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A Crisis Of Underinsurance Threatens To Scar Rural Australia Permanently, Chloe Lucas, Christine Eriksen, David M. J. S Bowman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Australia is in the midst of a bushfire crisis that will affect local communities for years, if not permanently, due to a national crisis of underinsurance. Already more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed - with months still to go in the bushfire season. Compare this to 2009, when Victoria's "Black Saturday" fires claimed more than 2,000 homes in February, or 1983, when the "Ash Wednesday" fires destroyed about 2,400 homes in Victoria and South Australia, also in February. The 2020 fire season could end up surpassing these tragedies, despite the lessons learned and improvements in preparedness. One lesson not …

Evidence For Sample Selection Effect And Hawthorne Effect In Behavioural Hiv Prevention Trial Among Young Women In A Rural South African Community, Molly Rosenberg, Audrey Pettifor, Rhian Twine, James Hughes, F Gomez-Olive, Ryan Wagner, Afolabi Sulaimon, Stephen Tollman, Amanda Selin, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Kathleen Kahn

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives We examined the potential influence of both sample selection effects and Hawthorne effects in the behavioural HIV Prevention Trial Network 068 study, designed to examine whether cash transfers conditional on school attendance reduce HIV acquisition in young South African women. We explored whether school enrolment among study participants differed from the underlying population, and whether differences existed at baseline (sample selection effect) or arose during study participation (Hawthorne effect). Methods We constructed a cohort of 3889 young women aged 11-20 years using data from the Agincourt Health and socio-Demographic Surveillance System. We compared school enrolment in 2011 (trial start) …

‘It’S Because I Like Things… It’S A Status And He Buys Me Airtime’: Exploring The Role Of Transactional Sex In Young Women’S Consumption Patterns In Rural South Africa (Secondary Findings From Hptn 068), Meghna Ranganathan, Lori Heise, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Heidi Stockl, Richard J. Silverwood, Kathleen Kahn, Amanda Selin, F Gomez-Olive, Charlotte Watts, Audrey Pettifor

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background ‘Transactional sex’, defined as a non-marital, non-commercial sexual relationship in which money or material goods are exchanged for sex, is associated with young women’s increased vulnerability to HIV infection. Existing research illustrates that the motivations for transactional sex are complex. The fulfilment of psycho-social needs such as the need to belong to a peer group are important factors underlying young women’s desires to obtain certain consumption items and thus engage in transactional sex. Methods We use a mixed-methods approach to explore the relationship between transactional sex and consumption patterns among young women in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa. In …

Conceptual Model Of Diabetes Self-Management For Middle-Aged Population Of Rural Area Of Pakistan, Rashid M. Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Mark Fort Harris, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Pakistan has been attributed to high-risk factors such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy food and eating habits among the Pakistani population. Aims: The main aim of this study is to explore the factors that may influence diabetes self-management in the middle-aged population of rural area of Pakistan and to present the potential outcomes. Materials and Methods: The study was guided by the results of systematic reviews of self-management of type 2 diabetes and highlighted five factors which are most important to influence the diabetes self-management. Of particular mention are the …

Effect Of Schooling On Age-Disparate Relationships And Number Of Sexual Partners Among Young Women In Rural South Africa Enrolled In Hptn 068, Marie Stoner, Jessie Edwards, William Miller, Allison Aiello, Carolyn Halpern, Aimee Julien, Amanda Selin, James Hughes, Jing Wang, F Gomez-Olive, Ryan Wagner, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Kathleen Kahn, Audrey Pettifor

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background:

Attending school may have a strong preventative association with sexually transmitted infections among young women, but the mechanism for this relationship is unknown. One hypothesis is that students who attend school practice safer sex with fewer partners, establishing safer sexual networks that make them less exposed to infection.

Setting:

We used longitudinal data from a randomized controlled trial of young women aged 13–20 years in the Bushbuckridge district, South Africa, to determine whether the percentage of school days attended, school dropout, and grade repetition are associated with having a partner 5 or more years older (age–disparate) and with the …

The Migration Of Horticultural Knowledge: Pacific Island Seasonal Workers In Rural Australia-A Missed Opportunity?, Olivia V. Dun, Natascha Klocker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In 2012, Graeme Hugo wrote the article 'Migration and Development in Low-income Countries: A Role for Destination Country Policy?' for the inaugural issue of the journal Migration and Development. That article, which continues to be the journal's most viewed work,1 used the case of Asian and Pacific migration to Australia to question 'whether policies and practices by destination governments relating to international migration and settlement can play a role in facilitating positive developmental impacts in origin communities' (Hugo 2012, 25). The importance of such structural support for development has been underscored, in relation to seasonal worker programs, by growing evidence …

Wheat, Sheep Or Elvis Presley? Rural Australia Has Had To Change Its Tune, John Connell, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Rural and regional Australia have had a hard time of late. The economies of Sydney and Melbourne are growing, but much of the rest of their states are not. The population of regional areas is stagnating and agriculture is struggling. Perhaps worst of all there is a feeling that no-one in Canberra or in the booming coastal periphery cares about this. The people of Orange have apparently spoken. Outside Sydney, behind what seems like an impervious sandstone curtain, not all is well. Even the largest towns in regional New South Wales are struggling to retain their populations and have faced …

Community Mobilization For Hiv Testing Uptake: Results From A Community Randomized Trial Of A Theory-Based Intervention In Rural South Africa, Sheri Lippman, Torsten Neilands, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Dean Peacock, Suzanne Maman, Dumisani Rebombo, Rhian Twine, Amanda Selin, Hannah Leslie, Kathleen Kahn, Audrey Pettifor

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: HIV testing uptake in South Africa is below optimal levels. Community mobilization (CM) may increase and sustain demand for HIV testing, however, little rigorous evidence exists regarding the effect of CM interventions on HIV testing and the mechanisms of action.

Methods: We implemented a theory-driven CM intervention in 11 of 22 randomly-selected villages in rural Mpumalanga Province. Cross-sectional surveys including a community mobilization measure were conducted before (n = 1181) and after (n = 1175) a 2-year intervention (2012–2014). We assessed community-level intervention effects on reported HIV testing using multilevel logistic models. We used structural equation models to explore …

Exploring The Qualitative Research On Diabetes Self-Management In Middle-Aged Population Of Rural Area Of Pakistan, Rashid M. Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This review article aimed at exploring the qualitative health research in self-management of type 2 diabetes and patient's perceptions and experiences of undertaking physical activity and eating behaviour as part of their diabetes self-management. In addition, the study analyzed how the health issue related to diabetes is viewed and addressed in the community of Pakistan and used the concepts of socio-ecological approach to self-management of type 2 diabetes and explored the factors affecting the self-management practices in that country. The other objective of this review was to examine the role of physical inactivity and obesity in the development of type …

A Quantitative Research On Self-Management Of Type 2 Diabetes In Middle-Aged Population Of Rural Area Of Pakistan, Rashid M. Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: In Pakistan, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is high ranging from 7.6 % (5.2 million populations) to 11 % as compared to the prevalence rate of 8.3% in the world. The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the country has been attributed to high-risk factors such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy food and eating habits among the Pakistani population. Aims: The main aim of this study is to use the quantitative method to explore the association between illness and cultural beliefs, family and healthcare provider support and self-management behaviours of patients of type 2 diabetes in …

Transactional Sex Among Young Women In Rural South Africa: Prevalence, Mediators And Association With Hiv Infection, Meghna Ranganathan, Lori Heise, Audrey Pettifor, Richard J. Silverwood, Amanda Selin, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Kathleen Kahn, F Gomez-Olive, James Hughes, Estelle Piwowar-Manning, Oliver Laeyendecker, Charlotte Watts

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

INTRODUCTION: Young adolescent women in sub-Saharan Africa are three to four times more likely to be HIV-positive than boys or men. One of the relationship dynamics that is likely to be associated with young women's increased vulnerability to HIV is transactional sex. There are a range of HIV-related risk behaviours that may drive this vulnerability. However, to date, limited epidemiological data exist on the role of transactional sex in increasing HIV acquisition, especially among young women in sub-Saharan Africa. Our paper presents data on the prevalence of self-reported engagement in transactional sex and explores whether transactional sex is associated with …

Same But Different: Sources Of Natural Resource Management Advice For Lifestyle Oriented Rural Landholders, Victoria Ikutegbe, Nicholas J. Gill, Peter Klepeis

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Amenity migration to attractive and accessible non-metropolitan areas changes social and environmental relations with consequences for natural resource management and landscape composition and trajectories. Lifestyler oriented rural landholders are often cast as a problem for land management and extension. Managers and some researchers see them as a cause of landscape and social fragmentation and report difficulties in engaging such landowners on natural resource management issues and responsibilities. In contrast, limited existing research indicates that lifestylers do join and form networks of personal and other contacts for advice and support in land management. We contribute to this research with a survey …

Popular Culture: A Support Or A Disruption To Talent Development In The Lives Of Rural Adolescent Gifted Girls?, Denise Wood, Wilma Vialle

