The impact of a parenting intervention in Australia among migrants and refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, and Burundi : results from the African migrant parenting program

African migrants and refugee families who resettle in high-income countries such as Australia face many challenges. Negotiating parenting in a new culture is one of the most pressing challenges that is faced by most African migrant and refugee parents. As a consequence of the new cultural environment reflecting values and practices that may seem inconsistent with traditional parenting from countries of origin, differing acculturation rates of parents as compared to their children may lead to difficulties and challenges. An eight-session parenting program for African migrant and refugee parents living in Melbourne was evaluated. Thirty-nine families participated in the program, which involved pre-test and post-test measures of parenting domains, using the Bavolek and Keene (1999) revised Adult–Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2). Exposure to the program was related to positive changes in parental expectations of children, attitudes towards corporal punishment, and restriction of children’s access to food. The program facilitated positive change in almost all parenting domains. In light of these findings, recommendations are made for policy and future programs.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among African migrant and refugee adults in Melbourne

Migration to industrialised countries poses a “double whammy” for type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African migrant and refugee adults. This population group has been found to be at an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which may be further aggravated by inadequate vitamin D status. Thus, this study aimed to describe the demographics of vitamin D insufficiency, obesity, and risk factors for type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees aged 20 years or older living in Melbourne, Australia (n=49). Data were obtained by a questionnaire, medical assessment, and fasting blood samples. The mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 27.3 nmol/L (95% CI: 22.2, 32.4 nmol/L); with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/L occurring in 88% of participants. Participants displayed a cluster of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: 62% were overweight or obese, 47% had insulin resistance (HOMA-IR ≥2), 25% had low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≥3.5 mmol/L, 24.5% had high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≤1.03 mmol/L, 34.6% had borderline or high levels of total cholesterol (≥5.2 mmol/L), 18.2% had borderline or high levels of triglyceride (≥1.7 mmol/L), and 16% had hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg). These findings suggest that sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees may be at risk of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis-related diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Well-designed vitamin D interventions that incorporate lifestyle changes are urgently needed in this sub-population.

Simulating crowd phenomena in African markets

Crowd simulation is an important feature in the computer graphics field. Typical implementations simulate battle scenes, emergency situations, safety issues or add content to virtual environments. The problem stated in this paper falls in the last category. We present a crowd simulation behavioural model which allows us to simulate identified phenomena in popular local African markets such as narrow street flows and crowd formation around street performances. We propose a three-tier architecture model enable to produce intentions, perform path planning and control movement. We demonstrate that this approach produces the desired behaviour associated with crowds in an African market, which includes navigation, flow formation and circle creation.

Duplicating road patterns in South African informal settlements using procedural techniques

The formation of informal settlements in and around urban complexes has largely been ignored in the context of procedural city modeling. However, many cities in South Africa and globally can attest to the presence of such settlements. This paper analyses the phenomenon of informal settlements from a procedural modeling perspective. Aerial photography from two South African urban complexes, namely Johannesburg and Cape Town is used as a basis for the extraction of various features that distinguish different types of settlements. In particular, the road patterns which have formed within such settlements are analysed, and various procedural techniques proposed (including Voronoi diagrams, subdivision and L-systems) to replicate the identified features. A qualitative assessment of the procedural techniques is provided, and the most suitable combination of techniques identified for unstructured and structured settlements. In particular it is found that a combination of Voronoi diagrams and subdivision provides the closest match to unstructured informal settlements. A combination of L-systems, Voronoi diagrams and subdivision is found to produce the closest pattern to a structured informal settlement.

Cultural diversity in Australia : promoting the teaching and learning of South African music

Australian society is increasingly multicultural, and this article provides some theoretical perspectives on multiculturalism, cultural diversity and the teaching and learning of African music. It identifies the need for teachers, practitioners and artists to jointly work together to create a community of practitioners where pedagogy meets practice. Through reflection and interview data of an artist in schools, a primary music specialist and a tertiary music educator, the 'how' and 'why' about teaching South African music and culture is discussed through pedagogy. Whilst this article discusses a particular culture and music, it has implications for education within a wider sphere and calls for further investigation when using different music from diverse cultures.

Intergenerational differences in food, physical activity, and body size perceptions among African migrants

We assessed intergenerational differences in food, physical activity, and body size perceptions among refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa living in Victoria, Australia. We used a qualitative design and obtained data from 48 participants (18 individual interviews; 3 semistructured focus groups). Three major themes emerged: (a) food and physical activity, (b) preference of body size and social expectations, and (c) perceived consequences of various body sizes. For parents, large body size was perceived to equate with being beautiful and wealthy; slimness was associated with chronic illness and poverty. Parents adopted strategies that promoted weight gain in children. These included tailored food practices and restricting children’s involvement in physical activity. For young people, slimness was the ideal body size endorsed by their peers, and they adopted strategies to resist parental pressure to gain weight. Obesity-prevention programs in this subpopulation need to adopt a multigenerational approach.

Aspects of parenting and family functioning associated with obesity in adolescent refugees and migrants from African backgrounds living in Australia

Objective: To investigate the relationship between parenting style and family functioning, and BMI, among adolescent migrants and refugees from African countries.

Method: A total of 104 parents and their adolescent offspring completed questionnaires assessing the variables of interest, and anthropometric data were collected from them.

Results: Parents reported higher maternal involvement, lower levels of paternal involvement, higher levels of positive parenting, greater use of ‘other’ (non-corporal) discipline styles, greater satisfaction and better communication than did their offspring. Parents also reported greater family cohesion and flexibility than adolescents, and saw their families as more enmeshed and more rigid. Parenting style and family functioning were not strong predictors of BMI according to either report. For adolescents, inconsistent discipline and lack of parental supervision accounted for significant variance in BMI.

Conclusions: Inconsistent discipline and lack of parental supervision may be related to adolescent BMI. Further studies with larger samples are required to confirm these relationships with the view to informing obesity prevention programs for this target population.

Implications: Prevention or intervention programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity need to consider parenting style in their design.

Understanding pentecostal motivations for undertaking community development in South East Asia : evidence of an expanded understanding of holistic mission

A shift has been observed in the activities of by Western-based, pentecostal mission organisations in mainland South East Asia. Where once these mission organisations avoided formal community development programs as a distraction to their understanding of mission, the funding for and implementation of such programs has increased dramatically in recent times. This shift in focus is best understood by considering motivations and changing pentecostal perceptions of mission. The research is based on new primary data collected through interviews with long-term and senior pentecostal mission practitioners engaging in development projects in mainland South East Asia. It explores their motivations for engaging in community development, and in particular the extent to which community development programs are seen as a strategy for proselytisation as compared the extent to which they are conducted out of other humanitarian motivations. Analysis of this data challenges preconceived notions of proselytisation being the primary motive of pentecostal mission agencies, and demonstrates a more holistic idea of mission.