Research trends of post disaster reconstruction : the past and the future

Natural disasters can have adverse effect on human lives. To raise the awareness of research and better combat future events, it is important to identify recent research trends in the area of post disaster reconstruction (PDR). The authors used a three-round literature review strategy to study journal papers published in the last decade that are related to PDR with specific conditions using the Scopus search engine. A wide range of PDR related papers from a general perspective was examined in the first two rounds while the final round established 88 papers as target publications through visual examination of the abstracts, keywords and as necessary, main texts. These papers were analysed in terms of research origins, active researchers, research organisations, most cited papers, regional concerns, major themes and deliverables, for clues of the past trends and future directions. The need for appropriate PDR research is increasingly recognised. The publication number multiplied 5 times from 2002 to 2012. For PDR research with a construction perspective, the increase is sixfold. Developing countries such as those in Asia attract almost 50% researchers' attention for regional concerns while the US is the single most concentrated (24%) country. Africa is hardly represented. Researchers in developed countries lead in worldwide PDR research. This contrasts to the need for expertise in developing countries. Past works focused on waste management, stakeholder analysis, resourcing, infrastructure issue, resilience and vulnerability, reconstruction approach, sustainable reconstruction and governance issues. Future research should respond to resourcing, integrated development, sustainability and resilience building to cover the gaps. By means of a holistic summary and structured analysis of key patterns, the authors hope to provide a streamlined access to existing research findings and make predictions of future trends. They also hope to encourage a more holistic approach to PDR research and international collaborations.

The Effective and The Evocative : A Spectrum of Creative Practice Research

In the expanding literature on creative practice research, art and design are often described as a unified field. They are bracketed together (art-and-design), referred to as interchangeable terms (art/design), and nested together, as if the practices of one domain encompass the other. However it is possible to establish substantial differences in research approaches. In this chapter we argue that core distinctions arise out of the goals of the research, intentions invested in the resulting “artefacts” (creative works, products, events), and the knowledge claims made for the research outcomes. Moreover, these fundamental differences give rise to a number of contingent attributes of the research such as the forming contexts, methodological approaches, and ways of evidencing and reporting new knowledge. We do not strictly ascribe these differences to disciplinary contexts. Rather, we use the terms effective practice research and evocative practice research to describe the spirit of the two distinctive research paradigms we identify. In short, effective practice research (often pursued in design fields) seeks a solution (or resolution) to a problem identified with a particular community, and it produces an artefact that addresses this problem by effecting change (making a situation, product or process more efficient or effective in some way). On the other hand, evocative practice research (often pursued by creative arts fields) is driven by individual pre-occupations, cultural concerns or human experience more broadly. It produces artefacts that evoke affect and resonance, and are poetically irreducible in meaning. We cite recent examples of creative research projects that illustrate the distinctions we identify. We then go on to describe projects that integrate these modes of research. In this way, we map out a creative research spectrum, with distinct poles as well as multiple hybrid possibilities. The hybrid projects we reference are not presented as evidence an undifferentiated field. Instead, we argue that they integrate research modes in deliberate, purposeful and distinctive ways: employing effective practice research methods in the production of evocative artefacts or harnessing evocative (as well as effective) research paradigms to effect change.

Research and/or learning and teaching : a study of Australian professors' priorities, beliefs and behaviours

This paper presents findings from an empirical study of key aspects of the teaching and research priorities, beliefs and behaviours of 72 professorial and associate professorial academics in Science, Information Technology and Engineering across four faculties in three Australian universities. The academics ranked 16 research activities and 16 matched learning and teaching (L&T) activities from three perspectives: job satisfaction, role model behaviour and perceptions of professional importance. The findings were unequivocally in favour of research in all three areas and remarkably consistent across the universities. The only L&T activity that was ranked consistently well was 'improving student satisfaction ratings for teaching', an area in which academics are increasingly held accountable. Respondents also indicated that their seniors encourage research efforts more than L&T efforts. Recommendations include that higher education rewards for quality L&T are maintained or improved and that recognition of L&T research domains is further strengthened.

Early childhood Australia's Best of Sustainability : Research, Practice and Theory

ECA Best of Sustainability: Research, theory and practice by Elliott, Edwards, Davis and Cutter-MacKenzie collates a range of key articles focussing on sustainability from past editions of the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood and Every Child. Sustainable service operation and promoting children’s responsibility and care for the environment are now part of the National Quality Standards and more importantly, all early childhood services must engage with sustainability in this time of increasing global environmental concerns. The publication documents the best of research, theory and practice to date and questions where has early childhood education for sustainability come from and more importantly, where is it going? There are multiple possibilities for educators, researchers, policy makers and managers to take action in early childhood settings for an environmentally sustainable future.

