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Comparing sustainability claims with assurance in organic agriculture standards

- Ascui, Francisco, Farmery, Anna, Gale, Fred

  • Authors: Ascui, Francisco , Farmery, Anna , Gale, Fred
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australasian Journal of Environmental Management Vol. 27, no. 1 (2020), p. 22-41
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  • Description: Voluntary organic standard-setting organisations (SSOs) depend upon public trust in the truth claims implied by their labels: that the product in question has been produced using organic methods. They create and maintain this trust through assurance frameworks based on third-party verification of compliance with organic standards. It is therefore potentially problematic if an SSO makes additional claims that are not capable of being supported by their assurance frameworks. We investigate the claims made about the sustainability of organic agriculture by three voluntary organic SSOs, compared with assurance provisions within their standards. The analysis covers Australia, which has 53 per cent of the world's certified organic farmland; and is extended internationally by including the IFOAM standard, with which a further 49 organic standards are affiliated worldwide. We find that while these standards generally contain principles and requirements that support sustainability claims, they lack well-specified means of verification in most cases other than the ‘core’ claims to exclude synthetic chemical inputs and genetically modified organisms. This assurance gap creates the risk of a consumer backlash. We discuss two ways to mitigate this risk: by strengthening verification within standards; and/or by employing new agricultural information and communication technologies to support claims outside the certification process. © 2019, © 2019 Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand Inc.

On-farm trial on the effectiveness of the nitrification inhibitor DMPP indicates no benefits under commercial Australian farming practices

- Nauer, Philipp, Fest, Benedikt, Visser, Luke, Arndt, Stefan

  • Authors: Nauer, Philipp , Fest, Benedikt , Visser, Luke , Arndt, Stefan
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment Vol. 253, no. (2018), p. 82-89
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  • Description: The trend of increasing nitrogen (N) fertilisation in commercial agriculture demands mitigation of negative impacts on the environment, such as emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Laboratory and controlled field experiments have demonstrated that the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) has the potential to effectively mitigate N2O emissions from dairy pasture and crop farming, and may increase yields. Yet, this has not been investigated in on-farm research trials under commercial production conditions. During the winter growing seasons 2014–2016 we performed an on-farm trial on five commercial broad-acre cropping and five dairy farms in North-East Victoria, Australia, to compare the performance of DMPP + urea (treatment) against conventional urea (control) fertiliser in mitigating N2O emissions and increasing crop and pasture yields. Application rate was fixed at the regional industry standard of 46 kg N ha‐1, yet timing, number of applications and all other management decisions were left to the judgement of the participating farmers. Emissions of N2O were highly variable over time and between farms. We recorded emission spikes of up to 250 g N2O-N ha

Civilizational analysis as a mode of the intercultural : intercivilizational encounters, the intercultural and contemporary historical sociology

- Smith, Jeremy

  • Authors: Smith, Jeremy
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Intercultural Studies Vol. 45, no. 2 (2024), p. 310-325
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  • Description: Classical and contemporary civilizational analysis has not sat comfortably with theoretical constructions of the intercultural or their empirical applications. A ‘classical era’ of civilizations analysis generated a program of research problems that was productive in critical and multidisciplinary ways and limited in scope and vision in others, but this failed to generate a provisional notion of the intercultural. Contemporary civilizational analysis improves on this position significantly in respect of the intercultural, particularly in the development of a current around ‘intercivilizational encounters’. This essay examines this current especially in the work of Benjamin Nelson, Marshall Hodgson and Johann P. Arnason. Arguing that this approach represents vital advances for theoretical constructions of the intercultural in civilizational analysis and more generally in the human sciences, the essay also identifies limitations in latter-day approaches. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Indigenous experiences and underutilisation of disability support services in Australia : a qualitative meta-synthesis

- James, Michelle, Prokopiv, Valerie, Barbagallo, Michael, Porter, Joanne, Johnson, Nicholas, Jones, Jan, Smitherson, Tanisha