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Gifted adolescent rural girls live in a world where popular culture is a key source of information about their present and future lives. This study asked whether, as a key influence, popular culture supported or disrupted the talent development process of gifted adolescent girls in rural settings. Through an embedded case study approach this research study explored the responses of two groups of gifted adolescent girls to the messages presented to them in popular culture about talent development and giftedness. Data were generated predominantly through a series of focus groups and interviews. A narrative recount emerged after analysis of the …

'Not Just Drought.' Drought, Rural Change And More: Perspectives From Rural Farming Communities, Louise E. Askew, Meg Sherval, Pauline M. Mcguirk

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The 'Big Dry', a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, seared much of the Murray-Darling Basin region and resulted in large agricultural losses, degraded river systems and increased uncertainty in rural communities although climate change in the form of drought is not new to rural Australia (Wei et al . 2012). For many years, generations of Australian farmers and farming communities have battled such climatic extremes. However, the most recent drought event competed with a myriad of changes to their lives and as such, the façade of stoicism has slowly begun to crack. This chapter examines the …

A Proposed Method To Determine Fumonisin Exposure From Maize Consumption In A Rural South African Population Using A Culturally Appropriate Ffq, Martani Lombard, Nelia Steyn, H Burger, Karen Charlton, Wentzel Gelderblom

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

To develop an FFQ for estimating culture-specific maize intake that can distinguish between home-grown and commercial maize. Home-grown maize is more likely to be contaminated with fumonisins, mycotoxins that are associated with increased risk of oesophageal cancer. An existing FFQ developed for use in urban Xhosa populations was used as the initial framework for the maize-specific FFQ (M-FFQ). The existing questionnaire contained 126 food items divided into ten food groups (bread, cereals, vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy, snacks, condiments, beverages and fat). The M-FFQ was developed based on additional data obtained from a literature search, 24 h recalls (n 159), in-depth …

Outback Elvis: Musical Creativity In Rural Australia, John Connell, Christopher Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

However cartographies of music are constructed, they invariably suggest some authentic relationship between particular sites of vernacular musical creativity and a social and economic context that has contributed to a certain distinctiveness. Thus, the literature is replete with accounts of supposedly distinctive Mersey and Otago sounds, New Orleans jazz or Nashville country, and the 'mutually generative relations of music and space' (Leyshon et al., 1995, p. 424). In the conventional narrative, styles are generally deemed to have originated from particular individual and collective scenes associated with key musicians and bands, and talked up as a means of promoting these styles …

Active Commuting Amongst School Children And Adolescents In A Rural Area Of South Africa, Eva M. Craig

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract of a presentation at the Be Active 2014 Conference, 15-18 Oct, Canberra, Australia.

Bushfires: Rural Residents Are The Solution, Not The Problem, Nicholas Gill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The return of heatwaves and bushfires to the news pages has brought fresh warnings that Australians who live in fire-prone zones still don’t fully understand the risk they are running. Deadly fires in Victoria’s Grampians and the Perth Hills, and the many other emergencies across other states, have once again brought the dangers into stark relief. Yet we have found evidence that people living near bushland are more aware of the risks and remedies than they are given credit for.

Drought And The Future Of Rural Communities: Drought Impacts And Adaptation In Regional Victoria, Australia, Anthony S. Kiem, Louise E. Askew, Meg Sherval, Danielle C. Verdon-Kidd, Craig Clifton, Emma Austin, Pauline M. Mcguirk, Helen L. Berry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The National Climate Change Research Facility (NCCARF) is undertaking a program of Synthesis and Integrative Research to synthesise existing and emerging national and international research on climate change impacts and adaptation. The purpose of this program is to provide decision-makers with the information they need to manage the risks of climate change. This report on drought and the future of rural communities in regional Victoria forms part of a series of studies/reports commissioned by NCCARF that look at historical extreme weather events, their impacts and subsequent adaptations. These studies examine particular events - primarily extremes - and seek to explore …

Reinventing Rural Places: The Extent And Impact Of Festivals In Rural And Regional Australia, Christopher R. Gibson, Anna Stewart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Results have been analysed from a three-year Australian Research Council (ARC) Festivals Project, which sought to document the extent and significance of festivals for rural communities and economies. Rural festivals have proliferated and diversified in recent years from the traditional country show to evermore whacky niches -- the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival, the Wooli Goanna Pulling Festival, the Thoona Latin American and Wheely Bin Festival and Parkes' Elvis impersonators festival. Are such festivals significant for rural communities in contrast to their apparent short-lived nature? The ARC festivals project sought to answer this question. The largest ever database of rural …