Exploring cultural, social and psychosocial influences on women's drinking across the life span

Background Changing trends in women's alcohol consumption have demonstrated that women, in both younger and older cohorts, are drinking at increased levels than previously. However, little research investigates these changing trends or the influences behind them. Aims The current research aims to identify influences on women's drinking across a range of age groups, with a focus on multiple level influences (i.e. cultural, social and psychosocial). Methods One hour semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted, in 2011, with 35 women (aged 18-55) residing in Australia. Interview development was guided by an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model of Development (BBMD) to assess multiple areas of influences from cultural through to psychosocial. Results Interview findings highlighted the existence of multiple levels of influence on women’s drinking and thus provided support for the BBMD framework. Cultural influences identified related to gender roles and national identity. Exosystem influences (e.g. legislation, infrastructure, and media) and Microsystem influences (e.g. immediate social networks) were also identified. A range of psychosocial factors, such as identity, normative influence and attitude were also found as influencing drinking behaviours. Finally, changes across a woman’s life span, and intergenerational differences, were Chronosystem constructs that also emerged as key influences. Discussion and conclusions This study has provided an in-depth understanding into the key factors, occurring across multiple levels of influence, impacting upon women's drinking across younger and older cohorts. The findings also highlight changes in alcohol-related attitudes and behaviours across a life span and across generations. Future research should extend upon these findings based on larger, quantitative studies based on representative samples. The findings do provide key insights into the influences that need to be addressed within targeted interventions.

“Which child left behind” : historical issues regarding equity in science assessment

Assessment of learning plays a dominant role in formal education in the forms of determining features of curriculum that are emphasized, pedagogic methods that teachers use with their students, and parents’ and employers’ understanding of how well students have performed. A common perception is that fair assessment applies the same mode of assessment and content focus for all students—the approach of assessments in international comparative studies of science achievement. This article examines research evidence demonstrating that the act of assessment is not neutral—different forms of assessment advantage or disadvantage groups of students on the basis of family backgrounds, gender, race, or disability. Assessment that implicitly or explicitly captures the social capital of the child serves to consolidate, not address, educational equity. The article provides an overview of ways that science curriculum focus and assessment can introduce bias in the identification of student achievement. It examines the effect of changes to curriculum and assessment approaches in science, and relationships between assessment of science and the cultural context of the student. Recommendations are provided for science–assessment research to address bias for different groups of students.

Pleasures, perversities, and partnerships : the historical emergence of LGBT-police relationships

Relationships between LGBT people and police have been turbulent for some time now, and have been variously characterized as supportive (McGhee, 2004) and antagonistic (Radford, Betts, & Ostermeyer, 2006). These relationships were, and continue to be, influenced by a range of political, legal, cultural, and social factors. This chapter will examine historical and social science accounts of LGBT-police histories to chart the historical peaks and troughs in these relationships. The discussion demonstrates how, in Western contexts, we oscillate between historical moments of police criminalizing homosexual perversity and contemporary landscapes of partnership between police and LGBT people. However, the chapter challenges the notion that it is possible to trace this as a lineal progression from a painful past to a more productive present. Rather, it focuses on specific moments, marked by pain or pleasure or both, and how these moments emerge and re-emerge in ways that shaped LGBT-police landscapes in potted, uneven ways. The chapter concludes noting how, although certain ideas and police practices may shift towards more progressive notions of partnership policing, we cannot just take away the history that emerged out of mistrust and pain.

Grand tours in the glare of the sun : harnessing digital media to develop cultural tourism in Queensland, Australia

It has been well established that highlighting the cultural attributes of a region through stories of place, local histories, and the creative arts boosts tourism income to a region. Cultural tourism also serves to promote the creative industries to visitors and residents alike and, by enhancing a region’s cultural identity, fosters new opportunities for the arts. It can therefore offer considerable potential benefit to the creative economy in Australia. However, in comparison with Europe, where cultural tourism can rely upon an established historical, artistic and literary cultural identity that stretches back to Grand Tours of the seventeenth century, in Queensland, Australia the relatively new enterprise of cultural tourism must compete with visitor expectations of sun, surf and the natural landscapes, which have become the mainstay of tourism advertising. Moreover, in Queensland, it is essential to connect vast distances, diverse communities and a variety of cultural experiences. We must also take account of the expectations of contemporary tourists, who anticipate a digitally mediated travel experience and increasingly seek to connect with local communities in authentic ways. In this paper we consider the unique considerations that must be taken into account in the Queensland context and propose approaches to developing an integrated identity that embraces both the ‘great outdoors’ and the region’s cultural attributes. We make recommendations for providing the types of digitally mediated ‘local’ experiences that cultural tourists now expect, and illustrate the design principles we propose through early, tentative approaches to smart phones, locative media and augmented reality applications for cultural tourism in the region. We conclude by proposing additional ways to formulate a digital strategy in line with the recommendations we make.

