Nurses and teachers : partnerships for green health promotion

Background: The term ‘green health promotion’ is given to health promotion underpinned by the principles of ecological health and sustainability. Green health promotion is supported philosophically by global health promotion documents such as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) and the ecological public health movement. Green health promotion in schools aims to practice the principles of ecological health and sustainability. Methods: An extended literature review revealed a paucity of literature about green health promotion in schools across disciplines. Literature about nurses and health promotion in schools is generally found in nursing publications. Literature about ecological sustainability in schools is mostly found in teaching publications. Results: This paper explores the nexus between nursing and health promotion, and teachers and ecological sustainability. Collaborative partnerships between health and education do not capitalise on programs such as Health Promoting Schools and the School Based Youth Health Nurse Program in Queensland, Australia. The authors consider how collaborative partnerships between health and education in schools can work towards green health promotion. Conclusion: Nursing’s approach to health promotion and education’s approach to ecological sustainability need to be aligned to enhance green health promotion in schools and promote a new generation of ‘tree huggers and hippies’.

Democracy, Crime and Justice. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences

As a growing number of nations embark on a path to democracy, criminologists have become increasingly interested and engaged in the challenges, concerns, and questions connecting democracy with both crime and criminal justice. Rising levels of violence and street crime, white collar crime and corruption both in countries where democracy is securely in place and where it is struggling, have fuelled a deepening skepticism as to the capacity of democracy to deliver on its promise of security and justice for all citizens. What role does crime and criminal justice play in the future of democracy and for democratic political development on a global level? The editors of this special volume of The Annals realized the importance of collecting research from a broad spectrum of countries and covering a range of problems that affect citizens, politicians, and criminal justice officials. The articles here represent a solid balance between mature democracies like the U.S. and U.K. as well as emerging democracies around the globe – specifically in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. They are based on large and small cross-national samples, regional comparisons, and case studies. Each contribution addresses a seminal question for the future of democratic political development across the globe. What is the role of criminal justice in the process of building democracy and instilling confidence in its institutions? Is there a role for unions in democratizing police forces? What is the impact of widespread disenfranchisement of felons on democratic citizenship and the life of democratic institutions? Under what circumstances do mature democracies adopt punitive sentencing regimes? Addressing sensitive topics such as relations between police and the Muslim communities of Western Europe in the wake of terrorist attacks, this volume also sheds light on the effects of terrorism on mature democracies under increasing pressure to provide security for their citizens. By taking a broad vantage point, this collection of research delves into complex topics such as the relationship between the process of democratization and violent crime waves; the impact of rising crime rates on newly established as well as secure democracies; how crime may endanger the transition to democracy; and how existing practices of criminal justice in mature democracies affect their core values and institutions. The collection of these insightful articles not only begins to fill a gap in criminological research but also addresses issues of critical interest to political scientists as well as other social and behavioral scientists and scholars. Taking a fresh approach to the intersection of crime, criminal justice, and democracy, this volume of The Annals is a must-read for criminologists and political scientists and provides a solid foundation for further interdisciplinary research.

From 'what' to 'how' : capacity building in health promotion for HIV/AIDS prevention in the Solomon Islands

This paper describes a capacity building process undertaken within the HIV/AIDS prevention project of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Solomon Islands. ADRA HIV/AIDS has recently reoriented its project structure, moving beyond its awareness raising approach to incorporate health promotion frameworks, theories, strategies and assumptions. These have been used to inform project practice in project planning, delivery and evaluation. This paper shares what has worked and not worked in the capacity building process, including a project evaluation of the initial HIV/AIDS awareness raising project and the application of a number of capacity building strategies, including utilising a volunteer Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Existing and new projects are outlined. The underlying theme is that any capacity building exercise must include structural support (e.g. management, national frameworks) to ensure the incorporation of new initiatives and approaches. With time this enables ownership by counterparts and external partnerships to develop. The presence of an AYAD volunteer has been an effective strategy to achieve this. Reflections from the evaluators, the AYAD volunteer and the HIV/AIDS team are included.

Evolving directions in health promotion workforce development

PROJECT CONTEXT: Leaders in the fields of public health and health promotion increasingly advocate a socio-ecological approach to meet contemporary and emerging population health challenges. It is essential that health promotion workforce development initiatives mirror the evolving direction of the field to facilitate translation of theory into practice. To date, there has been limited effort to map the socio-ecological approach into tertiary education curricula. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project was undertaken as part of the development process for an undergraduate health promotion degree in Queensland, Australia. A review of the health promotion workforce development literature was undertaken. Group processes, key informant interviews and a Delphi technique were used to engage health promotion academics and practitioners, including an International Health Promotion Expert Advisory Panel, and an Industry Advisory Group in defining the components of the program. FINDINGS: The consultative processes facilitated the development of an undergraduate health promotion degree program underpinned by the socio-ecological approach with strong emphases upon the processes or 'how you do it' of health promotion together with evidence-based decision making and practice. CONCLUSIONS: As the basis and practice of health promotion progresses toward a socio-ecological approach, workforce training needs to keep pace with these developments to ensure an appropriately skilled health promotion workforce to meet emerging population health challenges. The reported project and the degree program that has been developed is an example of one step towards achieving this important and necessary shift in health promotion workforce development in Australia.