  • Authors: James, Michelle , Prokopiv, Valerie , Barbagallo, Michael , Porter, Joanne , Johnson, Nicholas , Jones, Jan , Smitherson, Tanisha
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Disability and Rehabilitation Vol. 46, no. 8 (2024), p. 1438-1449
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  • Description: Purpose: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with a disability continue to experience barriers to service engagement such as mistrust of government services, lack of culturally appropriate support, marginalisation and disempowerment. This meta-synthesis reviews current literature regarding these experiences to explain why services are underutilised. Methods: The meta-synthesis was conducted using a meta-ethnographic approach to synthesise existing studies into new interpretive knowledge. The approach was supported by a search using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: Ten original research papers utilising a qualitative methodology were extracted. Synthesis of the articles revealed four concepts that were developed into a conceptual model. These include:1) History Matters; 2) Cultural Understanding of Disability Care; 3) Limitations to Current Service Provision; and 4) Delivery of Effective Services. Conclusions: Disability services do not adequately consider the cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People or communicate in a culturally appropriate manner. There are expectations that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People acknowledge their disability in alignment with western definitions of disability in order to access services. More work is needed to align disability services with culturally appropriate support to provide better health outcomes.Implications for Rehabilitation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability continue to experience barriers to service engagement which must be addressed. An essential gap that must be filled in providing disability services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the acknowledgment of culture as a resolute influence on all client interactions with providers. A cultural model of disability may better align with the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than current medical and social models used in healthcare. Disability services need to align better with culturally appropriate support to provide better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The expendable teacher in covid-19 times : a poetic inquiry into the reconfiguration of governmentality in victorian schools

- Zonca, Benjamin, Ambrosy, Josh

  • Authors: Zonca, Benjamin , Ambrosy, Josh
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies Vol. 19, no. 1 (2021), p. 212-248
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  • Description: The actualization of a neoliberal rationality has been widely explored in global education policy and Australian schools. This paper draws on engagements with neoliberalism as rationality made ‘real’ through government practices, specifically those that reify the teaching profession into one of risk-management and problem-solving at the expense of deliberation about purposes. In this paper, redacted policy poetry and participant-voiced poetry are employed in parallel to explore the COVID-19 crisis as it emerged in the State of Victoria, Australia with a specific focus on the reconfiguration of risk-management discourses through blanket policy directive. This paper identifies and explores three themes highlighted by this reconfiguration of risk discourse and shifts in modes of governance during this time that are magnified by a teacher’s affective and practical responses to the situation. They are: (1) collective teacher response to overt policy decisions that compel the teacher to embrace risk; (2) contradictions of expectation for schools to continue as usual; and (3) an explicit shift away from instrumental evidence-based pedagogies toward new purposes, pedagogies, and community engagement with little guidance. © 2021, Institute for Education Policy Studies. All rights reserved.

The 'Uluru statement from the heart' : investigating indigenous Australian sovereignty

- Lee, Emma, Richardson, Benjamin, Ross, Helen

One day of eating : tracing misinformation in ‘What I Eat In A Day’ videos

- Topham, Justine, Smith, Naomi

  • Authors: Topham, Justine , Smith, Naomi
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Sociology Vol. 59, no. 3 (2023), p. 682-698
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  • Description: This article traces how misinformation occurs and is negotiated in What I Eat In A Day (WIEIAD) videos. Data were collected from 84 WIEIAD videos across 59 YouTube accounts. Our discourse analysis demonstrated that misinformation is presented in ways that invoke expertise, scientific credibility and personal experience, making it more difficult to identify and respond to. Our analysis illustrates how misinformation arises in seemingly mundane sites of discourse and argues that identifying and responding to misinformation is not a binary task. The WIEIAD genre demonstrates the complexity of contemporary wellness discourses and their broader role in health and risk management, which results in the (re)circulation of misinformation. The tension between the sensory and the rational in WIEIAD videos highlights the complexities present in how misinformation, wellness and health are entangled on social media. © The Author(s) 2023.

