The politics of NGOs : empowering marginal groups in a climate of micro-management and distrust

The role of peak NGOs in Australian civil society is considered crucial for representing marginal groups in the public and policy arena. The Howard government had particularly challenged the advocacy, coordination, information, research and policy role of peak NGOs. Instead of dealing with NGOs, the Howard government developed a 'governing through communities' process establishing new arrangements between the Federal government and local communities. It is of concern that 'governance through communities' may directly erode the values of voluntary association, broad representation of diverse groups in society and may negate non-instrumental political relations that NGOs aim to contribute to a healthy democracy. How the new Rudd government relates to peak NGOs is thus worthy of close analysis to understand what democratic role especially peak NGO's will play in Australian civil society.

Future landscapes in South-eastern Australia : the role of protected areas and biolinks in adaptation to climate change

The extent and rapidity of global climate change is the major novel threatening process to biodiversity in the 21 st century. Globally, numerous studies suggest movement of biota to higher latitudes and altitudes with increasing empirical -evidence emerging. As biota responds to the direct and consequent effects of climate change the potential to profoundly affect natural systems (including the reserve system) of south-eastern Australia is becoming evident. Climate change is projected to accelerate major environmental drivers such as drought, fire and flood regimes. Is the reserve system sufficient for biodiversity conservation under a changing climate? Australia is topographically flat, biologically mega-diverse with high species endemism, and has the driest and most variable climate of any inhabited continent. Whilst the north-south orientation and aftitude gradient of eastern Australia's forests and woodlands provides some resilience to projected climatic change, this has been eroded since European settlement, particularly in the cool-moist Bassian zone of the south-east. Following settlement, massive land-use change for agriculture and forestry caused widespread loss and fragmentation of habitats; becoming geriatric in agricultural landscapes and artificially young in forests. The reserve system persists as an archipelago of ecological islands surrounded by land uses of varying compatibility with conservation and vulnerable to global warming. The capacity for biota to adapt is limited by habitat availability. The extinction risk is exacerbated. Re-examination of earlier analysis of ecological connectivity through biolink zones confirms biolinks as an appropriate risk management response within a broader suite of measures. Areas not currently in the reserve system may be critical to the value and ecological function of biological assets of the reserve system as these assets change. Ecological need and the rise of ecosystem services, combined with changing socio-economic drivers of land-use and social values that supported the expansion of the reserve system, all suggest biolink zones represent a new, necessary and viable multi-functional landscape. This paper explores some of the key ecological elements for restoration within biolink zones (and landscapes at large) particularly through currently agricultural landscapes.

A classification for content adaptation system

Content adaptation is an attractive solution for the ever growing desktop based Web content delivered to the user via heterogeneous devices, in order to provide acceptable experience while surfing the Web. Bridging the mismatch between the rich content and the user device's resources (display, processing, navigation, network bandwidth, media support) without user intervention requires a proactive behavior. While content adaptation poses multitude of benefits, without proper strategies, adaptation will not be truly optimized. There have been many projects focused on content adaptation that have been designed with different goals and approaches. In this paper, we introduce a comprehensive classification for content adaptation system. The classification is used to group the approaches applied in the implementation of existing content adaptation system. Survey on some content adaptation systems also been provided. We also present the research spectrum in content adaptation and discuss the challenges.

Living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease (ALS/MND) : decision-making about 'ongoing change and adaptation

Aims and objectives. To present a model that explicates the dimensions of change and adaptation as revealed by people who are diagnosed and live with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease.

Background. Most research about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease is medically focused on cause and cure for the illness. Although psychological studies have sought to understand the illness experience through questionnaires, little is known about the experience of living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease as described by people with the disease.

Design. A grounded theory method of simultaneous data collection and constant comparative analysis was chosen for the conduct of this study.

Methods. Data collection involved in-depth interviews, electronic correspondence, field notes, as well as stories, prose, songs and photographs important to participants. QSR NVivo 2® software was used to manage the data and modelling used to illustrate concepts.

Findings. Participants used a cyclic, decision-making pattern about 'ongoing change and adaptation' as they lived with the disease. This pattern formed the basis of the model that is presented in this paper.

Conclusion. The lives of people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease revolve around the need to make decisions about how to live with the disease progression and their deteriorating abilities. Life decisions were negotiated by participants to maintain a sense of self and well-being in the face of change.

Relevance to clinical practice. The 'ongoing change and adaptation' model is a framework that can guide practitioners to understand the decision-making processes of people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease. Such understanding will enhance caring and promote models of care that are person-centred. The model may also have relevance for people with other life limiting diseases and their care.

Cortical and trabecular bone at the forearm show different adaptation patterns in response to tennis playing

Bone responds to impact-loading activity by increasing its size and/or density. The aim of this study was to compare the magnitude and modality of the bone response between cortical and trabecular bone in the forearms of tennis players. Bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and bone mineral density (BMD) of the ulna and radius were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 57 players (24.5 ± 5.7 yr old), at three sites: the ultradistal region (50% trabecular bone), the mid-distal regions, and third-distal (mainly cortical bone). At the ultradistal radius, the side-to-side difference in BMD was larger than in bone area (8.4 ± 5.2% and 4.9 ± 4.0%, respectively, p < 0.01). In the cortical sites, the asymmetry was lower (p < 0.01) in BMD than in bone area (mid-distal radius: 4.0 ± 4.3% vs 11.7 ± 6.8%; third-distal radius: 5.0 ± 4.8% vs 8.4 ± 6.2%). The asymmetry in bone area explained 33% of the variance of the asymmetry in BMC at the ultradistal radius, 66% at the mid-distal radius, and 53% at the third-distal radius. The ulna displayed similar results. Cortical and trabecular bone seem to respond differently to mechanical loading. The first one mainly increases its size, whereas the second one preferentially increases its density.