Promotion and succession management and associated retention issues in Australian law firms

The focus of this research was promotion and succession management in Australian law firms. Two staff retention issues currently faced by the Australian legal industry were identified as suggesting possible failures in this area: 1) Practitioners are leaving law firms early in their careers, 2) Female representation is disproportionally low at partnership level. The research described current Australian law firm promotion and succession practices and then explained their possible relevance to the two retention issues. The overall aim of the research was to uncover key findings and present practical recommendations to law firm managers and partners ready for incorporation into their future promotion and succession planning practice. In so doing the research aimed to benefit the Australian legal community as a whole. Four areas of literature relevant to the topic were reviewed, 1) law firm governance concluding that the fundamental values of the P²-Form remained constant (Cooper, Hinings, Greenwood & Brown, 1996; Morris & Pinnington, 1998) with ownership and strategic control of law firms remaining in the hands of partners; 2) the importance of individual practitioners to law firms concluding that the actual and opportunity costs relating to practitioner turnover were significant due to the transient nature of knowledge as a key asset of law firms (Gottschalk & Khandelwal, 2004; Rebitzer & Taylor, 2007); 3) generational differences concluding with support for the work of Finegold, Mohrman and Spreitzer (2002), Davis, Pawlowski and Houston (2006), Kuhnreuther (2003), and Avery, McKay, and Wilson (2007) which indicated that generational cohort differences were of little utility in human resources management practice; and 4) previous research relating to law firm promotion and succession practices indicating that five practices were relevant in law firm promotion outcomes; 1) firm billing requirements (Gorman & Kmec, 2009; Phillips, 2001; Noonan & Corcoran, 2004; Webley & Duff, 2007); 2) mentoring programs (Phillips, 2001; Noonan & Corcoran, 2004); 3) the existence of female partners (Gorman & Kmec, 2009; Beckman & Phillips, 2005); 4) non-partner career paths (Phillips, 2001; Corcoran & Noonan, 2004); and 5) the existence of family friendly policies (Gorman & Kmec, 2009; Phillips, 2001; Noonan & Corcoran, 2004; Webley & Duff, 2007.) The research was carried out via a sequential mixed method approach. The initial quantitative study was based upon a theoretical framework grounded in the literature and provided baseline information describing Australian law firm promotion and succession practices. The study was carried out via an on-line survey of Australian law firm practitioners. The results of the study provided the basis for the second qualitative study. The qualitative study further explained the statistically generated results and focused specifically on the two identified retention issues. The study was conducted via one-on-one interviews with Australian law firm partners and experienced law firm managers. The results of both studies were combined within the context of relevant literature resulting in eight key findings: Key findings 1) Organisational commitment levels across generational cohorts are more homogenous than different. 2) Law firm practitioners are leaving law firms early in their careers due to the heavy time commitment behaviour demanded of them, particularly by clients. 3) Law firm promotion and succession practices reinforce practitioner time commitment behaviour marking it as an indicator of practitioner success. 4) Law firm practitioners believe that they have many career options outside law firms and are considering these options. 5) Female practitioners are considering opting out of law firms due to time commitment demands related to partnership conflicting with family commitment demands. 6) A masculine, high time commitment culture in law firms is related to the decision by female practitioners to leave law firms. 7) The uptake of alternative work arrangements by female practitioners is not fatal to their partnership prospects particularly in firms with supportive policies, processes and organisational culture. 8) Female practitioners are less inclined than their male counterparts to seek partnership as an ultimate goal and are more likely to opt out of law firms exhibiting highly competitive, masculine cultures. Practical recommendations Further review of the data collected in relation to the key findings provided the basis for nine practical recommendations specifically geared towards implementation by law firm managers and partners. The first recommendation relates to the use of generational differences in practitioner management. The next six relate to recommended actions to reduce the time commitment demands on practitioners. The final two recommendations relate to the practical implementation of these actions both at an individual and organisational level. The recommendations are as follows: 1) "Generationally driven," age based generalisations should not be utilised in law firm promotion and succession management practice. 2) Expected levels of client access to practitioners be negotiated on a client by client basis and be included in client retention agreements. 3) Appropriate alternative working arrangements such as working off-site, flexible working hours or part-time work be offered to practitioners in situations where doing so will not compromise client serviceability. 4) The copying of long working hour behaviours of senior practitioners should be discouraged particularly where information technology can facilitate remote client serviceability. 5) Refocus the use of timesheets from an employer monitoring tool to an employee empowerment tool. 6) Policies and processes relating to the offer of alternative working arrangements be supported and reinforced by law firm organisational culture. 7) Requests for alternative working arrangements be determined without regard to gender. 8) Incentives and employment conditions offered to practitioners to be individualised based on the subjective need of the individual and negotiated as a part of the current employee performance review process. 9) Individually negotiated employment conditions be negotiated within the context of the firm’s overall strategic planning process. Through the conduct of the descripto-explanatory study, a detailed discussion of current law firm promotion and succession practices was enabled. From this discussion, 7 eight key findings and nine associated recommendations were generated as well as an insight into the future of the profession being given. The key findings and recommendations provide practical advice to law firm managers and partners in relation to their everyday promotion and succession practice. The need to negotiate individual employee workplace conditions and their integration into overall law firm business planning was put forward. By doing so, it was suggested that both the individual employee and the employing law firm would mutually benefit from the arrangement. The study therefore broadened its practical contribution from human resources management to a contribution to the overall management practice of Australian law firms. In so doing, the research has provided an encompassing contribution to the Australian legal industry both in terms of employee welfare as well as firm and industry level success.