Respite, renewal, retirement and tensions : Australian Men's Sheds and the impact on significant others

- Foley, Annette, Golding, Barry, Weadon, Helen

  • Authors: Foley, Annette , Golding, Barry , Weadon, Helen
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Ageing and Society Vol. , no. (2023), p. 1-22
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  • Description: The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had significant research attention for over a decade. However, there has been little research into the broader impacts of Men's Sheds, particularly in relation to the impacts on significant others in the lives of the men who participate. Our paper aims to redress this lack of research by focusing on the interrelated perceptions and experiences of men and those closest to them in four Men's Sheds in regional Victoria, Australia. The research shows that the partners and carers of 'shedders' reported that the men's participation not only benefited the men but also had benefits for their significant others. The study also showed that the partners of shedders in the study found that their individual and joint adjustment to retirement was in some cases assisted by the men enjoying the social and structured environment of the Men's Shed, while in other cases it was seen by partners as an over-commitment and impacting negatively on the marriage. The findings also shed some important light on some tensions experienced by the partners associated with carer burden and adjustments to retirement. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Seeking choice to fulfill health literacy needs : health literacy opportunities for consumers in hospital waiting areas

- McDonald, Cassie, Granger, Catherine, Said, Catherine, Remedios, Louisa

  • Authors: McDonald, Cassie , Granger, Catherine , Said, Catherine , Remedios, Louisa
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Qualitative Health Research Vol. 32, no. 2 (2022), p. 345-359
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  • Description: In this research, we explore and theorize on the potential of hospital outpatient rehabilitation waiting areas to respond and contribute to the health literacy needs of consumers. Constructivist grounded theory informed the sampling and analytical procedures. Thirty-three consumers attending outpatient rehabilitation for a range of health conditions were recruited to this multi-site study. Semi-structured interview and participant observation data were collected and analyzed concurrently using the constant comparison method. The substantive theory of “seeking choice to fulfill health literacy needs” and five interdependent categories were developed. Results indicated that consumers sought choice reflective of their needs; however, the waiting area offered limited choice. Consumers shared ideas to address the lack of choice. Results provide insight into the health literacy needs of consumers in hospital outpatient waiting areas and how health services can appropriately respond to these needs. Future research should investigate the effect of health service environments on health outcomes. © The Author(s) 2021.

Nothing to lose : a phenomenological study of upper limb nerve transfer surgery for individuals with tetraplegia

- Mooney, Alysha, Hewitt, Alana, Hahn, Jodie

  • Authors: Mooney, Alysha , Hewitt, Alana , Hahn, Jodie
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Disability and Rehabilitation Vol. 43, no. 26 (2021), p. 3748-3756
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  • Description: Purpose: For individuals with tetraplegia, regaining upper limb function forms the highest priority for improving quality of life. Use of nerve transfers to reconstruct upper limb function is increasing, however little is known about individual’s decision to have and experience of the surgery and associated rehabilitation outcomes. This qualitative study aimed to understand the experience of surgery on the lives of individuals with tetraplegia 18 months post-surgery. Method: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five purposively selected individuals who have undergone upper limb nerve transfers at a metropolitan health service, Melbourne, Australia, specializing in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Collaizi’s phenomenological framework guided data analysis, resulting in an essence statement describing the individuals’ experience. Results: An essence statement comprising three themes; Deciding on Surgery, Facing Challenges: Surgery to Recovery and Evaluating Surgical Outcomes, was developed. Conclusion: The study suggests that for individuals with tetraplegia, hope to regain lost upper limb function forms a core consideration in the decision to have surgery. For clinicians supporting patient’s decision, balancing hope with the realities of surgery is important. Even small changes in upper limb function had an important influence on participant’s confidence in social situations through enhanced participation in a range of everyday activities.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION In making a decision to have surgery, individuals with tetraplegia benefit from two way discussions with the healthcare team and others who have already undergone surgery. Healthcare teams need to help prepare individuals for the challenges of surgery including: expectations of pain, hospital stay, initial loss of independence and the time it may take to see re-innervation of target muscles and subsequent functional changes. Surgery should be routinely considered as individuals’ report that even small changes in upper limb function positively increases participation in everyday tasks and confidence in social situations. When evaluating changes in upper limb function, patient-centered measures should be used. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Anhedonia and anergia predict mortality in older Australians living in residential aged care

