(Re)creating spaces within rural general practice : Women as agents of change at the organisational and practitioner levels
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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- Description: This thesis examines how women, as agents of change, contest the male-dominated structures at the organisational and practitioner levels of rural medicine in Australia. The premises for this study are that females now outnumber males as medical graduates and general practice trainees, yet women are significantly less likely than men to occupy rural and remote practice positions in Australia. Furthermore, the organisation of medicine remains strongly patriarchal. A feminist qualitative design underpins this empirical study involving: in-depth interviews with seventeen women activists and thirteen rural women general practitioners; grounded theory analysis of transcribed interviews; and interpretation of findings through a feminist poststructural lens. Findings uncover the gendered organisational and practitioner environment through which change is negotiated. At the organisational level, male exclusionary practices – played out through the ‘male as norm’ and the ‘problem is women’ discourses – position women in highly contradictory ways and marginalise their voices. Yet simultaneously, activists are challenging entrenched interests through individual and collective strategies of change which include: initiating gender-awareness projects; claiming legitimacy by using male-centred tactics and women-defined discourses; developing female-friendly initiatives; and mentoring of and building alliances between women. At the practitioner level, results reveal how women’s everyday lives as rural general practitioners are shaped by oppositional tensions. However, beyond the struggle of ‘fitting in’, women are altering rural medicine by (re)shaping meanings and (re)constructing work practices. Furthermore, their narratives suggest that rural spaces are integral to ways women carve out women-defined practice. A key innovation of this thesis is analysis of change at dual levels, both organisational and practitioner. This thesis marks a significant advancement upon the usual themes that attend only to the marginalisation of women and rural areas. It highlights the transformative process through which women (re)create the discursive spaces of rural general practice.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Closing the loop between research and sustainable regional development
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 12th SEGRA Conference 2008 : Creative Solutions - expect them to be different, Albury, New South Wales : 18th-20th August 2008
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- Description: There is continued debate between researchers, policy makers and regional communities on the effectiveness of research in identifying and engaging with regional issues and transferring this research to facilitate polices and initiatives that are adaptive and relevant. This paper reviews these current trends in thinking and describes a model of regional engagement where researchers, decision makers and community are beginning to work together to establish an effective framework to facilitate adaptive decision making, social learning and participatory research initiatives at a regional scale. The paper describes the evolution of the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) in Western Victoria. The model provides insights and highlights difficulties in converting research into creative solutions for sustainable regional development. Co-location, bridging partnerships across disciplines to deliver regional research needs, and developing good communication are key elements of this model. It also suggests that models of this type may be a stepping stone to integrate research into regional development decision making.
- Description: 2003006872
Does major regional infrastructure influence the resilience of a rural community?
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 10th National Rural Health Conference: Rural health, the place to be, Cairns, Queensland : 17th-20th May 2009
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- Description: 2003006931
Identifying farmer typologies, perspectives and aspirations of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline : A report prepared for the Department of Primary Industries, Horsham
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pam
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Book , Report
- Relation: No. 2
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is implementing a project – Sustainable Agribusiness Opportunities from the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline (SAOW) – funded through the Provincial Victoria Growth Fund, Regional Development Victoria (RDV) which aims to assist Wimmera Mallee farmers to maximise the opportunities that can be derived from this major change in water supply. As part of this project, the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) was commissioned by DPI to undertake research that provides insight into how farmers might react to such changes and what expectations they may have for their farming enterprises. This research informs DPI in developing a targeted and insightful approach to extension programs to assist farmers and farming groups connecting to the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline (WMP). The study involved an extensive literature review of socio-economic benefits of pipeline infrastructure and a multimode survey (telephone and online) of Wimmera Mallee farmers (n=527) to establish farmer typologies using farming style theory. Follow-up semi-structured interviews (n=16) were conducted with representative farmers from each of the defined ‘farming styles’. These interviews contextualised the characteristics of the styles, explored the implications for farm innovations and perceived opportunities, and identified key barriers and drivers influencing the uptake of innovation as a consequence of the WMP.
