effective APD of online teaching and learning. The model can help inform the actions of policy makers, executives and practitioners in ways that promote an authentic learning organisation.

Exploring the career experiences of indigenous teachers : beyond policy and resource initiatives

In this paper we provide a contextualising account of a new four-year ARC study, Indigenous Teachers: Understanding their Professional Pathways and Career Experiences . The project has grown from our concerns about the low numbers of Indigenous teachers in schools and questions about why it is that of the few Indigenous teacher education students who graduate, many resign from teaching after short periods of time or never take up teaching positions at all.

We believe that one of the reasons for the under representation of Indigenous teachers is due to what we are calling the ‘impenetrability’ of the dominant white culture of schooling, a racial imaginary that portrays the ‘naturalness’ of whiteness. Such an imaginary informs the everyday practices and relations of social power of Australian schooling from curriculum policy to the organisation of the school sports. Our research project is concerned, in part with making visible the discourses of whiteness that shape the experiences and career pathways of Indigenous teachers. In this paper we draw on excerpts of data from interviews with Indigenous teachers in order to begin to understand how discourses of whiteness have shaped their teaching and professional experiences.

Follow your heart and something will come : subjective factors in the sustainability of early to mid career contemporary dance artists

This project comes out of a desire to investigate the subjective factors that influence how and why people become and stay dance artists. When dance artists in Australia earn, on average, $27,000 per year, and only $16,700 of that income is dance-related, according to David Throsby’s (2003) recent study for the Australia Council, one has to start to think that maybe sustainability, that is, artists’ ability and willingness to stay within the industry, is not solely governed by economic factors. One has to also start to think that subjective factors, things to do with the value, satisfaction and quality of life dance artists get from what they do, might be as significant, if not more significant, drivers of sustainability than pure economics.

Renewable energy and sustainability - an evaluation

Renewable energy advocates often invoke the goal of sustainability in order to promote their cause. Most people agree that the energy supply for a sustainable world should be based on safe, clean and renewable forms of energy. However, sustainability is a much over-used word to the point where it has become almost meaningless. This paper argues that we need to reaffirm the meaning of sustainability and use its defining principles to guide our advocacy and practice. If we ignore these principles, we run the danger of generating unrealistic expectations and mistrust, and becoming involved in practice that is questionable from a sustainability perspective. On the other hand, if we use the principles of sustainability to guide our practice and advocacy, our goals will be more achievable, our credibility will increase and our practice will become more ethical. This paper uses one model of sustainability to evaluate examples of renewable energy advocacy and practice.

Architecture, ethics and sustainability - an exploration

Globally we are grappling with the concept of sustainability. What does it mean and how should we respond to ensure that the planet and its ecosystems survive? While the problem of living in a sustainable way must be addressed by all sectors of society, architects are arguably in the 'front line' because of the impact of buildings in terms of resource use and waste generation. Most definitions of sustainability are unhelpful because of their wordiness, lack of detail or ambiguity. Others distort the concept of sustainability to allow business-as-usual (i.e. unsustainable) activity to continue. Using one particular model of sustainability, this paper explores the apparent contradictions between architectural practice in the residential sector, 'sustainable' housing and the desire to behave ethically. The paper begins with definitions of sustainability and ethics, together with some guiding principles. The literature examining the ethics of sustainable architecture is then reviewed. Two indicators are suggested to make a broad-brush assessment of sustainability. Current practice in Australian residential architectural design, both mainstream and 'green', is then critiqued against these indicators. Finally, some practical options for a practising architect faced with a client, who wants an 'unsustainable' house, are briefly explored.