- Greenfield, L., Mathews, Stephanie, Toukhsati, Samia

  • Authors: Greenfield, L. , Mathews, Stephanie , Toukhsati, Samia
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Aging and Mental Health Vol. 26, no. 3 (2022), p. 614-622
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  • Description: Objectives: Depression is common in older adults and is linked to morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate whether specific symptoms of depression (dysphoria, anhedonia and anergia) predicted mortality in older Australian Aged Care residents. Methods: Eighty older adults (M = 83.16 ± 7.14) without cognitive impairment residing in 14 Residential Aged Care facilities located in Melbourne, Australia, completed the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale—Short Form (GDS-15) and the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination. Residential Aged Care facilities provided the primary end-point of all-cause mortality at follow-up (M = 5.4 years ± 0.1). Results: Univariate Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox Proportional Hazards regression analyses were used to evaluate whether symptoms of depression predicted all-cause mortality, with known prognostic factors controlled. The results indicated that anhedonia (Hazard Ratio = 2.931 [95% CI 1.278–6.722], p =.011) and anergia (Hazard Ratio = 2.783 [95% CI 1.065–7.276], p =.037) were associated with almost a threefold increased risk of mortality in older adults living in RAC in adjusted analyses. Dysphoria did not predict mortality. Conclusions: These findings advance understanding of the mortality risks of anhedonia and anergia in an understudied population. Symptoms of anhedonia and anergia should be targeted for screening in older adults living in Aged Care to increase the detection and potential for referral to treatment for depressive presentation. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The role of procrastination between personality traits and addictive Mukbang watching among emerging adults

- Kircaburun, Kagan, March, Evita, Balta, Sabah, Emirtekin, Emrah, Kışla, Tarik, Griffiths, Mark

  • Authors: Kircaburun, Kagan , March, Evita , Balta, Sabah , Emirtekin, Emrah , Kışla, Tarik , Griffiths, Mark
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: SAGE Open Vol. 12, no. 1 (2022), p.
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  • Description: The role of personality traits in the development of addictive use of different online activities has been extensively demonstrated in the previous studies. One new type of online activity is the watching of mukbang (the South Korean term for “eating broadcasts”). However, very little is known about addictive mukbang watching (AMW) and its relationship to personality constructs. The present study investigated the direct and indirect associations of Big Five personality traits (i.e., extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness) and dark personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefulness) with AMW via procrastination. An online survey that comprised items assessing the aforementioned variables was completed by 222 university students who had watched mukbang at least once in the previous week. Path analysis indicated that extroversion was indirectly negatively associated with AMW via procrastination. Furthermore, conscientiousness, sadism, and procrastination were directly positively associated with higher AMW. Findings suggest that individuals may develop and maintain uncontrolled mukbang watching in order to procrastinate and personality traits may play a contributing role in this association. © The Author(s) 2022.

