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A Community Based Disaster Mental Health Intervention (CBDMHI) Adapted for Rural Australian Communities
No full textDue to climate change environmental hazards have become more prevalent and severe. Environmental hazards cannot be prevented but what can be diminished is the negative impact hazards have on people and property. Previous research looking into interventions for environmental hazards have identified that communities negatively impacted by hazards can benefit from interventions that focus on preparedness for disasters, mental health and increasing social support. The Community-Based Disaster Mental Health Intervention (CBDMHI) is an evidence-based approach that aims to increase disaster preparedness, resilience, social cohesion, and social support, and decrease mental health symptoms. The overarching aim of this project was to adapt the CBDMHI for an Australian bushfire context. This project specifically aimed to adapt the CBDMHI to rural Australia community who were impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfire season. This project aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the CBDMHI in the studied community with the hope that the CBDMHI could be adapted to other rural Australian disaster-prone communities. Study One aimed to explore a rural Australian community’s experience of the 2019-2020 bushfires in order to ascertain insight into the community recovery and preparedness needs so that the CBDMHI could be adapted to the local community context. Thirteen Australian adults who resided within a small rural community in New South Wales during the 2019-2020 bushfires participated in semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Results of this analysis were broken into two separate papers. Paper one focused on disaster preparedness and mental health needs and found that participants reported being unprepared for the 2019-2020 bushfires and that the community has started to prepare for future bushfires. Participants also described a belief in ‘climate cycles’ rather than climate change, limiting engagement in preparedness for future hazards. Participants also reported that they did not talk about the 2019-2020 bushfires, although described experiencing residual anxiety. Paper two focused on the community’s social cohesion following the 2019-2020 bushfires. Five themes were identified regarding social cohesion across different points in time. Before the bushfires, participants reported that their community was “fractured”. During the bushfires, participants reported that the community “rallied”. Post bushfires the participants discussed the “external supports” that entered the community, the “community wedges” that occurred, and how the community went “back to normal”, illustrating that the community returned to being “fractured” after the bushfires. Study two aimed to pilot the adapted CBDMHI in a rural Australian community and assessed acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Nine Australian adults participated in the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis were used. Data were analysed using repeated measures ANOVAs. Results showed large main effects for time in resilience and cohesion, though these results all fell outside conventional significance. There was also a significant interaction between the number of modules completed and time for preparedness, such that those who completed all modules sustained preparedness over time. Results highlighted that the intervention was found to be acceptable, with participants reporting that they found the intervention to be helpful for themselves and their community, well-structured, enjoyable, and engaging. The CBDMHI was feasible in a rural Australian community and this was evidenced as the intervention was aligned with the resources, time frames and logistical requirements. Taken together the findings of this research illustrate that the CBDMHI was feasible and acceptable in a rural Australian bushfire context
Copyright: a colonial doctrine in a postcolonial age
No full textIn this article, I am interested in exploring the legal doctrine of copyright from the standpoint of a postcolonial critic. According to Shelley Wright, there is a ‘deep and continuing grip of colonial thinking on all systems currently in place, from the personal and local to the global.’1 And the law of copyright is no exception. Like other areas of intellectual property, copyright as a Western philosophical idea, is deeply imbued with the values of the European Enlightenment, liberalism, and a society founded on a print-based culture. As Wright suggests, copyright continues to be one of ‘the quintessential representations of the modern, public world of bourgeois expansion, male dominance and European colonial influence in the creation of political and economic systems in Europe and the colonies.’2 Indeed, the Western history of copyright is inextricably tied to the Western history of colonialism
Images of nudity in the theatrical works of Benserade
No full textLes thèmes du transvestisme, de l’homosexualité et de la transsexualité figurent dans quatre des six pièces d’Isaac de Benserade1 . Dans La mort d’Achille, et la dispute de ses armes (1636), nous trouvons une référence au fait que le héros avait autrefois été déguisé en vêtements de femme pour échapper à un oracle. Dans Gustaphe ou l’heureuse ambition (1637), la princesse Célinte paraît sur scène habillée en homme, et elle continue à être travestie pendant une grande partie de la pièce