Adaptation to mandated restrictions on smoking in dining areas : results of an Internet survey

Objective : The study aimed to measure changes in dining behaviour associated with the introduction of smoking restrictions on July 1, 2001, to describe strategies adopted by smokers and non-smokers to adapt to the changes, and to describe some of the thoughts, feelings and beliefs underlying the adaptations that people make in response to the introduction of new restrictions.

Method : Data were collected in a longitudinal study with repeated measures of a total of 257 respondents before and after the introduction of the restrictions, using a questionnaire administered via the Internet. Data collection occurred on seven occasions between April 2001 and March 2002. In addition, a series of in-depth telephone interviews was conducted among a group of 31 smokers and non-smokers, who were interviewed once before and twice after the introduction of the bans.

Results : Dining patterns, dining frequency, restaurant choice and expenditure on a meal did not change among either smoking or non-smoking patrons following the introduction of the law. The majority of Victorians approved of smokefree dining legislation before its implementation, and agreement with the law increased sharply and significantly among both smokers and non-smokers immediately following the introduction of the policy, remaining at high levels for the duration of the study period.

Conclusions : These findings suggest there was rapid adaptation to and acceptance of the restrictions among both smokers and non-smokers, and are supported by evidence from other jurisdictions, both interstate and internationally, regarding the introduction of smokefree dining.

Marginalising the marginal in holocaust films : fictional representations of jewish policeman

This paper explores the issue of how Jewish victims who occupied so-called 'privileged' positions during the Holocaust are represented in fictional films. Such figures, particularly Jewish policemen in the ghettos, may be seen to inhabit the 'marginal' in two ways, both in terms of the unprecedented ethical dilemmas they faced, and the relative lack of attention such figures have received. Taking Primo Levi's paradigmatic essay on the 'grey zone' as a point of departure, this paper analyses how Jewish policemen are represented in mainstream, 'Hollywood' fictional films, namely Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, in order to reveal that the narrative concerns of such works preclude any serious engagement with themes of moral ambiguity and 'compromise'. Attention will also be given to a more recent trend in the genre of Holocaust film that directly confronts these issues, nonetheless such films may themselves be viewed as marginalised due to their subject matter.

Migrant youth, cultural adaptation and social policy

This introductory chapter will attempt to locate these conceptual debates within wider intellectual and research agendas. It will also try to examine the role social policy can play in shaping the life opportunities of young people. The roles of both government agencies and non-government organisations will be considered and discussed.

Review of prevalence data in, and evaluation of methods for cross cultural adaptation of, UK surveys on tobacco and alcohol in ethnic minority groups

Objective To assess the adequacy of cross cultural adaptations of survey questions on self reported tobacco and alcohol consumption in the United Kingdom.

Design Assessment of consistency of data between studies identified through literature review. Studies evaluated with 12 guidelines developed from the research literature on achieving cross cultural comparability.

Results The literature review identified 18 key studies, five of them on national samples. Survey instruments were obtained for 15 of these. The comparison of prevalence data in national surveys showed some important discrepancies, greater for tobacco than for alcohol. For example, prevalence of cigarette smoking in Bangladeshi women was 6% in a national survey in 1994 and 1% in a national survey in 1999; in Chinese men it was 31% in a survey in 1993-4 and 17% in one in 1999; in African-Caribbean men it was 29% in a 1992 survey and 42% in one in 1993-4. The most guidelines met by any study was three, although one study partly met a fourth. Two studies met no guidelines. Only four studies consulted with ethnic minority communities in developing the questionnaire, none checked each language version with all others, and two stated the questionnaire had not been validated.

Conclusions Surveys have not followed best practice in relation to measurement of risk factors in cross cultural settings. There is inconsistency in the prevalence data on smoking provided by different major national UK studies. Users of such data should be aware of their limitations. Research is needed to help achieve linguistic equivalence of survey questions in cross cultural research.

Cross-cultural adaptation of a tobacco questionnaire for Punjabi, Cantonese, Urdu and Sylheti speakers: qualitative research for better clinical practice, cessation services and research.Â

Objective : To develop cross‐culturally valid and comparable questionnaires for use in clinical practice, tobacco cessation services and multiethnic surveys on tobacco use.
Methods : Key questions in Urdu, Cantonese, Punjabi and Sylheti on tobacco use were compiled from the best existing surveys. Additional items were translated by bilingual coworkers. In one‐to‐one and group consultations, lay members of the Pakistani, Chinese, Indian Sikh and Bangladeshi communities assessed the appropriateness of questions. Questionnaires were developed and field tested. Cross‐cultural comparability was judged in a discussion between the researchers and coworkers, and questionnaires were finalised. Questionnaires in Cantonese (written and verbal forms differ) and Sylheti (no script in contemporary use) were written as spoken to avoid spot translations by interviewers.
Results : The Chinese did not use bidis, hookahs or smokeless tobacco, so these topics were excluded for them. It was unacceptable for Punjabi Sikhs to use tobacco. For the Urdu speakers and Sylheti speakers there was no outright taboo, particularly for men, but it was not encouraged. Use of paan was common among women and men. Many changes to existing questions were necessary to enhance cultural and linguistic appropriateness—for example, using less formal language, or rephrasing to clarify meaning. Questions were modified to ensure comparability across languages, including English.
Conclusion : Using theoretically recommended approaches, a tobacco‐related questionnaire with face and content validity was constructed for Urdu, Punjabi, Cantonese and Sylheti speakers, paving the way for practitioners to collect more valid data to underpin services, for sounder research and ultimately better tobacco control. The methods and lessons are applicable internationally.