A systematic review of public transport accessibility for people using mobility devices

- Unsworth, Carolyn, So, Man, Chua, Julian, Gudimetla, Prasad, Naweed, Anjum

  • Authors: Unsworth, Carolyn , So, Man , Chua, Julian , Gudimetla, Prasad , Naweed, Anjum
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Disability and Rehabilitation Vol. 43, no. 16 (2021), p. 2253-2267
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  • Description: Purpose: Being able to access public transport is vital for mobility device users as this is an affordable way of maintaining community connections and participating in activities that promote quality of life. This systematic review investigated literature on public transport access for people using mobility devices, excluding transit restraint and securement literature. Materials and methods: A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature in English from 1995 to 2019, with critical appraisal and narrative synthesis. Results: Twenty-six articles were identified, including 14 studies investigating user experiences, seven examining bus formats and floor layouts, and five focusing on bus ramp incidents and optimal design. Studies were generally observational and descriptive, with 12 including analysis of video data. Conclusion: This is the first systematic review of literature related to the accessibility of public transport for people using mobility devices. Topics such as ramp access have been relatively well-researched, as have the experiences of users. However, many gaps remain and there is a need for research to; address the barriers identified through user experiences, discern the best access to stations and stops, as well as floor formats for people to ingress, manoeuvre and egress from a variety of transport modes, and promote universal design principles in the transport sector. Rehabilitation professionals can use the findings of this review to advocate for, and support people using mobility devices to successfully negotiate public transport.Implications for Rehabilitation Accessible public transport is vital to enable people using mobility devices to remain connected in their communities. Despite increased international awareness and adoption of accessibility features by the public transport sector to improve getting to a stop, ingress, manoeuvrability within and egress from conveyances, access for people using wheeled mobility devices cannot be assumed. When prescribing new wheeled mobility devices with clients, rehabilitation professionals and users need to consider public transport access and the suitability of different devices for this purpose. Rehabilitation professionals can undertake skills training with people using wheeled mobility devices to test out access prior to independent travel on public transport and develop strategies to overcome any barriers. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Social capital inequality and subjective wellbeing of older Chinese

- Appau, Samuelson, Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, Smyth, Russell, Zhang, Quanda

  • Authors: Appau, Samuelson , Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa , Smyth, Russell , Zhang, Quanda
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Social Indicators Research Vol. 160, no. 2-3 (2022), p. 541-563
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  • Description: Using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study provides insights on comparative wellbeing outcomes for older people who are institutionally segregated into clusters that produce uneven social capital. We present the first study that examines how institutionalized social capital inequality, measured by the social capital gap generated by hukou (household registration) status in China, affects the wellbeing of older people. Our results show that high levels of social capital inequality are associated with lower subjective wellbeing, measured by life satisfaction. This general conclusion is robust to a number of sensitivity checks including alternative ways of measuring subjective wellbeing and inequality. We also find that the negative relationship between social capital inequality and subjective wellbeing is strongest for people with a non-urban hukou living in urban areas. Our findings highlight the need for policies aimed at narrowing the social capital gap and the dismantling of institutional structures that hinder upward social capital mobility. © 2020, Springer Nature B.V.

The negative Commonwealth : Australia as ‘laboratory’, then and now

- Veracini, Lorenzo, Tout, Dan

  • Authors: Veracini, Lorenzo , Tout, Dan
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Thesis Eleven Vol. 180, no. 1 (2024), p. 92-110
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  • Description: Federated Australia was seen for a long time as a significant social ‘laboratory’. The Commonwealth itself was seen as an ‘experiment’. This widespread metaphor relied on a particular pattern of perception: the country was ‘new’ (it was not), and the country was allegedly isolated (it was not, at least not completely). Many believed that its social environment could be controlled, like that of a scientific laboratory. A laboratory is designed to shut all disturbances out – the value of the data and experiments depends on it. This article outlines this metaphor in the context of Australian history during the 20th century, its rhetorical power and what made it discursively possible. © The Author(s) 2024.