Issues and Perspectives on the Death Penalty in The Philippines: a briefing paper prepared by the Commission on Human Rights of The Philippines
No full textThe death penalty is a highly contentious issue among Philippine policymakers and the public. The Philippines is the first country to abolish the death penalty in Asia, through the 1987 Philippine Constitution and later through Republic Act No. 9346 in 2006. Yet, debates on whether capital punishment be reinstated persists, particularly in times when there is perceived worsening of crime situation. In recent years, calls for its revival has been linked to fears and anxieties over the perceived proliferation of illicit drugs and its social impacts. This has led to various legislative proposals to restore the death sentence in the criminal justice system
The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011 (Cth) and its impact on the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth)
No full textThe draft Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011 (Cth) is expected to be finalised shortly before it is introduced to the Parliament later this year. The Bill proposes to amend the Patents Act 1990, the Trade Marks Act 1995, the Copyright Act 1968, the Designs Act 2003 and the Plant Breeders Rights Act 1994.The main elements of the proposed reforms include raising the quality of granted patents and ensuring that the patent system does not restrict research, reducing delays in resolving patent and trade mark applications, and improving mechanisms for trade mark and copyright enforcement. This article will focus on the proposed changes to the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), and discuss the likely impact the Bill will have on trade marks practice and procedure in Australia if the amendments are introduced
Educator perspectives on implementing the Optometry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework
Get PDFClinical relevance: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to the highest attainable standard of health and access to health services without discrimination. To uphold these rights, it is important that optometry students are educated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and culturally safe practice.Background: An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework is now mandatory for optometry programs to implement. This study explores the experiences of those involved in implementing this framework and, from their perspectives, what is and is not working.Methods: Heads and educators involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum at Australian optometry programs participated in a mixed-methods study. Information about pedagogy and contextual issues impacting curriculum implementation was collected through surveys and interviews. The design and analysis were underpinned by constructivist grounded theory.Results: Most programs had at least partially implemented components of the curriculum framework. While partnerships were considered essential to success, this remains a work in progress. Authentic learning through clinical placement was considered a priority. Assessment was described as complex and not yet adequately addressed. Only 37% of educators felt fully prepared to teach and 6% to assess this curriculum. More workload allocation, funding and recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students through institutional commitment and leadership were perceived requirements.Conclusion: Further developing sustainable partnerships where there is reciprocity between optometry programs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators and communities is critical to effectively implementing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum. While clinical placement was considered an important learning experience, the type of experience and whether or not all students should attend require further consideration. Additionally, educators need support for professional development and sharing resources in this emerging field. This will contribute to improving culturally safe practice in optometry
Stocktheft in Kenya: Patterns, drivers and challenges
No full textThe purpose of this article is to present the current challenges impeding policing of livestock theft in Kenya and suggest future ways to tackle it. Though, attempts have been made to address the problem of stock theft, it remains one of the persistent crimes in Kenya. Specifically, less has been done to critically analyse policing challenges accompanying prevention of livestock theft. By use of documentary reviews and in-depth analysis of policy documents – the article provides a critical understanding of the persistence of stock theft from an East African country. The article highlights how social-cultural, demographic, economic and technological development mutually reinforces each other to promote and impede policing of livestock theft in Kenya specifically. The article concludes by suggesting that there is need for more integrate approach to understanding of livestock theft which can inform development of practical and relevant interventions that can address changing dynamics of livestock theft in Kenya and Africa in general
The importance of assessing positive and beneficial impacts of alien species
