Improving Indigenous women’s wellness through action research

Today in Australia, 75% of all Indigenous Australians reside in urban and peri-urban areas. In Brisbane, Indigenous Australians now number just over 45,000, and this number is rapidly increasing. Undertaking research with urban based Indigenous Australians is a relatively new phenomenon. Most past research with Indigenous people has been carried out in remote and regional areas. This paper focuses on a Participation Action Research project undertaken with Indigenous women in the highly urbanised area of North Brisbane. The project takes on the challenge of undertaking urban based Indigenous research. It opts not to centre on poor Indigenous women’s health statistics but instead centres on Indigenous women’s wellness and ways to talk about and work towards wellness. Through the cycles of dialogue with Indigenous women these concepts were teased out and manifested in two highly successful Women’s Wellness Summits. This paper will outline aspects of this project.

Enhancing and promoting Indigenous women's wellness

The term "Social and Emotional Wellbeing" (SEWB) was coined through the noted inability of conventional psychiatric terminology when addressing Indigenous holistic connections and opposes the Anglo-Saxon terminology that often boxes "mental health" as a diagnosis, disease or illness into separate origins from that of other personal holistic existence, which in turn directly objects to Indigenous thinking and perceptions of wellbeing. Purpose: This study's aim was to explore what Indigenous Women's Social and Emotional Wellbeing is, through Indigenous perceptions, beliefs and knowledge of Indigenous women's wellbeing experiences. Methods: Data was derived from semi-structured focus groups incorporating Indigenous specific Yarning, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who have experienced or were at risk of developing social and emotional wellness problems came together. Results: The women identified many factors underpinning social and emotional wellness and what it means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The major themes centred around wellness and health, autonomy, Indigenous women being heard, historical factors, support and Indigenous women's group development and continuation. Conclusion: These issues where then explored and compared to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Health Strategy Action Areas.

The role of the rule of law in virtual communities

Please see the updated published version of this work at http://eprints.qut.edu.au/37850/ There is a severe tendency in cyberlaw theory to delegitimize state intervention in the governance of virtual communities. Much of the existing theory makes one of two fundamental flawed assumptions: that communities will always be best governed without the intervention of the state; or that the territorial state can best encourage the development of communities by creating enforceable property rights and allowing the market to resolve any disputes. These assumptions do not ascribe sufficient weight to the value-laden support that the territorial state always provides to private governance regimes, the inefficiencies that will tend to limit the development utopian communities, and the continued role of the territorial state in limiting autonomy in accordance with communal values...

Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in herbaceous communities

Many ecosystems worldwide are dominated by introduced plant species, leading to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function. A common but rarely tested assumption is that these plants are more abundant in introduced vs. native communities, because ecological or evolutionary-based shifts in populations underlie invasion success. Here, data for 26 herbaceous species at 39 sites, within eight countries, revealed that species abundances were similar at native (home) and introduced (away) sites – grass species were generally abundant home and away, while forbs were low in abundance, but more abundant at home. Sites with six or more of these species had similar community abundance hierarchies, suggesting that suites of introduced species are assembling similarly on different continents. Overall, we found that substantial changes to populations are not necessarily a pre-condition for invasion success and that increases in species abundance are unusual. Instead, abundance at home predicts abundance away, a potentially useful additional criterion for biosecurity programmes.

Inclusive housing in Australia – a voluntary response

The lack of inclusive housing in Australia contributes to the marginalization and exclusion of people with disability and older people from family and community life. The Australian government has handed over the responsibility of increasing the supply of inclusive housing to the housing industry through an agreed national access standard and a voluntary strategy. Voluntary strategies have not been successful in other constituencies and little is known about what would work in Australia today. Findings from a research project into the voluntariness of the housing industry indicate that a reliable and consistent supply is unlikely without an equivalent increase in demand. The strategy has, however, an important role to play in the task of changing housing industry practices towards building more inclusive communities.