“It's self-determination. Blackfullas making right decisions for Blackfullas” : why indigenous-owned businesses create better indigenous employment outcomes

- Eva, Christian, Harris, Jessica, Bodle, Kerry, Foley, Dennis, Hunter, Boyd, Nichols, Nina

  • Authors: Eva, Christian , Harris, Jessica , Bodle, Kerry , Foley, Dennis , Hunter, Boyd , Nichols, Nina
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian Journal of Social Issues Vol. 59, no. 1 (2024), p. 29-56
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  • Description: Previous research demonstrates that businesses that are Indigenous-owned are far more likely to employ Indigenous people than non-Indigenous-owned businesses (Hunter, 2015). The majority of the literature on Indigenous employment uses a deficit discourse, describing factors that prevent or exclude Indigenous people from non-Indigenous-owned organisations. There is markedly less literature using a strength-based approach, detailing how Indigenous-owned businesses create workplaces without barriers to Indigenous employment. Through 32 semistructured interviews with Indigenous business owners, managers, and Indigenous employees of Indigenous-owned businesses, this paper provides insights into how participants' businesses create workplaces that are more supportive of, and conducive to, Indigenous employment. This paper finds that Indigenous approaches to governance inform an organisational level of cultural competence, which creates tailored and specific practices that support better Indigenous employment outcomes. This resonates with the concept of Indigenous ways of “knowing, being, and doing,” and how this framework encompasses participants' approaches to business operations. In the light of increasing public and private policy commitments to improve Indigenous employment outcomes, it is imperative that the Indigenous business sector's best practice inform said policies, given its successes. However, inherent in these findings are broader discussions into more systemic and societal issues that go beyond workplace policy. © 2023 The Authors. Australian Journal of Social Issues published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Social Policy Association.

Whose pain? Whose shame? Integrating heritage and histories in Ballarat, Australia

- McGinniss, David, Reeves, Keir, Golding, Frank

  • Authors: McGinniss, David , Reeves, Keir , Golding, Frank
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Heritage Studies Vol. 30, no. 11 (2024), p. 1365-1378
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  • Description: For generations a burden of misplaced shame has sat with victim-survivors of children’s institutionalisation. Experiences and memories of family separation, cultural obliteration, mistreatment, hunger, unpaid labour, curtailed educational and professional opportunities, and abuse had come to silently define and destroy the lifelong living experience of childhood incarceration. Meanwhile, institutions and the communities they are part of have been able to effectively ignore the legacies of their own trespasses, through ‘top-down’, celebratory approaches to history and heritage. In recent decades, renewed emphasis on survivor voices and agency has culminated in a range of Commonwealth and state-based reports, Inquiries and Commissions, driven by abundant survivor testimonies and truth-telling. The sense of shame and guilt over these parts of our collective histories has now re-centred on the perpetrators and enablers of abuse and mistreatment. Using interpretive heritage and historical lens this article outlines a theoretical conception of ‘integrated’ approaches to history and heritage, using real-life examples from contemporary urban development and institutional heritage in the regional Australian city of Ballarat. The authors examine changing contemporary representations of institutional Care, neglect and abuse, arguing that shifting cultural and social power is reflected in the urban landscape and cultural fabric of the associated institutions. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Nature, significance, and the human perspective : refusing the choice between scientism and posthumanism

- Abbott, Mathew

  • Authors: Abbott, Mathew
  • Date: 2024
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Thesis Eleven Vol. 182, no. 1 (2024), p. 24-40
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  • Description: This paper criticises contemporary posthumanist theories of anthropocentrism by reading an early essay by Bertrand Russell alongside work by Rosi Braidotti and Jane Bennett. It argues that, despite appearances, scientism and posthumanism share key commitments in common, such that clarifying the problems with which Russell struggles regarding nature and significance can illuminate symmetrical problems in posthumanism. Against these alternatives, the paper draws on insights from Bernard Williams, contemporary Hegelian philosophy, and J. J. Gibson’s work on animal agency to sketch a picture of what it means to take a human perspective. It is the perspective of one species among others, with a particular evolutionary history; it is also the perspective of a species that, because of certain developments in that history, knows itself as such. That opens us to forms of answerability to the world that do not touch the lives of unselfconscious animals. Some critics of the theoretical discourse on anthropocentrism have argued that taking a human perspective is morally unobjectionable. This paper goes further: it is necessary for grasping our relation to the rest of nature and so our responsibilities for it. © The Author(s) 2024.