Postcards from somewhere : ‘marginal’ cultural production, creativity and community

This paper focuses on a case study of local postcard production in a rural community in Western Australia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with key producers of these postcards, the analysis presented explores perceptions of and contexts for the emergence of this production, in turn examining the notion of ‘creativity’ articulated and privileged by this cultural work. Connections are identified between the making of postcards, the broader historical field of local cultural work and the construction of community. This, in turn, forms the basis for consideration of the role and relativity of ‘marginality’.

Indigenous Australian women and work : an historical context

The aim of this on-going research is to interrogate the era of colonialism in Australia (1896-1966) and the denial of paid employment of Aboriginal women. The 1897 Aborigines Protection and the Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act witnessed thousands of Aboriginal people placed on Government run reserves and missions. This resulted in all aspects of their lives being controlled through state mechanisms. Under various Acts of Parliament, Aboriginal women were sent to privately owned properties to be utilised as ‘domestic servants’ through a system of forced indentured labour, which continued until the 1970’s. This paper discusses the hidden histories of these women through the use of primary sources documents including records from the Australian Department of Native Affairs and Department of Home and Health. This social history research reveals that the practice of removing Aboriginal women from their families at the age of 12 or 13 and to white families was more common practice than not. These women were often: not paid, worked up to 15 hour days, not allowed leave and subjected to many forms of abuse. Wages that were meant to be paid were re-directed to other others, including the Government. Whilst the retrieval of these ‘stolen wages’ is now an on-going issue resulting in the Queensland Government in 2002 offering AUS $2,000 to $4,000 in compensation for a lifetime of work, Aboriginal women were also asked to waive their legal right to further compensation. There are few documented histories of these Aboriginal women as told through the archives. This hidden Aboriginal Australian women’s history needs to be revealed to better understand the experiences and depth of misappropriation of Aboriginal women as domestic workers. In doing so, it also reveals a more accurate reflection of women’s work in Australia.

The contribution of sport and performance psychology to coaching

The role of the sport and performance psychologists offers an historical base to many of the conceptualizations, strategies and tools currently utilized by coaches and coaching psychologists. The world of elite sport and performance offers little room for negativity, little tolerance for cognitions, emotions and behaviours that are less than optimal; in an environment that sets high expectation, makes obvious comparisons and is driven by competition; all within inflexible timelines and with harsh consequences for those that don’t make the grade. From this context the presenters will reflect on their development, challenges and expertise; offering ideas and tools that translate into the coaching arena.

The psychology of containment : mis/representing emotional and behavioural difficulties in Australian schools

The number of students in special schools has increased at a rapid rate in some Australian states, due in part to increased enrolment under the categories of emotional disturbance (ED) and behaviour disorder (BD). Nonetheless, diagnostic distinctions between ED and BD are unclear. Moreover, despite international findings that students with particular backgrounds are over-represented in special schools, little is known about the backgrounds of students entering such settings in Australia. This study examined the government school enrolment data from New South Wales, the most populous of the Australian states. Linear and quadratic trends were used to describe the numbers and ages of students enrolled in special schools in the ED and BD categories. Changes between 1997 and 2007 were observed. Results showed an over-representation of boys that increased across the decade and a different pattern across age for boys and girls. Consistent with international findings, these results indicate that trends in special school placements are unrelated to disability prevalence in the population. Rather, it is suggested that schools act to preserve time and resources for others by removing their more challenging students: most typically, boys.

Current status and future trends of school counseling in Australia

School counselling in Australia is presently in a state of flux and adaptation. Within this period of change and adjustment, three key points are acknowledged. First structural and organisational change is a constant in the field of school counselling in the Australian context. Second, despite this, the nature of the school counselling role tends to remain the same but with new areas of need being added, such as self harm and cyberbullying. Third, each state and territory in Australia has differing role statements and training requirements for its school counsellors. This paper initially reviews the historical context of school counselling in Australia, including changes and developments in qualifications and training programs. A description is then provided of the current status of school counselling including the differences among the state systems. Issues such as work intensification, uncertainty of tenure, supervision, ethical issues and online counselling are discussed. The scant research into the effectiveness of the profession is outlined, followed by future recommendations.