Relationships and sexual health promotion project for QUT international students

International students may experience a variety of sexual health problems which include unplanned pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases. These are often because of limited knowledge of sexual health matters and lack of sexual health education and/or access to health services in their home country. A study was undertaken to identify the concerns of international students and how to provide culturally appropriate promotion of sexual health for international students at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The project included consultations with stakeholders, interviews with key informants, an online survey and focus group discussions with international students. The project found that sexual health is a concern for international students, particularly in developing relationships and when becoming sexually active in Australia, and there is a perceived lack of access to health services and insufficient knowledge on sexual health matters. Preferred methods of dissemination of sexual health information included use of student mentors, web-based online resources, brochures and confidential on-line advice.

Advocacy for health : revisiting the role of health promotion

Issue addressed: The importance of advocacy in protecting the population’s health; and suggested strategies to advance an advocacy role. Discussion: This article explores the concept of health advocacy, discusses an example of successful health advocacy within Australia, and outlines and addresses some of the barriers to advocacy. It aims to encourage discussion on advocacy’s potential to improve the public’s health. Conclusions: Many of the major successes of health promotion have been facilitated through the efforts of advocates. This article supports the proposition that advocacy is a fundamental instrument of health promotion practice and suggests strategies to apply these principles in practice.

The promotion of sustainability agenda for facilities management through developing knowledge capabilities

The growing awareness of sustainability issues around the world has put extensive pressure on the construction industry to improve its sustainable practice. Sustainability principles need to be applied to not just during design and construction phase but the entire life cycle of a construction project. Compared to sustainability endeavours on earlier development phases, the pace to implement sustainability agenda during the operation and maintenance phase has not been as fast during past practices of facilities management (FM). Literature study suggests that sustainable practices in FM activities can bring substantial benefits such as reducing energy consumptions and waste, while increasing productivity, financial return and standing in the community. It also suggests several barriers which inhibit the implementation of sustainability in FM practices, including the lack of knowledge, discrepancy between capability and skills, and unwillingness of the FM personnel and organizations to adapt to new routines in order to implement sustainability in their business. The capabilities of FM personnel and organizations were regarded as the key enablers in managing sustainability knowledge. In a sustainable development context, capabilities are vital to the fostering of competency in an organization to innovate in a more sustainable way and support the agenda in an organization. Additionally, research which focused on people’s capabilities and skills is still lagging behind the efforts to develop guidelines, technical manuals and knowledge portals. Therefore, it is beneficial to explore the issues of capabilities in dealing with the implementation of sustainable practices in FM. This paper introduces a research project which is aimed at establishing a knowledge capabilities framework for promoting sustainability measures in FM practices. It will explore and highlight challenges to integrate sustainability as well as the personnel and organizational capabilities that are vital in dealing with knowledge issues in implementing sustainability agenda in FM practices. The expected outcome of this research has the potential to further sustainability endeavours in FM practices, while providing a useful source of knowledge to the FM personnel and organizations.

School based youth health nurses and a true health promotion approach : the Ottawa what?

