Migration-related influences on obesity among sub-Saharan African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine migration- and socioeconomic-related influences on obesity among African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia. Methods: Anthropometric data were collected from 99 parents and 100 adolescent offspring who also completed questionnaires eliciting demographic, socioeconomic and migration data. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between migration- and socioeconomic-related factors and adolescent body mass index (BMI). Results: Only gender and parental BMI were associated with adolescent BMI after adjusting for adolescent age, adolescent gender, religion, parental BMI, parental education level and annual income. Boys (β=-1.45; P < 0.05) had lower BMI than girls. Parental and adolescent BMI were positively associated (β = 0.11; P < 0.05). In examining migration-related factors and adolescent BMI, after adjusting for gender and parental BMI, parental acculturation patterns and pre-migration life environment were associated with adolescent BMI, explaining, respectively, 6.5 and 4.0% of the variance in BMI. An integrated parental acculturation pattern was negatively associated with adolescent BMI (β=-0.17; P < 0.05) while adolescents whose parents came from rural areas had a higher BMI (β = 1.48; P < 0.05) than those whose parents came from urban areas. Adolescent acculturation patterns and length of stay in Australia were non-significantly associated with their BMI. Conclusions: Gender, pre-migration life environment and parental acculturation patterns seem to influence the prevalence of overweight and obesity among African migrant adolescents. Culturally competent obesity prevention programmes targeted towards African adolescents should consider these aspects in their design and delivery; however, further research is required to determine their relative contributions to African adolescent obesity in Australia.

The show must go on’ : older entertainers making music in the community in Melbourne, Australia

Globally countries are faced with an aging population and Australia is no different. This creates challenges for the maintenance of well-being which can be enhanced by active engagement in society. There is extensive research that confirms that engagement in music by older people is positively related to individual and community wellbeing. Music engagement encompasses a range of social participation and has the potential to recognise the contribution of older people to their local communities. Music participation can contribute to a better quality of life, particularly in relation to health and happiness. There are many possible forms of music engagement. This study is part of an on-going Deakin University and Monash University research project, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. This article focuses on three members of a mixed voluntary singing group formed by older residents of an outer suburban community in Melbourne, Australia. This group, The Skylarkers, were established in 1999 as a four-part choir. Over the years the nature of the choir has changed under subsequent music directors. Since 2009 the group has focused on music theatre repertoire and performance style. Membership of the group is fluid reflecting changing life circumstances of the members but the ensemble is resilient. This small amateur music theatre group is based in suburban Melbourne, rehearses weekly and performs regularly at retirement villages, nursing homes and facilities for senior citizens. This article presents a phenomenological qualitative single case study of members of the Skylarkers. In this study, interview data were gathered in 2011-2012 and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two significant themes emerged that concern musical self-identity and gaining a sense of purpose and fulfilment. The Skylarkers are more than a choir; they are an amateur entertainment troupe that engages with each other and the wider community. This resilient group holds true to the motto ‘the show must go on’.

The discourse of public education: an urban campaign for a local public high school in Melbourne, Victoria

This paper explores the metonymic slippage surrounding the discourse of public education, through observations and interviews with Lawson High School active campaigners in the state of Victoria, Australia. The notion of campaigning for public education has become an ever-present issue on an international scale, and this article aims to contribute qualitative knowledge regarding the key concepts that lobbyists produce and articulate within their meetings concerning public education. Data have been obtained through direct participatory observation within a contextually specific campaigning site, lobbyists' publications and one-on-one interviews with active campaigners. Findings indicate that campaigners present distinct conceptualisations of public education as a discourse and a well-defined model of their school-of-choice.

Food security among asylum seekers in Melbourne

Objectives: This research explores food insecurity among asylum seekers who are members of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) in Melbourne, Australia. Methods: Structured person-assisted questionnaires were conducted with 56 asylum seekers. The questionnaires examined issues around access to food, cultural appropriateness of available food, transport issues, use of the ASRC Foodbank and questions about general health. Results: Findings suggest that: 1) almost all asylum seekers in this study were food insecure; 2) most of the asylum seekers using the ASRC Foodbank have no access to food other than that provided at the centre; and 3) the reason that most asylum seekers are food insecure is related to structural problems associated with limitations imposed by different visas. Conclusions and implications: The ability of asylum seekers to achieve food security is limited by their restricted access to welfare and government or work-related income. Given that the current policy situation is likely to continue, providers such as the ASRC will find continuing demands on their services and increasing pressures to provide more than a 'supplemental' food supply.

