200 research outputs found
I cannot give up, I cannot give up on the children - Bernadette McMenamin, AO
No full textBernadette McMenamin’s biography presents an exceptional life story and list of professional accomplishments. Overcoming early adversities in life, Bernadette completed social work education, began her social work practice career in public housing, vehemently fought for social justice and became a leading campaigner against child sex abuse. Bernadette founded Child Wise Limited, a child protection charity with a local and global mission, based in Melbourne, Australia, and she was Chief Executive Officer for more than 22 years. As the National Director of Child Wise, Bernadette was responsible for developing innovative child abuse prevention programs and campaigns, nationally and internationally. Of particular note is the enactment of the Child Sex Tourism law in 1994 to make sex with children overseas a prosecutable offence in Australia, and her advocacy for its implementation. In recognition of these sustained efforts and achievements Child Wise received a number of awards. In 2004 Bernadette was the Victorian finalist for Australian of the Year and was awarded the Order of Australia (AO) in June of that year. In 2005, she won the Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Social Entrepreneur category for the Southern Region of Australia and in 2006 she was a Victorian finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Award. The analysis of her life story and professional practice offers inspiring lessons and qualities
An excerpt from Urmila Pawar\u27s Autobiography
No full textThe term "Dalit literature" is used to describe works written by authors from the Dalit ethnic minority. The hardships and triumphs of the Dalit people were mirrored in this body of writing. It also revealed their uphill battle in life to the outside world. They are victims of centuries of discrimination and oppression at the hands of those in power in their own nation. Social transformation in this society owes a great deal to the efforts of notable individuals like B.R. Ambedkar. Dalit writings have emphasized the rights and agency of the Dalit community. Many authors of Dalit descent have written on the difficulties inherent in their language and culture. They questioned the privilege of the higher caste and advocated for the adoption of vernacular speech. Several Dalit authors have achieved widespread acclaim for their works. There are several famous authors from India, like Bama (K.R. Meera), Om Prakash Valmiki, Chetan Divate, Urmila Pawar, and Daya Pawar. Urmila Pawar is a well-known Marathi author and activist. She has achieved widespread renown as a writer due to the autobiographical nature of her books. Her works are impacted by both her time as a student and her time as an educator.
 
Hunger for Movement and Action—Sue Vardon, AO
No full textSue Vardon spent 23 years as a chief executive (CE) in federal and state government agencies. She has an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia and has been an adjunct professor at both Canberra University and the University of South Australia and was the inaugural Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year in 1995. She was educated as a social worker at the University of New South Wales and worked in local government in NSW, both metropolitan and country. She held senior positions in the NSW Department for Community Services before moving to South Australia to become the Director General of Community Welfare. This was followed by the CE of the Office of Public Sector Reform, the Public Service Commissioner and the CE of the Department for Correctional Services in South Australia. She was the inaugural CE of Centrelink, which was established in 1997, and her last position was CE of the South Australian Department for Families and Communities, bringing together housing, disability, domiciliary care and family services. Included in this work was her role as State Recovery Co-ordinator and Chair of the National Community Services and Disability Administrators Disaster Recovery Group. Sue’s inspirational story demonstrates her strength of character and shrewdness in choice of strategy
Empower People to Take Control of Their Own Lives - Tom Calma, AO
No full textProfessor Tom Calma, AO, is an elder from the Kungarakan and Iwaidja tribal groups from the south-west Darwin region and the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory. Tom served about 45 years in the Australian public sector with a difference. Some of the notable positions he held in his service were the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner and he served as a senior Australian diplomat in India and Vietnam. Tom has dedicated his life to the cause of human rights and social justice, and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Analysis of his life and practice shows inspirational contributions and qualities
The effect of mechanical strain on properties of lubricated tablets compacted at different pressures