Knowing and teaching the indigenous other : teachers’ engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures

This is the first empirical study of teacher knowledge and classroom practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. It describes the construction of a survey instrument to measure non-Indigenous Australian teachers’ knowledge of Indigenous culture and place, frequency of everyday intercultural exchanges, and attempts to integrate Indigenous knowledge into classroom practice. Many teachers reported low levels of knowledge of Indigenous cultures, and limited encounters outside of school. While the cohort expressed dissatisfaction with pre-service training, exposure to pre- and in-service courses in Indigenous education correlated with higher levels of cultural knowledge and cultural engagement. Teachers with higher levels of cultural engagement were more likely to attempt to integrate Indigenous knowledges in curriculum and pedagogy.

Education in City and Suburban Communities

This chapter will discuss how environmental factors, specifically one’s backgrounds and where one lives, has an impact on teaching and learning. You have learned from previous chapters that inclusive education is underpinned by human rights and social justice issues. This chapter takes up that argument by identifying the diversity of students in city and suburban schools and how some are excluded, leading to disengagement with learning. We suggest possible pedagogy such as differentiated instruction and a ‘pedagogy of hope’ to counter student disengagement. Inclusive education, as an ‘act of imagination’ engages students in creative ways with the curriculum, where they can find meaning and purpose in what they are doing. Such engagement allows student to make connections between their school work and their own life worlds.

Teaching in Inclusive School Communities

"Teaching in Inclusive School Communities, 1st Edition is the essential resource to provide pre-service teachers with the most contemporary, ethical and useful framework for incorporating diversity and inclusive practices in today’s classroom. Fourteen concise chapters compose a focused picture of the values and beliefs that inform the inclusive education approach, with the most up-to-date connections to curriculum and pedagogy throughout. Complemented by the latest research in the field, this text provides the practical knowledge and skills needed for inclusive classroom teaching in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a thorough analysis of exactly what is required to build respectful relationships in modern school communities."--publisher website

Connecting Indigenous stories with geology : inquiry-based learning in a middle years classroom

One way to integrate indigenous perspectives in junior science is through links between indigenous stories of the local area and science concepts. Using local indigenous stories about landforms, a teacher of year 8 students designed a unit on geology that catered for the diverse student population in his class. This paper reports on the inquiry-based approach structured around the requirements of the Australian Curriculum highlighting the learning and engagement of students during the unit.

The development of a supportive care needs assessment tool for Indigenous people with cancer

Background: Little is known about the supportive care needs of Indigenous people with cancer and to date, existing needs assessment tools have not considered cultural issues for this population. We aimed to adapt an existing supportive care needs assessment tool for use with Indigenous Australians with cancer. Methods: Face-to-face interviews with Indigenous cancer patients (n = 29) and five focus groups with Indigenous key-informants (n = 23) were conducted to assess the face and content validity, cultural acceptability, utility and relevance of the Supportive Care Needs Survey - Short Form 34 (SCNS-SF34) for use with Indigenous patients with cancer. Results: All items from the SCNS-SF34 were shortened and changed to use more appropriate language (e.g. the word 'anxiety' was substituted with 'worry'). Seven questions were omitted (e.g. items on death and future considerations) as they were deemed culturally inappropriate or irrelevant and 12 items were added (e.g. accessible transport). Optional instructions were added before the sexual items. The design and response format of the SCNS-SF34 was modified to make it easier to use for Indigenous cancer patients. Given the extensive modifications to the SCNS-SF34 and the liklihood of a different factor structure we consider this tool to be a new tool rather than a modification. The Supportive care needs assessment tool for Indigenous people (SCNAT-IP) shows promising face and content validity and will be useful in informing services where they need to direct their attention for these patients. Conclusions: Indigenous people with cancer have language, customs and specific needs that are not accommodated within the standard SCNS-SF34. Our SCNAT-IP improves acceptability, relevance and face validity for Indigenous-specific concerns. Our SCNAT-IP will allow screening for supportive care needs that are specific to Indigenous cancer patients' and greatly inform targeted policy development and practice.