Sociocultural factors and perceptions associated with type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African migrants in Melbourne, Victoria

Aim: To explore how non-diabetic sub-Saharan African migrants residing in Melbourne, construct and interpret type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its risk factors and to provide an evidence-based theoretical framework to inform community-based prevention programs. Methods: Seven focus group discussions (two with women only, two with men only and three of mixed gender) were carried out among Ghanaian, Zimbabwean, Sudanese and Burundian migrants living in Melbourne (n = 61; age range: 18 to 61 years). Results: Three distinct themes emerged: not paying much attention to the threat of T2DM and othering; T2DM being outside the individuals' control; and entrapment within rich industrialised culture and lifestyle. Participants perceived T2DM to be a disease of the wealthy caused by intake of too much sugar and sedentary behaviour, which were particularly compounded by lifestyle-related changes upon migration to an industrialised country. However, they also perceived T2DM to be associated with bad luck. Conclusions: Culturally competent prevention and education programs are needed to increase health literacy and dispel religious and cultural myths about T2DM among sub-Saharan African migrants.

The epidemiology of dry eye in Melbourne, Australia

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of dry eye in the adult population of Melbourne, Australia. DESIGN: A cross-sectional prevalence study. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were recruited by a household census from two of nine clusters of the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project, a population-based study of age-related eye disease in the 40 and older age group of Melbourne, Australia. Nine hundred and twenty-six (82.3% of eligible) people participated; 433 (46.8%) were male. They ranged in age from 40 to 97 years, with a mean of 59.2 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported symptoms of dry eye were elicited by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Four objective assessments of dry eye were made: Schirmer's test, tear film breakup time, rose bengal staining, and fluorescein corneal staining. A standardized clinical slit-lamp examination was performed on all participants. Dry eye for the individual signs or symptoms was defined as: rose bengal > 3, Schirmers < 8, tear film breakup time < 8, > 1/3 fluorescein staining, and severe symptoms (3 on a scale of 0 to 3). RESULTS: Dry eye was diagnosed as follows: 10.8% by rose bengal, 16.3% by Schirmer's test, 8.6% by tear film breakup time, 1.5% by fluorescein staining, 7.4% with two or more signs, and 5.5% with any severe symptom not attributed to hay fever. Women were more likely to report severe symptoms of dry eye (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85; 95% confidence limits [CL] = 1.01, 3.41). Risk factors for two or more signs of dry eye include age (OR = 1.04; 95% CL = 1.01, 1.06), and self-report of arthritis (OR = 3.27; 95% CL = 1.74, 6.17). These results were not changed after excluding the 21 people (2.27%) who wore contact lenses. CONCLUSIONS: These are the first reported population-based data of dry eye in Australia. The prevalence of dry eye varies by sign and symptom.

Interview in Melbourne with Meg Labrum, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Canberra, June 16, 2015

A conversation with Meg Labrum (National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra),arguing that women have a disproportionate impact upon the programming of silent film at festivals. It asks how she works and, specifically, how the change to digital has impacted archival outreach and access today in Australia.

Football in the dock: the case of homophobia.

This essay discusses some issues related to homophobia in football. To this was discussed through official documents and literature of the difficulties and challenges in the fight against homophobia in Brazil. From these initial discussions sought to relate the world of "male" and the reproduction of discrimination in football. As a form of analysis came from two authors of the social sciences: Durkheim's concept of anomie, which offers an explanation of why the repression of different (idea of the sacred and profane), and Habermas with the idea of civil society as a construction of mechanisms to fight for a transformation of reality and possibility of dialogue.

Development of a Dashboard for Sentiment Analysis of Football in Twitter based on Web Components and D3.js

This thesis is the result of a project whose objective has been to develop and deploy a dashboard for sentiment analysis of football in Twitter based on web components and D3.js. To do so, a visualisation server has been developed in order to present the data obtained from Twitter and analysed with Senpy. This visualisation server has been developed with Polymer web components and D3.js. Data mining has been done with a pipeline between Twitter, Senpy and ElasticSearch. Luigi have been used in this process because helps building complex pipelines of batch jobs, so it has analysed all tweets and stored them in ElasticSearch. To continue, D3.js has been used to create interactive widgets that make data easily accessible, this widgets will allow the user to interact with them and �filter the most interesting data for him. Polymer web components have been used to make this dashboard according to Google's material design and be able to show dynamic data in widgets. As a result, this project will allow an extensive analysis of the social network, pointing out the influence of players and teams and the emotions and sentiments that emerge in a lapse of time.

Fielding Yost, UM Football, in stands with Gov. Green at Michigan Stadium Dedication, 1927

L-R: Mrs. Green, Mrs. Yost, Gov. Green, Fielding Yost

Fielding Yost, UM Football, in overcoat and hat, postcard, 1909

Inscription on card reads "Sure we won the game! We outplayed them you know!" Fielding H. Yost.