No full textA full factorial design of experiments was used to study the effect of blend shear strain on the compaction process, relative density and strength of pharmaceutical tablets. The powder blends were subjected to different shear strain levels (integral of shear rate with respect to time) using an ad hoc Couette shear cell. Tablets were compressed at different compaction forces using an instrumented compactor simulator, and compaction curves showing the force-displacement profiles during compaction were obtained. Although the die-fill blend porosity (initial porosity) and the minimum in-die tablet porosity (at maximum compaction) decreased significantly with shear strain, the final tablet porosity was surprisingly independent of shear strain. The increase in the in-die maximum compaction with shear strain was, in fact, compensated during post-compaction relaxation of the tables, which also increased significantly with shear strain. Therefore, tablet porosity alone was not sufficient to predict tablet tensile strength. A decrease in the ‘work of compaction’ as a function of shear strain, and an increase in the recovered elastic work was observed, which suggested weaker particle-particle bonding as the shear strain in- creased. For each shear strain level, the Ryskewitch Duckworth equation was a good fit to the tensile strength as a function of tablet porosity, and the obtained asymptotic tensile strength at zero porosity exhibited a 60% reduction as a function of shear strain. This was consistent with a reduced bonding efficiency as the shear strain increased.Peer reviewed
Social Challenges and Policy Innovations by Social Workers in Australia
No full textBy summarizing the social challenges in the contemporary Australian context, this article aims to discuss policy innovations by Australian social workers. Acknowledging that the concept of policy innovation is broad and sometimes ambiguous, it looks at four examples by social workers. Drawing on secondary data analysis, it discusses how social workers played an important role in introducing legislative changes/amendments to protect children in difficult circumstances, resisted a refugee policy that incarcerates innocent children, challenged and changed procedures and policies within an organization, and influenced policymakers to revert budgetary decisions to enhance access to services. These examples show the social workers ’ commitment, passion, and vision and their experiences with policy innovation. Given the nature and extent of social challenges, this paper raises questions about the limited policy innovation by social workers. The analysis has significant implications for social workers ’ obligation to contribute to policy innovation in their chosen area of practice. Some Social Challenges Contemporary Australians are confronted with several social challenges. With an oppressive history of colonization, the country’s overarching policy climate is clouded by market philosophy, privatization, managerialism, and conservative liberalism. Irrespective of political parties ’ and governments ’ ideologies, people generally are experiencing an increasingly divided, unequal societ
Post-disaster social reconstruction and social development
No full textThe Asia-Pacific region has experienced major disasters, both natural and man-made, in the recent past. Hundreds of families and communities, and several governments, non-government organisations, international organisations and aid agencies have been engaged in relief, rebuilding and rehabilitation activities with varying degrees of effectiveness and success. This article aims to reflect on some of these post-disaster reconstruction experiences; exploring how a social development approach can be employed for the post-disaster social reconstruction; and suggest regional social policies and strategies for multi-stakeholder cooperation to effectively address post-disaster issues at the local level. Although efforts made by several agencies in very challenging contexts are commendable, there are few examples to show the application of the social development approach. By discussing the social development approach, the paper argues that the conscious use of such an approach facilitates a better planning and preparation for anticipated disasters, rehabilitation processes and the comprehensive development of disaster affected areas, including environmental and psycho-social issues. Towards this end, it underscores the role of regional social policies and multi-stake-holder cooperation. The discussion has implications for local and international communities, which are engaged in pre-planning and preparation for disasters and post-disaster reconstruction
Virtue-Led Social Work Practice
No full textThe ten biographies presented in this book offer an important opportunity for social work/social welfare/community and social development/human services students, practitioners and educators, and any general reader to look at these professionals’ life stories and some of the virtues we have identified and interpreted from those stories. What is the significance of these biographies? What virtues are demonstrated in their practices? What might we learn from them? Do they have any potential to influence ourselves and our practice? They may or may not be exemplary and we are hesitant to call them so, and we leave it to readers to see what they think. However, the subjects’ lifelong practice stories speak of their practical wisdom, at least to some extent in some respects. While reflecting on these biographies and their virtues, we must pose a crucial question: So what? In this concluding chapter we try to address this question by looking at the possibilities and consequences of virtue-led social work practice, some of the common or core virtues identified in the ten biographies, and the potential for virtue-led social work practice in the future
- …