Identifying farmer typologies, perspectives and aspirations of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline : Summary Report
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pam
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Book , Report
- Relation: Series Volume No. 3
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This document presents a summary of the findings of a significant research project examining the implications of a more secure stock and domestic water supply system for a large dryland agricultural region. It identifies key issues, concerns and opportunities as perceived by farmers of various farmer typologies. It explores innovation, and the drivers and barriers to the adoption of new farming practices. The research was commissioned by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) as part of the Sustainable Agribusiness Opportunities from the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline (SAOW) initiative. This research will inform DPI in developing a targeted and insightful approach to extension programs to assist farmers and farming groups connecting to the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline (WMP). More background information and detailed findings can be found in the full report located on the WIDCORP website (www.widcorp.com). The Wimmera Mallee Water Supply system historically delivered stock and domestic water across the dryland Wimmera Mallee region of Victoria via open earthen channels from storages in the Grampians to farms and town storages across the region (van Veldhuisen, 2001). Whilst this system was critical for the development of agriculture and communities within the region, wastage of approximately 103,000ML of water through evaporation and seepage across this system was no longer sustainable (GWMWater, 2003). In response to this situation, construction of the WMP Project commenced in late 2006, led by Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water (GWMWater) with funding from the community, state and federal governments. This major infrastructure project will replace the delivery of open channel water to the Wimmera Mallee farms and towns with a pipeline supply from headworks in the Grampians
Is the pipeline our lifeline? Water reform and sustainability in drought-affected dryland communities of rural Victoria
- Authors: McRae-Williams, Pamela , Deutsher, M , Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AWA OzWater 2007 convention and exhibition., Sydney : 4th - 8th March, 2007
- Full Text: false
- Description: E1
Patriarchy and resistance to change in rural general practice : Progress by female activists in revisioning a male institution
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McDonald, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the The 2004 Annual TASA Conference, Beechworth, Australia : 7th-8th December, 2004
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Females now outnumber males as medical graduates and general practice trainees in Australia. However, women are significantly less likely than men to take up full-time general practice in rural and remote areas. The organisation of medicine remains strongly patriarchal. Over the past decade, female doctors, educationalists, researchers and bureaucrats have been pushing for change. This empirical study investigates how women – at an institutional level – are challenging these entrenched interests and how change is resisted. Drawing upon data from in-depth interviews with seventeen women activists, the five main barriers are: the dominant cultural view that male, full-time, procedural doctors are the ‘norm’; the professional socialisation of doctors as amorphous, genderless persons; the occupation by men of, and the exclusion of women from, powerful positions in formal organisations; the threat to conform to professional standards; and the resource intensiveness of being an activist. These results indicate that, after ten years’ struggle, medicine has progressed beyond the denial of women’s issues. Female doctors are now seen as ‘the problem.’ Marginal adjustments are being made to accommodate their needs. Generally, however, women’s interests continue to be subordinated; exclusionary practices allow the men who control the organisation of rural general practice to maintain their privileges.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003001299
Place matters! Rural as an ‘enabling culture’ for female GPs
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McDonald, John
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 9th National rural health conference: Standing up for rural health., Albury, Australia : March, 2007 p. 1-9
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- Description: E1
- Description: 2003005837
Rural water reform in the Northern Mallee: Evidence that pipelines deliver mixed outcomes
- Authors: Deutsher, M , Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Pipes, Pond and People: Adaptive water management in drylands p. 77-92
- Full Text: false
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The agenda for change among female rural general practitioners
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the 7th National Rural Health Conference, Canberra : 1st - 4th March, 2003
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- Description: This paper presents the preliminary results of a qualitative study examining the agenda for change being pursued by key influential women in Australia to address male-centred rural general practitioner (GP) workforce policies. Many current recruitment and retention programs do not reflect the needs of female GPs as they are based on the traditional notions of a country GP — that is a full-time, on call doctor with a supporting spouse. As women become the majority in medicine, key women influentials in the rural general practice field are advocating for the restructuring of medicine so that women GPs can be part of the solution to rural health care issues. Previous empirical research and theoretical analyses have suggested that medicine and rural communities are patriarchal. To date data collection for this explorative study consists of 5 in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of key women activists across the spectrum of organised medicine. Preliminary results show how women are pressuring for change but also the sources of resistance they encounter from the dominant medical culture. Key women players use particular collective and individual strategies to advocate for female GP issues. These results reflect some research findings on women leaders and female rural GPs. In conclusion, it is important that women are given equal access to decision-making positions to enable their input into the structure and culture of rural general practice. The recommendation put forward is to build inclusive recruitment and retention rural workforce strategies for female rural GPs.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000514
Understanding the socio-economic review value of water pipeline projects in Australia dryland farming regions: A systematic review of the literature
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Pipes, Ponds and People: Adaptive water management in drylands p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed: