The professionalisation of Australian women's cricket: new times and new opportunities

When the Australian Women’s Cricket Team defeated the West Indies in 2013, to win their 5th World Cup from eight attempts, they reaffirmed their status as one of Australia’s most successful international teams. Victory in the 2015 Ashes series, in England, further reinforced their pre-eminent world status. During this time, significant changes also occurred off the field. Cricket Australia introduced pay increases of up to 150% for international and state level players. The sustained success of the national team is attributed to the rapid growth of participation in women’s cricket (up 18% 2013 - 2014), a trend that has resulted in females making up almost 25% of all cricket participants across Australia. On face value, the burgeoning profile of women’s cricket across Australia is cause for celebration. It is against this backdrop that Cricket Australia faces a range of enduring and emerging issues in the provision and promotion of the women’s game. With so many changes and adaptations occurring across the game, we chose to limit the focus of this research to the elite level. Among the enduring issues that are understood at this level are persistently high attrition rates amongst elite and aspiring players and large age differences across teams and squads. A further point of difference in the men’s and women’s games is that female teams are largely supervised by male coaches and support staff.

Students' understandings of religious identities and relations: issues of social cohesion and citizenship

The focus in this article is on issues of social cohesion and citizenship as they relate to students' understandings of religion and religious identity. The article draws on data gathered from a study conducted at a highly diverse English comprehensive school and is set amid broader anxieties about religion, community disharmony and national identity in the United Kingdom. The high levels of religious diversity at the school were seen as supporting social cohesion - enabled in this context through students' understandings of religion and religious identities as socially contingent and supportive of a sense of agency. These understandings are aligned with a sophisticated and inclusive citizenship - one that is productive of democratic alliances and political agency and necessary in disrupting the narrow and problematic understandings of religion that can lead to social disharmony and conflict.

Cultural, religious and political contestations: the multicultural challenge

This book examines the foundations of multiculturalism in the context of émigré societies and from a multi-dimensional perspective. The work considers the politics of multiculturalism and focuses on how the discourse of cultural rights and intercultural relations in western societies can and should be accounted for at a philosophical, as well as performative level. Theoretical perspectives on current debates about cultural diversity, religious minorities and minority rights emerge in this volume. The book draws our attention to the polarised nature of contemporary multicultural debates through a well-synthesised series of empirical case studies that are grounded in solid epistemological foundations and contributed by leading experts from around the world. Readers will discover a fresh re-examination of prominent multicultural settings such as Canada and Australia but also an emphasis on less examined case studies among multicultural societies, as with New Zealand and Italy. Authors engage critically and innovatively with the various ethical challenges and policy dilemmas surrounding the management of cultural and religious diversity in our contemporary societies. Comparative perspectives and a focus on core questions related to multiculturalism, not only at the level of practice but also from historical and philosophical perspectives, tie these chapters from different disciplines together. This work will appeal to a multi-disciplinary audience, including scholars of political philosophy, sociology, religious studies and those with an interest in migration, culture and religion in contemporary societies.

"My midwife said that having a glass of red wine was actually better for the baby": a focus group study of women and their partner's knowledge and experiences relating to alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: While it is well established that alcohol can cross the placenta to the foetus and can affect an infant's development, many women continue to drink during pregnancy. For this reason it is important to determine what information is being provided, what information may be missing, and the preferred sources of information on this issue. In order to improve prevention strategies, we sought to understand the knowledge and experiences of pregnant women and their partners regarding the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. METHODS: The current study utilised a qualitative study design in order to gain insight into the views and experiences of pregnant women, newly delivered mothers and their partners. Focus groups examined the participant's knowledge about the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the sources of information on this issue, and the psycho-social influences on their drinking behaviour. Five focus groups were conducted involving a total of 21 participants (17 female). A six-stage thematic analysis framework was used to analyse all focus group discussions in a systematic way. RESULTS: Seven major themes were identified from the focus group data: 1) knowledge of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; 2) message content and sources; 3) healthcare system; 4) society and culture; 5) partner role; 6) evaluation of risk; and 7) motivation. The findings indicated that although the majority of participants knew not to drink alcohol in pregnancy they had limited information on the specific harmful effects. In addition, routine enquiry and the provision of information by health care professionals were seen as lacking. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this research provide important insights in to the relationship between pregnant women, their partners, and their healthcare providers. Several recommendations can be made on the basis of these findings. Firstly, public health messages and educational materials need to provide clear and consistent information about the effects of alcohol consumption on the developing baby. Additionally, more thorough and consistent routine enquiry for alcohol consumption in pregnant women needs to occur. Finally, it is important to ensure ongoing education for health professionals on the issue of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.