No full textExtensive literature is available on the diversity and magnitude of impacts that alien species cause on recipient systems. Alien species may decrease or increase attributes of ecosystems (e.g. total biomass or species diversity), thus causing negative and positive environmental impacts. Alien species may also negatively or positively impact attributes linked to local human communities (e.g. the number of people involved in a given activity). Ethical and societal values contribute to define these environmental and socio-economic impacts as deleterious or beneficial. Whilst most of the literature focuses on the deleterious effects of alien taxa, some recognise their beneficial impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Impact assessment frameworks show a similar tendency to evaluate mainly deleterious impacts: only relatively few, and not widely applied, frameworks incorporate the beneficial impacts of alien species. Here, we provide a summary of the frameworks assessing beneficial impacts and briefly discuss why they might have been less frequently cited and applied than frameworks assessing exclusively deleterious impacts. Then, we review arguments that invoke a greater consideration of positive and beneficial impacts caused by alien species across the invasion science literature. We collate and describe arguments from a set of 47 papers, grouping them in two categories (value- free and value-laden), which span from a theoretical, basic science perspective to an applied science perspective. We also provide example cases associated with each argument. We advocate that the development of transparent and evidence-based frameworks assessing positive and beneficial impacts might advance our scientific understanding of impact dynamics and better inform management and prioritisation decisions. We also advise that this development should be achieved by recognising the underlying ethical and societal values of the frameworks and their intrinsic limitations. The evaluation of positive and beneficial impacts through impact assessment frameworks should not be seen as an attempt to outweigh or to discount deleterious impacts of alien taxa but rather as an opportunity to provide additional information for scientists, managers and policymakers
Food Value Chain Coordination in Practice: European and Australian case studies of the creation of chain good innovations
No full textFood value chain businesses form alliances with horizontal and/or vertical partners to take collective action to either overcome or ameliorate chain failure, or to take advantage of new opportunities available due to innovations in products or processes. The desired outcomes from the collective action would not be possible to achieve if these businesses acted independently. While such alliances may take many forms, depending on degree of commitment and infrastructure linkages, they can often be considered to be clubs. Four mini-case studies are presented which demonstrate the breadth of past collective actions that have been undertaken by a substantial proportion of businesses in food value chains, two in Europe and two in Australia. These are (1) the Euro Pool System, (2) Global Standards certification in Europe and globally, (3) Meat Standards Australia, and (4) the East Gippsland Food Cluster in Australia. Each case study yields insights into the rationale of how businesses in different food value chains in different countries have acted as a club to use their joint resources to internalise positive innovation and coordination externalities that would not have been possible to achieve were these businesses to act independently
Epidermal scale growth, allometry and function in non‐avian dinosaurs and extant reptiles
No full textEpidermal scales in sauropsids perform a wide array of biological functions, which can relate to their shape and size. Accordingly, growth-related changes in scale morphology may reflect distinct functions between juvenile and adult individuals, such as use in mating interactions. Such patterns are poorly explored in both extant reptiles and non-avian dinosaurs, limiting functional interpretations. Here, we investigate scale growth in the ornithischian ceratopsid Chasmosaurus belli and hadrosaurid Prosaurolophus maximus by comparing scale morphologies between juveniles and adults of each taxon. Scale shape is generally consistent across growth stages in both taxa, and changes in C. belli feature scale length cannot reject isometry. However, there is a greater increase in C. belli feature scale width. In practical terms, the magnitude of these size differences rejects the hypothesis that feature scale morphology played a role in mating interactions, suggesting instead that their size was largely non-adaptive. To contextualise the patterns in the sampled dinosaurs, we assessed scale growth and allometry using an ecologically diverse sample of eight extant reptile species belonging to Crocodylidae, Scincidae, Elapidae and Pythonidae. While isometry is the overall most frequent pattern of scale growth in our sample of extant reptiles, most species demonstrate positive scale allometry in at least one area of their bodies, which is likely a response to changing body proportions. Scale shapes in the studied extant species, as in both dinosaurs, are largely retained through growth. This study provides the first detailed assessment of skin growth in non-avian dinosaurs, supporting morphological stasis in the growth of most of their scales