Australasian nutrition research for prevention and management of child obesity : innovation and progress in the last decade

The Food and Nutrition stream of Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN) aims to improve the quality of dietary methodologies and the reporting of dietary intake within Australasian child obesity research (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/). With 2012 marking ACAORN’s 10th anniversary, this commentary profiles a selection of child obesity nutrition research published over the last decade by Food and Nutrition Stream members. In addition, stream activities have included the development of an online selection guide to assist researchers in their selection of appropriate dietary intake methodologies (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/dietary-intake/index.php). The quantity and quality of research to guide effective child obesity prevention and treatment has increased substantially over the last decade. ACAORN provides a successful case study of how research networks can provide a collegial atmosphere to foster and co-ordinate research efforts in an otherwise competitive environment.

Informing healthy building design with biophilic urbanism design principles : a review and synthesis of current knowledge and research

Links between human health and wellbeing, and contact with nature are well understood in the fields of health and psychology, and more recently are gaining attention in the built environment industry. In 1984, E.O. Wilson coined the term ‘biophilia’ to describe the tendency for humans to have an innately emotional response to other living organisms. A growing number of researchers around the world are now exploring the impact of nature in urban environments (i.e. biophilic urbanism) on the human condition, including many indicators of human physical and mental health, recovery and performance. There is also an emergence of research on the potential for biophilic urbanism to address other challenges related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper presents key findings from a review of key literature to date, discussing opportunities for biophilic urbanism to both improve occupant experience and performance, as well as addressing other sustainability objectives including climate change mitigation and adaptation. The paper presents an emerging framework for considering biophilic design opportunities and highlights implications for the built environment industry. This research draws on an Australian project considering biophilic urbanism in the response to climate change, within the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre. This includes findings from a literature review, a survey pilot study and two workshops undertaken in Perth and Brisbane with a variety of industry and government stakeholders.

Experimenting with the future of journalism : social capital as a desideratum for networked journalism research

The aim of this article is to position social capital as a theoretical framework for investigating online communities, specifically pro-am operations. It will review pertinent literature on social capital and the future of journalism in this context, and detail how the broader field of Sociology and this dynamic field of Journalism converge to produce a unique opportunity for pro-am research. Currently, much concern has been expressed regarding the future of journalism institutions in society, and while journalism itself is seen as a cornerstone of democracy, the form of structures that facilitate such practice has been questioned. Compounding this problem is a lack of research that produces data suitable for meta-analysis. For example, case-study data of start-up operations in this volatile field do not provide sufficient grounds for conclusions that could result in evidence-based policy. In response to these dynamics, this article will propose experimentation as a method of research for pro-am start-ups.

Ghost hunting with lollies, chess and Lego : appreciating the ‘messy’ complexity (and costs) of doing difficult research in education

This paper contributes to conversations about the funding and quality of education research. The paper proceeds in two parts. Part I sets the context by presenting an historical analysis of funding allocations made to Education research through the ARC’s Discovery projects scheme between the years 2002 and 2014, and compares these trends to allocations made to another field within the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences assessment panel: Psychology and Cognitive Science. Part II highlights the consequences of underfunding education research by presenting evidence from an Australian Research Council Discovery project that is tracking the experiences of disaffected students who are referred to behaviour schools. The re-scoping decisions that became necessary and the incidental costs that accrue from complications that occur in the field are illustrated and discussed through vignettes of research with “ghosts” who don’t like school but who do like lollies, chess and Lego.

Research participation by people with intellectual disability and mental health issues : an examination of the processes of consent

Balancing the demands of research and ethics is always challenging and even more so when recruiting vulnerable groups. Within the context of current legislation and international human rights declarations, it is strongly advocated that research can and must be undertaken with all recipients of health care services. Research in the field of intellectual disability presents particular challenges in regard to consenting processes. This paper is a critical reflection and analysis of the complex processes undertaken and events that occurred in gaining informed consent from people with intellectual disability to participate in a study exploring their experiences of being an inpatient in mental health hospitals within Aotearoa/New Zealand. A framework based on capacity, information and voluntariness is presented with excerpts from the field provided to explore consenting processes. The practical implications of the processes utilised are then discussed in order to stimulate debate regarding clearer and enhanced methods of gaining informed consent from people with intellectual disability.

Brave New World of Health

"Within contemporary society the meaning of 'health' is surprisingly unstable. Guiding principles that once seemed self-evident have been challenged by new social, scientific and economic forces. This book argues that the foundational terms and concepts, which form the basic building blocks of dialogue about health, are now in flux. While the forces in play differ, and the pace of change is varied, there is now a 'brave new world' of health which characterises policy debate about health (and illness or disability). This permeates even the more narrow technical issues within clinical medicine, the law and medical science. This construction and reconstruction of health has important implications for the development of law and policy. The book draws on international and local experts to explore these issues. It opens with consideration of the economic and social forces of 'globalisation' - the macro level forces which now shape the 'lived realities' of health for the world's people. This is then contextualised through a series of detailed 'case studies' of more localised examples including; pharmaceuticals, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, body modification, abortion, anorexia and post-traumatic stress disorder. The book also interrogates the way modern health research influences public conceptions of health. Across these issues the book canvasses the social forces at work in the construction of health, disability and illness in shaping our understandings of such concepts by the public, by individuals, by the courts, and by international bodies. Brave New World of Health is an important contribution to advancing that understanding."--Publisher's website.

Justice in human research ethics : a conceptual and practical guide

One of the core values to be applied by a body reviewing the ethics of human research is justice. The inclusion of justice as a requirement in the ethical review of human research is relatively recent and its utility had been largely unexamined until debates arose about the conduct of international biomedical research in the late 1990s. The subsequent amendment of authoritative documents in ways that appeared to shift the meaning of conceptions of justice generated a deal of controversy. Another difficulty has been that both the theory and the substance of justice that are applied by researchers or reviewers can be frequently seen to be subjective. Both the concept of justice – whether distributive or commutative - and what counts as a just distribution or exchange – are given different weight and meanings by different people. In this paper, the origins and more recent debates about the requirement to consider justice as a criterion in the ethical review of human research are traced, relevant conceptions of justice are distinguished and the manner in which they can be applied meaningfully in the ethical review all human research is identified. The way that these concepts are articulated in, and the intent and function of, specific paragraphs of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC, ARC, UA, 2007) (National Statement) is explained. The National Statement identifies a number of issues that should be considered when a human research ethics committee is reviewing the justice aspects of an application. It also provides guidance to researchers as to how they can show that there is a fair distribution of burdens and benefits in the participant experience and the research outcomes. It also provides practical guidance to researchers on how to think through issues of justice so that they can demonstrate that the design of their research projects meets this ethical requirement is also provided

Australian Aboriginal English and cultural conceptions : can they affect policing?

It is well established that there are inherent difficulties involved in communicating across cultural boundaries. When these difficulties are encountered within the justice system the innocent can be convicted and witnesses undermined. A large amount of research has been undertaken regarding the implications of miscommunication within the courtroom but far less has been carried out on language and interactions between police and Indigenous Australians. It is necessary that officers of the law be made aware of linguistic issues to ensure they conduct their investigations in a fair, effective and therefore ethical manner. This paper draws on Cultural Schema Theory to illustrate how this could be achieved. The justice system is reliant upon the skills and knowledge of the police, therefore, this paper highlights the need for research to focus on the linguistic and non‐verbal differences between Australian Aboriginal English and Australian Standard English in order to develop techniques to facilitate effective communication.

Using police crash databases for injury prevention research - a comparison of opt-out and opt-in approaches to study recruitment

Objective: The study aimed to examine the difference in response rates between opt-out and opt-in participant recruitment in a population-based study of heavy-vehicle drivers involved in a police-attended crash. Methods: Two approaches to subject recruitment were implemented in two different states over a 14-week period and response rates for the two approaches (opt-out versus opt-in recruitment) were compared. Results: Based on the eligible and contactable drivers, the response rates were 54% for the optout group and 16% for the opt-in group. Conclusions and Implications: The opt-in recruitment strategy (which was a consequence of one jurisdiction’s interpretation of the national Privacy Act at the time) resulted in an insufficient and potentially biased sample for the purposes of conducting research into risk factors for heavy-vehicle crashes. Australia’s national Privacy Act 1988 has had a long history of inconsistent practices by state and territory government departments and ethical review committees. These inconsistencies can have profound effects on the validity of research, as shown through the significantly different response rates we reported in this study. It is hoped that a more unified interpretation of the Privacy Act across the states and territories, as proposed under the soon-to-be released Australian Privacy Principles will reduce the recruitment challenges outlined in this study.

The Healthy Trends of International Relations Research

As the end of the Cold War approached in 1989, Caroline Thomas argued: “It is important that the discipline [International Relations, IR] should address the issue of disease and more broadly, health, not simply to facilitate containment of disease transmission across international borders but also because central notions of justice, equity, efficiency and order are involved” (1989:273).1 Ten years later, Craig Murphy echoed these sentiments. Murphy (2001: 352) proposed that IR had yet to grapple with the political consequences of growing inequality between the world’s rich and poor, and areas such as health—where these inequalities were most stark—should become the field’s core business. How IR’s theories and methods would approach these issues was less clear. Bettcher and Yach (1998) cautioned that IR would be unable to develop progressive research projects that explored global health diplomacy as a global public good without adopting new perspectives and methods. Others warned that the expansion of security studies into areas such as global health would weaken the intellectual coherency of the field (Walt 1991:213). Taking its cue from the recent Ng and Prah Ruger (2011) study, this paper returns to these concerns to briefly explore key trends and potential future concerns of research in IR on health...