Digital Commons Network^™

Tracking Onslow: A Community In Transition. Edition 1, 2012, Kayt Davies, Jasmine Amis, Jon Hopper, Claire Ottaviano, Aine Ryan

Tracking Onslow: a community in transition

Onslow, the town and community you live in, is in for a lot of changes over the next few years. Gas projects will bring new faces, while many old faces are leaving, and new money will buy new things. Will this mean that Onslow loses some of it’s ramshackle, rustic charm? Will it attract hordes of new tourists who’ll crowd out the old crew?

Maybe, maybe not — either way we want to know what you think.

This project is a collaboration between the journalism program at Edith Cowan University and the Shire of Ashburton and it’s all about tracking …

"Some Of My Children Are Worth More Than Others": Perceptions Of Nonresidential Fathers With Second Families As To The Fairness Of The Australian Child Support Agency's Handling Of First Family Child Support Financial Arrangements, Donna Stambulich, Julie Ann Pooley, Natalie Gately, Myra Taylor

Research outputs 2012

One in three Australian marriages end in divorce, and over half of such divorces involve children. Research indicates that men tend to repartner within 1 to 2 years of a divorce and women within 3 to 5 years. A significant issue for repartnered men is the provision of financial support for children from both their first and second families. Although only 6% of all Australian first family children spend near/equal time (shared care) after divorce with both parents, fathers in Australia are mandated under child support legislation to provide financial support for their first family children, whether they reside with …

Voices Of Migrant Women: The Mediating Role Of Resilience On The Relationship Between Acculturation And Psychological Distress, Min Ing Loh, Jessica Klug

Research outputs 2012

There is limited research on the experience of migrant women’s acculturation to Australian society. This paper outlines a two-part study that attempted to address this gap (i) by investigating the acculturation experiences of a sample of 30 women in Brisbane and (ii) a survey of 108 women in Brisbane and Sydney who have migrated to Australia after the age of fifteen. Results indicated that, while many migrant women experienced a number of acculturation challenges related to their status as ‘migrants’ and as ‘women’, many displayed resilience and developed competencies in acculturating themselves to a new country. Although acculturation to a …

It's A Just A Different Way Of Cooking: Social Learning And Aboriginal Father And Son Attachment Within The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Catch And Cook Event, Andrew Guilfoyle

Research outputs 2012

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parenting Support Program: Progress Report 1, Andrew Guilfoyle

Research outputs 2012

This is the first progress report of the local evaluation of the Dampier Peninsula Indigenous Parent Support Program (IPS). The evaluative report extends the Participatory Action Research (PAR) based evaluation plan (Guilfoyle, Baker, & Bray, 2011). It includes a theoretical discussion on resilience building, community development, and the role of parenting support for early child development, through links to literature and direct evidence captured through community based observations, notes, and recorded interviews with IPS workers, community members, and key stakeholders on the communities and in Broome, and case studies. The evaluation assessed IPS activities in light of its policy framework …

Public Libraries : Celebrating Diversity, Rajeswari Chelliah, Justin A. Brown, Barbara Combes

Research outputs 2012

No abstract provided.

Karen Burmese Refugee Youth And Facebook: The Influence On Sense Of Community And Belonging, Beth Hazelden

School of Psychology and Social Science Presentations

There are currently over 42.5 million displaced persons worldwide, with 15.2 million identifying as refugees. The Karen Burmese are a persecuted ethnic group forced to flee to refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Australia plays host to 22170 Burmese, with 80% identifying as Karen. For the Karen and other refugees, involuntary migration is a difficult experience. Refugees face many challenges when resettling into a new community, and refugee youth experience additional challenges. It is important for psychosocial wellbeing to have a sense of community (SOC) and belonging (SOB), but this may be disrupted for refugee youth. One way that young …

As Long As Your're Resilient You'll Succeed: School Disaffected Adolescents' Perspectives On Their Willingness To Engage In High Injury-Risk Graffiti-Writing Activities, Myra Taylor

Research outputs 2012

A lack of sense of school belonging can be a destabilising aspect in disaffected students’ lives, so much so that they will often seek an alternative sense of belonging outside of the school arena. Gaining out-of-school acceptance within the non-conforming, graffiti subculture is dependent upon proving one’s worth through willing engagement in visual acts of high-risk daring. This exemplar study examines the health-risk injuries sustained by eight adolescent crew leaders within the graffiti subculture. The study’s findings reveal four reoccurring sources of graffiti-related injury (ie. tagging hard-to-reach places, fighting rival crews, graffing under the influence, and eluding Police capture). A …

Full-Forward And, Macho Homos : Toward A Masculist Reframing Of Male Homosexuality, Kristian Guagliardo

Theses : Honours

The following work explores the nexus of male homosexuality and traditional masculinity.

