Ethnic aged discrimination and disparities in health and social care : a question of social justice

Older overseas-born Australians of diverse cultural and language backgrounds experience significant disparities in their health and social care needs and support systems. Despite being identified as a 'special needs' group, the ethnic aged in Australia are generally underserved by local health and social care services, experience unequal burdens of disease and encounter cultural and language barriers to accessing appropriate health and social care compared to the average Australian-born population. While a range of causes have been suggested to explain these disparities, rarely has the possibility of cultural racism been considered. In this article, it is suggested that cultural racism be named as a possible cause of ethnic aged disparities and disadvantage in health and social care. It is further suggested that unless cultural racism is named as a structural mechanism by which ethnic aged disparities in health and social care have been created and maintained, redressing them will remain difficult.

Climate change and social inclusion: opportunities for justice and empowerment

...the greatest untapped resource at our disposal lies in the disadvantaged Australians living in our most excluded communities. (Nicholson 2007 p. 4)

The commons are where justice and sustainability converge, where ecology and equity meet. (Shiva 2005 p. 50)

Since 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recognised human induced climate change to be primarily a result of burning fossil fuels and land clearing (Lee 2007). Changes to the world's climate patterns have been occurring for decades, but only in recent times has climate change arrived in our collective conscious. An onslaught of extreme weather events, destruction and failure of crops, increasing levels of water restrictions, government announcement of desalination plants. proposed increase in prices for utilities such as power and water - have ushered climate change into the Australian lexicon.

The challenges for all of us are many and varied and perhaps even unimaginable. as many propose a global reduction in annual C02 emissions of between 60-80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050.

We are not talking just about the re-construction of our world, but about its re-invention. Ryan (2007)

How will climate change affect us? Who is most vulnerable? What will be the features of policies and strategies to combat climate change that ensure an equitable and just response across our entire society? Are our present social-cultural justice paradigms of social exclusion and inclusion adequate in addressing the impending health consequences that are likely to result from climate change, and in supporting an equitable. harmonious and fruitful life for all population groups in the future?

This paper, written in the spirit of solution-oriented research. focusing on the causes of positive health rather than the causes of disease and other problems (Robinson & Sirard 2005). explores the possibility of a paradigm shift which imagines the social inclusion of specific population groups, not as an appended extra, but integral to the design of an equitable, sustainable low carbon society of the future.

Anti-apathy approaches in representative democracies: e-governance and web 2.0-facilitating citizen involvement?

Apathetic citizens disenchanted with conventional channels of participation in democratic processes are a predicament for mature representative democracies, as it reflects in the depleting voter turnouts in elections and participation in community associations. Recognising the reverberations of this apathy on governance, economies ostensibly search for anti apathy approaches. Recently E-governance using the pervasive power of the internet/Web 2.0, during the election has been instrumental for democratic engagement. We considered Australia and France, applying a historiographical view exploring the pre-election scenarios, attempting to evaluate the use of the Internet/Web 2.0 as valid benchmarking anti-apathy approaches of e-governance, to facilitate citizen participation.

Prevalence and correlates of three types of pelvic pain in a nationally representative sample of Australian women

Objective:
To identify the prevalence and correlates of three types of pelvic pain (dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia, and other chronic pelvic pain [CPP]) in a nationally representative sample of Australian women.

Design and setting:
The CPP survey was part of a broader national study of health and relationships. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were administered to a random sample of 8656 Australian households; 4366 women aged between 16 and 64 years were interviewed in 2004 and 2005. Eighteen of the more than 200 potential survey questions related to pelvic pain.

Main outcome measures:
Self-reports of dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia, and any other CPP not associated with sexual intercourse or menstruation.

Results:
Data on 1983 women aged 16–49 years who were still menstruating and sexually active were analysed. Prevalences were 71.7% for dysmenorrhoea, 14.1% for dyspareunia and 21.5% for other CPP; 23.3% of women reported no pelvic pain of any kind. Severe pain was reported by 15.0% (95% CI, 13.0%–17.1%) of women with dysmenorrhoea, 7.8% (95% CI, 5.0%–11.9%) of women with dyspareunia and 20.0% (95% CI, 16.1%–24.6%) of women with other CPP. Just over a third (34.2%) of women who reported any pain had sought advice from a health professional. Women reporting CPP were also likely to report other health conditions, most notably depression and anxiety. There were clear associations between CPP and sexual difficulties, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes.

Conclusions:
Rates of pelvic pain in Australian women are high. General practitioners need to be ready to discuss these issues with patients, particularly in relation to underlying anxiety and depression.

Prevalence and correlates of three types of pelvic pain in a nationally representative sample of Australian men

Introduction: Recent international prevalence studies of pelvic pain in men have estimates ranging between 2% and 10%. These studies conclude that it is an important international health problem.