Rights in records : a charter of lifelong rights in childhood recordkeeping in out-of-home care for Australian and Indigenous Australian children and care leavers

- Golding, Frank, Lewis, Antonina, McKemmish, Sue, Rolan, Gregory, Thorpe, Kirsten

  • Authors: Golding, Frank , Lewis, Antonina , McKemmish, Sue , Rolan, Gregory , Thorpe, Kirsten
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Human Rights Vol. 25, no. 9 (2021), p. 1625-1657
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  • Description: This paper introduces the Charter of Lifelong Rights in Childhood Recordkeeping in Out-of-Home Care, centred on the critical, lifelong and diverse information and recordkeeping needs of Australian and Indigenous Australian children and adults who are experiencing, or have experienced Out-of-Home Care. The Charter is underpinned by the findings of two community-centred research projects, the Australian Research Council-funded Rights in Records by Design, 2017–2020 (applying a Rights by Design approach and co-design methodologies to rights-based recordkeeping systems in Out-of-Home Care), and the Indigenous Archiving and Cultural Safety: Examining the role of decolonisation and self-determination in libraries and archives doctoral project, 2018–2020 (focusing on Indigenous self-determination and cultural safety in the context of archives and libraries). It also draws on foundational research on the recordkeeping rights of Indigenous Australians undertaken in the Australian Research Council-funded Trust and Technology project, 2006–2010. The principles and values underpinning the Charter relate to child wellbeing and safety, self-determination, linked to archival autonomy and agency, and Indigenous Sovereignty and cultural safety. The development of the Charter is core to a National Framework for Recordkeeping for Childhood Out-of-Home Care, a major outcome of the 2017 National Summit on Setting the Record Straight for the Rights of the Child. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

“We are a unique breed” : strategies to enhance physical activity participation for preschool-aged children born extremely preterm, a mixed-methods study

- Coulston, Free, Spittle, Alicia, McDonald, Cassie, Remedios, Louisa, Toovey, Rachel, Cheong, Jeanie, Sellick, Kath

  • Authors: Coulston, Free , Spittle, Alicia , McDonald, Cassie , Remedios, Louisa , Toovey, Rachel , Cheong, Jeanie , Sellick, Kath
  • Date: 2023
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Disability and Rehabilitation Vol. 45, no. 24 (2023), p. 4111-4121
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  • Description: Purpose: Preschool-aged children (three to five years old) born preterm participate in less physical activity (PA) than term-born children. Circus activities (a type of recreational PA) are a potential avenue to increase PA rates, but further insight into how to tailor these to address the participation gap is needed. This study investigated barriers and facilitators informing participation in recreational PA for preschool-aged children born extremely preterm and explored strategies to enhance participation in circus activities. Materials and methods: Sequential mixed-methods study utilizing surveys (n = 217), interviews (n = 43), and a focus group (n = 6) with key stakeholder groups (parents, coaches, and clinicians). Qualitative data (Framework Method) and quantitative data (descriptive statistics) were mixed during preliminary and final analyses. Results: Five themes were developed from the mixed data: the crucial role of the coach and the need for specific training, the therapeutic role of PA and promoting outcomes beyond the physical, the impact of communication and class planning, consideration of convenience and cost, and finally, the role of clinicians. Conclusions: Barriers, facilitators, and strategies were identified which may be used to modify or co-design circus-based PA interventions to enhance participation and improve rates of PA for preschool-aged children born extremely preterm.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Families consider recreational physical activities to be part of the therapeutic agenda for their preschool-aged children born extremely preterm. Key stakeholders feel that recreational physical activity should target outcomes beyond the physical. Coach attributes and capability impact participation of children born preterm and their families, and may be enhanced with specific training. Clinicians should be engaged in design of recreational physical activities for children born preterm. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.