Aim: The purpose of this research is to examine School Based Youth Health Nurses experience of a true health promotion approach. Background: The School Based Youth Health Nurse Program is a state-wide school nursing initiative in Queensland, Australia. The program employs more than 120 fulltime and fractional school nurses who provide health services in state high schools. The role incorporates two primary components: individual health consultations and health promotion strategies. Design/Methods: This study is a retrospective inquiry generated from a larger qualitative research project about the experience of school based youth health nursing. The original methodology was phenomenography. In-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen school nurses recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. This study accesses a specific set of raw data about School Based Youth Health Nurses experience of a true health promotion approach. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) is used as a framework for deductive analysis. Results: The findings indicate school nurses have neither an adverse or affirmative conceptual experience of a true health promotion approach and an adverse operational experience of a true health promotion approach based on the action areas of the Ottawa Charter. Conclusions: The findings of this research are important because they challenge the notion that school nurses are the most appropriate health professionals to undertake a true health promotion approach. If school nurses are the most appropriate health professionals to do a true health promotion approach, there are implications for recruitment and training and qualifications. If school nurses are not, who are the most appropriate health professionals to do school health promotion? Implications for Practice: These findings can be applied to other models of school nursing in Australia which emphasises a true health promotion approach because they relate specifically to school nurses’ experience of a true health promotion approach.

Crime, Justice and Social Democracy : International Perspectives

Crime, Justice and Social Democracy is a provocative and thoughtful collection of timely reflections on the state of social democracy and its inextricable links to crime and justice. Authored by some of the world's leading thinkers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, with a preface from Professor David Garland of New York University, this volume provides a powerful social democratic critique of neoliberal regimes of governance and crime control on an international scale. Social democratic values raise broad questions about government, ethics, and the exercise of power in criminal justice institutions; each chapter here engages with how this might occur and with what consequences. The contributions to this volume, while critical and hard hitting, also boldly envision a more socially just criminal justice politic. This collection is essential reading for activists, scholars, legislators, politicians and policy makers who are concerned with promoting, imagining and understanding socially sustaining societies.

Human rights, the law, cyber-security and democracy : after the European Convention

Many commentators have treated the internet as a site of democratic freedom and as a new kind of public sphere. While there are good reasons for optimism, like any social space digital space also has its dark side. Citizens and governments alike have expressed anxiety about cybercrime and cyber-security. In August 2011, the Australian government introduced legislation to give effect to Australia becoming a signatory to the European Convention on Cybercrime (2001). At the time of writing, that legislation is still before the Parliament. In this article, attention is given to how the legal and policy-making process enabling Australia to be compliant with the European Convention on Cybercrime came about. Among the motivations that informed both the development of the Convention in Europe and then the Australian exercise of legislating for compliance with it was a range of legitimate concerns about the impact that cybercrime can have on individuals and communities. This article makes the case that equal attention also needs to be given to ensuring that legislators and policy makers differentiate between legitimate security imperatives and any over-reach evident in the implementation of this legislation that affects rule of law principles, our capacity to engage in democratic practices, and our civic and human rights.

The role of representative design in talent development : a comment on “Talent identification and promotion programmes of Olympic athletes”

A recent comment in the Journal of Sports Sciences (MacNamara & Collins, 2011) highlighted some major concerns with the current structure of talent identification and development (TID) programmes of Olympic athletes (e.g. Gulbin, 2008; Vaeyens, Gullich, Warr, & Philippaerts, 2009). In a cogent commentary, MacNamara and Collins (2011) provided a short review of the extant literature, which was both timely and insightful. Specifically, they criticised the ubiquitous one-dimensional ‘physically-biased’ attempts to produce world class performers, emphasising the need to consider a number of key environmental variables in a more multi-disciplinary perspective. They also lamented the wastage of talent, and alluded to the operational and opportunistic nature of current talent transfer programmes. A particularly compelling aspect of the comment was their allusion to high profile athletes who had ‘failed’ performance evaluation tests and then proceeded to succeed in that sport. This issue identifies a problem with current protocols for evaluating performance and is a line of research that is sorely needed in the area of talent development. To understand the nature of talent wastage that might be occurring in high performance programmes in sport, future empirical work should seek to follow the career paths of ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ products of TID programmes, in comparative analyses. Pertinent to the insights of MacNamara and Collins (2011), it remains clear that a number of questions have not received enough attention from sport scientists interested in talent development, including: (i) why is there so much wastage of talent in such programmes? And (ii), why are there so few reported examples of successful talent transfer programmes? These questions highlight critical areas for future investigation. The aim of this short correspondence is to discuss these and other issues researchers and practitioners might consider, and to propose how an ecological dynamics underpinning to such investigations may help the development of existing protocols...