Aims: The aims of this study were to establish the first population-based study of pelvic pain in Australian men, and identify correlates with men's sexual and reproductive histories and other health conditions.

Methods: A representative household sample of 4,290 Australian men aged 16–64 years completed a computer-assisted telephone interview. They were asked about their experiences of pain in the pelvic region during the past 12 months.

Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of correlates of pain associated with sexual intercourse, pain associated with urination, and pelvic pain not associated with intercourse or urination.

Results: Five percent of men reported pain during urination, 5% reported pain related to sexual intercourse, and 12% of men reported other chronic pelvic pain. There was little overlap in reporting any of the three types of pelvic pain, with 18% of men reporting some form of pelvic pain. Men reporting any of the pain conditions were significantly more likely than other men to report a sexual experience when they had felt forced or frightened. Men reporting pain during intercourse and/or chronic pelvic pain were significantly more likely than other men to report same sex experience. All three groups of men with pelvic pain were more likely than other men to report some form of sexual difficulties. A report of ever receiving a diagnosis of depression or a report of anxiety was significantly associated with all forms of pelvic pain.

Conclusions: More than one man in six report having some form of pelvic pain in the past 12 months. It is likely that men would benefit from a discussion about possible symptoms during consultations with their physicians.

Quality of internal control procedures : antecedents and moderating effect on organisational justice and employee fraud

Purpose – This study aims to bring together theoretical concepts from the organizational justice, internal control and fraud literature to develop two distinct models relating to employee fraud and the quality of internal control procedures (ICP), respectively.

Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 64 Australian firms were used to develop the two models. The first model was tested using a logistic regression analysis, and the second model was tested using a multiple regression analysis.

Findings – The first model reveals that the quality of ICP has a moderating effect on the relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and employee fraud. The second model indicates that ICP quality is significantly and positively related to three key organizational factors: the corporate ethical environment, the extent of risk management training of staff, and the internal audit (IA) activity level.

Practical implications – Risk management strategies relating to employee fraud will need to pay greater attention to organizational factors that affect both perceptions of justice at the workplace and ICP quality, including fostering a more ethical and equitable work environment, increasing IA activities and staff training in risk management.

Originality/value – Using the fraud triangle framework, this study extends previous literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of organizational justice and ICP regarding employee fraud.

Promoting health at work : the relevance of organizational justice

Research focusing on the relationship between organizational justice and health suggests that perceptions of fairness can make significant contributions to employee wellbeing. However studies examining the justice health relationship are only just emerging and there are several areas where further research is required, in particular, the uniqueness of the contributions made by justice and the extent to which the health effects can be explained by linear, non-linear and/or interactional models. The primary aim of the current study was to determine the main, curvilinear and interactive effects of job characteristics and organizational justice perceptions on psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. Job characteristics were measured using the Demand-Control Support (DCS) model (Karasek & Theorell, 1990), while Colquitt's (2001) four justice dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational) were used to assess organizational justice. Hierarchical regression analyses found that in relation to psychological wellbeing, perceptions of justice did not add to the explanatory power of the DCS model. In contrast, organizational justice did account for unique variance in job satisfaction, the second measure of employee wellbeing. The results supported direct linear relationships between the psychosocial working conditions and the outcome measures. The implications of the results of this study, especially in terms of how working conditions should be managed in order to promote health, are discussed. Notably, the findings from the current study indicate that in addition to traditional job stressors, health promotion strategies should focus on perceptions of organizational justice and their relationships with health.

Promoting employee wellbeing : the relevance of work characteristics and organizational justice

Research focusing on the relationship between organizational justice and health suggests that perceptions of fairness can make significant contributions to employee wellbeing. However, studies examining the justice–health relationship are only just emerging and there are several areas where further research is required, in particular, the uniqueness of the contributions made by justice and the extent to which the health effects can be explained by linear, non-linear and/or interaction models. The primary aim of the current study was to determine the main, curvilinear and interaction effects of work characteristics and organizational justice perceptions on employee wellbeing (as measured by psychological health and job satisfaction). Work characteristics were measured using the demand–control–support (DCS) model (Karasek and Theorell, 1990) and Colquitt's (2001) four justice dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational) assessed organizational justice (Colquitt, 2001). Hierarchical regression analyses found that in relation to psychological health, perceptions of justice added little to the explanatory power of the DCS model. In contrast, organizational justice did account for unique variance in job satisfaction, the second measure of employee wellbeing. The results supported linear relationships between the psychosocial working conditions and the outcome measures. A significant two-way interaction effect (control x support at work) was found for the psychological health outcome and the procedural justice by distributive justice interaction was significant for the job satisfaction outcome. Notably, the findings indicate that in addition to traditional job stressors, health promotion strategies should also address organizational justice.