Novel educational training program for community pharmacists

There is little evidence that workshops alone have a lasting impact on the day-to-day practice of participants. The current paper examined a strategy to increase generalization and maintenance of skills in the natural environment using pseudo-patients and immediate performance feedback to reinforce skills acquisition. A random half of pharmacies (N=30) took part in workshop training aimed at optimizing consumers' use of nonprescription analgesic products. Pharmacies in the training group also received performance feedback on their adherence to the recommended protocol. Feedback occurred immediately after a pseudo-patient visit in which confederates posed as purchasers of analgesics, and combined positive and corrective elements. Trained pharmacists were significantly more accurate at identifying people who misused the medication (P<0.001). The trained pharmacists were more likely than controls to use open-ended questions (P<0.001), assess readiness to change problematic use (P <0.001), and to deliver a brief intervention that was tailored to the person's commitment to alter his/her usage (P <0.001). Participants responded to the feedback positively. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that when workshop is combined with on-site performance feedback, it enhances practitioners' adherence to protocols in the natural setting.

Little theory, big plans : social capital and community building in Aboriginal Australia

The discourse surrounding recent Aboriginal social policy regularly refers to pragmatism and partnership. In a simpler world, we might call this ‘getting things done with Aboriginal people.’ To that extent, the discourse draws on an indisputable common sense, and it is not surprising that a variety of political agendas can be packaged within such language. While many things need to be done, the quantity and particularly the quality of social networks required to take effective policy into effective practice is something we ought to consider more carefully. This is where the concept of social capital could be useful, since it focuses attention on the social resources required to construct social policy, as well as the social resources that could be produced by effective social policy. Partnerships and pragmatism are therefore related at a most fundamental level in terms of social policy. We question whether this important conceptual bedrock has been fully explored. Hence we review here some recent ‘big plans’ for Aboriginal Australia, and ask whether the size of the theory matches the size of the plans.

The use of the Index for Inclusion in a regional educational learning community

This project utilised the materials of the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2002) to enhance the development of a learning community of educators in Education Queensland in 2009. The values, dimensions and indicators of the Index for Inclusion, were incorporated into the professional development package, On the Same Page (Education Queensland, 2008), to enhance its wider purpose to improve inclusive education practices explicit within the P-12 Curriculum Framework (Education Queensland, 2008). The incorporation of the values, dimensions and indicators of the Index enabled deeper reflection by participants about their expectations of students and their resulting teaching practices. The subsequent development of action plans assisted participants to develop “a curriculum for all” (Education Queensland, 2008, p. 9). Deeper reflection, action planning and ‘distance travelled’ in understanding of inclusive education were apparent in the comments by participants and their evaluation of the professional development package.

Creativity, culture and tourism : the case of Istanbul and London film industries

During the last decade many cities have sought to promote creativity as a driver for economic growth. They have done this by encouraging specific sectors of creative industries. This paper focuses on the film industry as one of these sectors which also has a high level of interaction with place. Film industry, has had an important role in incubating the creativity potential. It can be a powerful magnet for creative people, fostering indigenous creativity and attracting outside talent, and might thus contribute to the formation of creative cities. This recent research suggests that the film industry has positively effect on tourism by increasing place recognition through the locations used in films and for cities that host film festivals. Film festivals provide events, workshops and experiences that allow visitors to express themselves through interaction with the place and its living culture. This paper examines the importance of creative industries for both urban development and sustainable tourism. To explore the relation between creative tourism, culture and the film industry and its effect on successful tourism planning this paper presents the preliminary findings of case studies of the film industry in Beyo

More than experiential learning or volunteering : a case study of community service learning within the Australian context

Community service learning is the integration of experiential learning and community service into coursework such that community needs are met and students gain both professional skills and a sense of civic responsibility. A critical component is student reflection. This paper provides an example of the application of community service learning within an undergraduate health unit at the Queensland University of Technology. Based on survey data from 36 program participants, it demonstrates the impact of CSL on student outcomes. Results show that students benefited by developing autonomy through real world experiences, through increased self-assurance and achievement of personal growth, through gaining new insights into the operations of community service organisations and through moving towards becoming responsible citizens. Students expect their CSL experience to have long-lasting impact on their lives, with two-thirds of participants noting that they would like to continue volunteering as part of their future development.

How relevant is tourism research

One of the definitions of the term myth is ‘an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution’ (see http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myth). Before we are criticized for suggesting such an irreverent thought might apply to tourism academia, readers must recognize that organizations and industries often operate using shared collective myths (see Meyer and Rowan 1977). Institutionalized rules and processes function as myths that provide legitimacy. The question of interest in this paper is not in the context of the quality of tourism academic research output, which is addressed by other papers in this research probe section. Rather, of importance is enhancing understanding of the extent to which our collective knowledge, legitimized through publishing in peer reviewed academic publications, is proving of value to industry stakeholders, an axiom that appears to be largely unquestioned and unproven.

Reciprocity : where art meets the community : action research in response to artistic encounters and relationships

This practice-led research project examines some of the factors and issues facing artists working in the public domain who wish to engage with the community as audience. Using the methodology of action research, the three major creative projects in this study use art as a socio-political tool with the aim of providing an effective vehicle for broadening awareness, understanding forms of social protest and increasing tolerance for diversity. The three projects: Floodline November 7, 2004, Look in, Look out, and The Urban Terrorist Project, dealt with issues of marginalisation of communities, audiences and graffiti artists respectively. The artist/researcher is outlined as both creator and collaborator in the work. Processes included ephemeral elements, such as temporary installation and performance, as well as interactive elements that encouraged direct audience involvement as part of the work. In addition to the roles of creator and collaborator, both of which included audience as well as artist, the presence of an outside entity was evident. Whether local, legal authorities or prevailing attitudes, outside entities had an unavoidable impact on the processes and outcomes of the work. Each project elicited a range of responses from their respective audiences; however, the overarching concept of reciprocity was seen to be the crucial factor in conception, artistic methods and outcomes.

Australian student reactions to U.S. tourism advertising : a test of advertising as public diplomacy

A study among Australian college students gauged their reactions to a television commercial produced for the U.S. Commerce Department to bolster sagging tourism numbers among international visitors. In addition to using traditional measures applied to tourism advertisements, the student also concluded items to measure attitudes toward the U.S. government and its people Pre- and post-viewing results indicated that while the Hollywood-movie-themed commercial was not well received by the Australian students as a tourism message, it did result in more favorable attitudes toward the U.S. government, though not the U.S. people. The findings lend partial support for the potential of tourism advertising efforts to exert a "bleed-over effect" in terms of their contributions to overall attitudes toward a country, regardless of whether viewers plan to visit the country whose travel advertisements they see.

Australian student reactions to US tourism advertising : a test of advertising as public diplomacy

A study among Australian college students gauged their reactions to a television commercial produced for the US Commerce Department to bolster sagging tourism numbers among international visitors. In additional to using traditional measures applied to tourism advertisements, the study also included items to measure attitudes toward the US government and its people. Pre- and post-viewing results indicated that although the Hollywood-movie-themes commercial was not well received by the Australian students as a tourism message, it did result in more favourable attitudes toward the US government, although not the US people. The findings lend partial support for the potential of tourism advertising efforts to exert a 'bleed-over effect' in terms of their contribution to overall attitudes toward a country, regardless of whether viewers plan to visit the country whose travel advertisements of which they see.