The creative work examines the ways in which both patriarchal and popular, purportedly feminist or queer theorist cultures arbitrarily assign allegedly immanent feminine qualities to homosexual males even when these characteristics are not congruent with the male subject. This facet of western, and specifically Australian, culture is explored through the prism of a hegemonically masculine ‘country boy’ who finds that despite his own comportment and identity, he becomes culturally and socially feminised by virtue of his homosexuality alone. He experiences isolation, angst, anger and cognitive dissonance as he …

Wet, Wild And Convivial : Past, Present And Future Contributions Of Australia’S Ocean Pools To Surf, Beach, Pool And Body Cultures And Recreational Coasts, Marie-Louise Mcdermott

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

I investigated the past, present and possible futures of Australia’s ocean pools, over a hundred public seawater pools sited on rocky surfcoasts, so that waves wash over their walls. My interdisciplinary analysis informed by actor-­‐network theory explored their contributions to surf, beach, pool and body cultures and recreational coasts. Ocean pools have since the nineteenth century been far more significant in the surf, beach, pool and body cultures of Australia and South Africa, than in those of Britain and the United States. Most of Australia’s ocean pools lie within state of New South Wales, and my work strengthens the case …

The Construction Of Wellbeing For Solo Mothers: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work, Welfare, Social Justice And Wellbeing For Solo Mothers, Kathryn M. Russell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Using a sequential transformative mixed methods approach prioritising qualitative data, the construction of subjective wellbeing of Australian solo mothers was explored in relation to work, welfare and social justice. A purposive sample of 73 solo mothers was recruited for the quantitative part of the study and 15 solo mothers were selected from the sample to interview for the qualitative component. The study was undertaken on a background of welfare reform announced in the Federal Budget for 2005-2006 with changes taking effect from July 1, 2006 affecting many solo mothers with young children. Initial analyses of data obtained through the Personal …

Cape Crusaders : An Ethnography Investigating The Surfing Subculture Of Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia, Robert Anthony Holt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Surfing is a byzantine phenomenon. With a global army surpassing 30 million participants, the wave riding culture has escalated from an underground lifestyle into a mainstream colossus. This thesis investigates a unique population of the surfing culture, the Cape Naturaliste surfing subculture. Located in the South West of Western Australia, Cape Naturaliste is home to the Cape Crusaders.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy For Depressed Retirees: Developing And Testing A Clinical Treatment Manual, Sue G. Miller

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Most workers adjust well to retirement, but some experience depression due to poor adjustment. No evidence-based treatments were identified that targeted the developmental needs of this complex transition. In phase 1, a treatment manual (IPT-RM) was developed. The manual comprised an adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. In phase 2, a pilot study was conducted to determine the treatment’s feasibility. A series of non-experimental AB singlecase studies was conducted with nine retirees. All research participants’ depressive symptoms receded into the non-depressed range by the end of the study. The IPT-RM treatment manual was developed to a Stage 1 level, which incorporated peer-reviewed …

Uncertain Surrenders: The Coexistence Of Beauty And Menace In The Maternal Bond And Photography, Toni Wilkinson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This creative inquiry is grounded in my maternal experiences and situated within a feminist approach to photography that develops a discussion of maternal passion and acknowledges the conflicting dynamics of the maternal relationship. The research includes a book of photographs of my children, Georgia and Henry, titled Uncertain surrenders, and a written component explicating the theoretical imperatives that motivated the project. I suggest that the coexistence of beauty and menace within the photographic portraits exquisitely represents the complexity of maternal passion. Julia Kristeva (2005) says, “we lack a reflection on maternal passion” in Western culture because it is an ambiguous …

An Exploration Of The Experience And Social Construction Of Ageing: Perspectives From Older Adults In A Healthy Ageing Program And Those From Western Australian And Welsh Communities, Sasha A. Stumpers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In recent years, a strong focus has emerged towards developing and implementing guidelines, policies, governmental strategies and research agendas that best support a growing ageing population (United Nations, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2012; United Nations Programme on Ageing/International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2007; United Nations/Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2008; World Health Organization, 2002, 2004a). Locally in Western Australia (WA), nationally and internationally, this attention has culminated in a focus on promoting the notion of “healthy ageing” (Commonwealth of Australia, 1999; Commonwealth States and Territories, 2000; Office for Seniors Interests and Volunteering, 2006; U.S. Department of …