Attributing human uniqueness and human nature to cultural groups : distinct forms of subtle dehumanization

Research on subtle dehumanization has focused on the attribution of human uniqueness to groups (infrahumanization), but has not examined another sense of humanness, human nature. Additionally, research has not extended far beyond Western cultures to examine the universality of these forms of dehumanization. Hence, the attribution of both forms of humanness was examined in three cross-cultural studies. Anglo-Australian and ethnic Chinese attributed values and traits (Study 1, N = 200) and emotions (Study 2, N = 151) to Australian and Chinese groups, and rated these characteristics on human uniqueness and human nature. Both studies found evidence of complementary attributions of humanness for Australians, who denied Chinese human nature but attributed them with greater human uniqueness. Chinese denied Australians human uniqueness, but their attributions of human nature varied for traits, values, and emotions. Study 3 (N = 54) demonstrated similar forms of dehumanization using an implicit method. These results and their implications for dehumanization and prejudice suggest the need to broaden investigation and theory to encompass both forms of humanness, and examine the attribution of both lesser and greater humanness to outgroups.

Geo-economics and considerations on the tourism industry with emphasis on historical cities tourism and ecotourism in Iran

Considering its many potentials in the tourism industry, Iran has constantly been among the leading countries seeking development in this industry. Iran is a country with many attractions in different tourism sections including cultural, urban, and monument tourism, and ancient places as well as ecotourism, and water tourism etc. for tourists. However, Iran has never economically prospered regarding its potentials in this industry as compared to its rivals. Thus, the main objective of this work is to list the main necessities of harnessing economic power and required instruments to fulfill this goal. In addition, the tourism industry is discussed as an important strategy for reaching this power, and the Iranian wildlife is introduced as an intact environment. It is also discussed that what economic benefits are obtained through using this tourism industry. It must be noted that the main emphasis of this work is on urban, monument tourism, ancient places, and ecotourism as a case study in two Iranian provinces. Finally, the required analyses are performed considering the affinity between these two sections and two provinces. Results indicated that while Iran having the highest percent of growth compared to the two other countries active in this area, however this advantage has not significantly affected the GDP in Iran, and Iran has not been able to improve its geo-economic capacity in this area.

The David and Goliath principle: Cultural, ideological, and attitudinal underpinnings of the normative protection of low-status groups from criticism

Two studies documented the “David and Goliath” rule—the tendency for people to perceive criticism of “David” groups (groups with low power and status) as less normatively permissible than criticism of “Goliath” groups (groups with high power and status). The authors confirmed the existence of the David and Goliath rule across Western and Chinese cultures (Study 1). However, the rule was endorsed more strongly in Western than in Chinese cultures, an effect mediated by cultural differences in power distance. Study 2 identified the psychological underpinnings of this rule in an Australian sample. Lower social dominance orientation (SDO) was associated with greater endorsement of the rule, an effect mediated through the differential attribution of stereotypes. Specifically, those low in SDO were more likely to attribute traits of warmth and incompetence to David versus Goliath groups, a pattern of stereotypes that was related to the protection of David groups from criticism.

Cultural beliefs about societal change: A three-mode principal component analysis in China, Australia, and Japan

People’s beliefs about where society has come from and where it is going have personal and political consequences. Here, we conduct a detailed investigation of these beliefs through re-analyzing Kashima et al.’s (Study 2, n = 320) data from China, Australia, and Japan. Kashima et al. identified a “folk theory of social change” (FTSC) belief that people in society become more competent over time, but less warm and moral. Using three-mode principal components analysis, an under-utilized analytical method in psychology, we identified two additional narratives: Utopianism/Dystopianism (people becoming generally better or worse over time) and Expansion/Contraction (an increase/decrease in both positive and negative aspects of character over time). Countries differed in endorsement of these three narratives of societal change. Chinese endorsed the FTSC and Utopian narratives more than other countries, Japanese held Dystopian and Contraction beliefs more than other countries, and Australians’ narratives of societal change fell between Chinese and Japanese. Those who believed in greater economic/technological development held stronger FTSC and Expansion/Contraction narratives, but not Utopianism/Dystopianism. By identifying multiple cultural narratives about societal change, this research provides insights into how people across cultures perceive their social world and their visions of the future.