Creating Queensland, creative communities partnership - major Brisbane festival & Australia Council for the Arts

In March 2010, Brisbane Festival commissioned a Research Team, led by Dr Bree Hadley and Dr Sandra Gattenhof, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, to conduct an evaluation of the Creating Queensland program, a new Creative Communities partnership between Brisbane Festival and the Australia Council for the Arts. This Final Report reviews and reports on the effectiveness of the program gathered during three phases throughout 2010: Phase 1, in which the research team analysed Brisbane Festival’s pre-existing data on the Creating Queensland events in 2009; Phase 2, in which the research team designed a new suite of instruments to gather data from producers, producing partners, artists and attendees involved in the Creating Queensland events in 2010; and Phase 3, in which the research team used content analysis of the narratives emerging in the data to establish how Brisbane Festival has adopted processes, activities or engagement protocols to operate as catalysts that produce experiences with specific impacts on individuals and communities. The Final Report finds that the Creating Queensland events concentrate on developing specific experiences for those involved – usually associated with storytelling, showcasing, and the valorisation or re-valorisation of neglected or forgotten cultural forms – in order to give communities a voice. It finds that the events prioritise accessibility – usually associated with allowing specific local communities or local artists to present material that is meaningful to them – and inclusivity – usually associated with using connections with producing partners (such as the Multicultural Development Association) to bring more and more people into the program. It finds that the events have a capacity-building effect, which allows local communities to increase their capacity to launch their own ideas, initiatives or events, allows individuals to increase their employability, or allows communities and individuals to increase their visibility within mainstream cultural practices and infrastructure. The Final Report further finds that Brisbane Festival has, throughout its years of commitment to community programming, developed specific techniques to enable events in the Creating Queensland program to have these effects, that these can be tracked, and, as a result, deployed or redeployed both by Brisbane Festival and other community arts organisations in the development of effective community arts programs. The data demonstrates that Creating Queensland is, by and large, having the desired effect on communities – people are actually participating, presenting work, and increasing their personal, professional and social skills in various ways, and this is valued by all stakeholders. The data also demonstrates that, as would be expected with any community arts program – particularly programs of this size and complexity – there are areas in which Creating Queensland is functioning exceptionally well and areas in which continuous improvement processes should be continued. Areas of excellence relate to Brisbane Festival’s longstanding commitment to community arts, and active community participation in the arts, as well as its ability to create well-known and loved programs that use effective techniques to have a positive impact on communities. Areas for improvement relate to Brisbane Festival’s potential to benefit from the following: clarifying relationships between community participants and professionals; increasing mentoring relationships between these groups; consolidating the discourses it uses to describe event aims across strategic, production, and publicity documents across the years; and re-considering the number of small events inside the larger Creating Queensland program.

The Impact of Indigenous status on adult sentencing : a review of the statistical research literature.

The gross overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in prison populations suggests that sentencing may be a discriminatory process. Using findings from recent (1991–2011) multivariate statistical sentencing analyses from the United States, Canada, and Australia, we review the 3 key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for baseline sentencing discrepancies between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adult criminal defendants: (a) differential involvement, (b) negative discrimination, and (c) positive discrimination. Overall, the prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis and some support for the discrimination theses (positive and negative). We argue that where discrimination is found, it may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers’ multivariate models and/or differing political and social contexts.

Inequities, alternatives and future directions : inside perspectives of Indigenous sentencing in Queensland

In Australia, sentencing researchers have generally focussed on whether there is statistical equality/inequality in outcomes by reference to Indigenous status. However, contextualising the sentencing process requires us to move away from a reliance on statistical analyses alone, as this approach cannot tell us whether sentencing is an equitable process for Indigenous people. Consultation with those working at the sentencing ‘coal face’ provides valuable insight into the nexus between Indigenous status and sentencing. This article reports the main themes from surveys of the judiciary and prosecutors, and focus groups of Community Justice Groups undertaken in Queensland. The aim is to understand better the sentencing process for Indigenous Queenslanders. Results suggest that while there have been some positive developments in sentencing (e.g. the Murri Court, Community Justice Groups) Indigenous offenders still face a number of inequities.