This article examines the complex intersection of disability and poverty and uses the concept of vulnerability to consider disabled people situated at the margins of poverty. Vulnerability is regarded as an active area of research and an important policy focus for its preventative implications concerning poverty. However, the existing research on vulnerability, much like the bulk of the research on poverty, appears to be primarily concerned with statistical measures. This article is offered as an exploration of the analytical value of the vulnerability concept from a qualitative approach to illuminate the socioeconomic processes that are not easily apparent within a quantitative framework. The article reports on the findings of two research projects that focused on the intersection of poverty and disability. The goal of the projects was to gain an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the everyday lives of disabled pensioners from their own perspectives. We contend that the utility of the vulnerability concept lies in its focus on the numerous factors specific to disability/impairment that can, in isolation or in tandem, create conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability that increases the risks of poverty in ways that are not complicating factors for people whose problems are primarily related to unemployment or low wages. The concept of vulnerability is useful as it can help to consider disabled people who are situated at the margins of poverty and whose complex sociostructural and impairment-related issues can increase the chances of an individual or family falling into poverty and which can in turn make the extraction from poverty much more difficult. Vulnerability is not merely a passive state but can also engender creative coping strategies on the part of marginalised people and which can hopefully inspire policymakers to look beyond the traditional governmental responses to poverty.
{"title":"Vulnerability at the intersection of poverty and disability","authors":"R. Traustadóttir, J. Rice","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.9172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.9172","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the complex intersection of disability and poverty and uses the concept of vulnerability to consider disabled people situated at the margins of poverty. Vulnerability is regarded as an active area of research and an important policy focus for its preventative implications concerning poverty. However, the existing research on vulnerability, much like the bulk of the research on poverty, appears to be primarily concerned with statistical measures. This article is offered as an exploration of the analytical value of the vulnerability concept from a qualitative approach to illuminate the socioeconomic processes that are not easily apparent within a quantitative framework. The article reports on the findings of two research projects that focused on the intersection of poverty and disability. The goal of the projects was to gain an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the everyday lives of disabled pensioners from their own perspectives. We contend that the utility of the vulnerability concept lies in its focus on the numerous factors specific to disability/impairment that can, in isolation or in tandem, create conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability that increases the risks of poverty in ways that are not complicating factors for people whose problems are primarily related to unemployment or low wages. The concept of vulnerability is useful as it can help to consider disabled people who are situated at the margins of poverty and whose complex sociostructural and impairment-related issues can increase the chances of an individual or family falling into poverty and which can in turn make the extraction from poverty much more difficult. Vulnerability is not merely a passive state but can also engender creative coping strategies on the part of marginalised people and which can hopefully inspire policymakers to look beyond the traditional governmental responses to poverty.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116814498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article explores workers’ experiences of flexibility, control, and autonomy in organisations with extensive contracting of staff from temporary work agencies (TWAs). The starting point for this article is in theoretical perspectives on workplace flexibility and organisational control practices. I argue that workers’ opportunities to control and have autonomy over their work and accomplish workplace flexibility are interconnected with the controlling practices that are present in their everyday working life. In organisations with extensive hiring of temporary agency workers (TAWs), this is complicated further, as workers from different organisations, with different management strategies, are working together at the same work site. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with TAWs and regular employees in three user firms with extensive contracting of TAWs. A questionnaire was also completed by them. The results show that there are few opportunities for either TAWs or regular staff to achieve workplace flexibility in terms of making choices about where, when, and for how long they are going to work. The findings contradict assumptions that formal differences between the employment conditions of regulars and agency workers affect their opportunities for workplace flexibility. Similar technical control systems were used in the user firms despite differences between assembly line production and customer support. Despite these similarities in the opportunities for flexibility for both groups of workers, the findings showed some differences between TAWs’ and regulars’ everyday experiences of flexibility and control. The findings showed how close surveillance by technological systems was intertwined with a normative control, which means the awareness among TAWs of their replaceable position implicates anxiety about the consequences of absence from work. As a consequence of their vulnerable position, TAWs were striving to prove themselves to be competent to both the user firms and the agency. This highlights the dualistic controlling practices that TAWs are subjected to by user firms as well as the agency in their everyday work. This constitutes an effective and powerful system of organisational control.
{"title":"Workplace flexibility and control in temporary agency work","authors":"Gunilla Olofsdotter","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18913","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores workers’ experiences of flexibility, control, and autonomy in organisations with extensive contracting of staff from temporary work agencies (TWAs). The starting point for this article is in theoretical perspectives on workplace flexibility and organisational control practices. I argue that workers’ opportunities to control and have autonomy over their work and accomplish workplace flexibility are interconnected with the controlling practices that are present in their everyday working life. In organisations with extensive hiring of temporary agency workers (TAWs), this is complicated further, as workers from different organisations, with different management strategies, are working together at the same work site. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with TAWs and regular employees in three user firms with extensive contracting of TAWs. A questionnaire was also completed by them. The results show that there are few opportunities for either TAWs or regular staff to achieve workplace flexibility in terms of making choices about where, when, and for how long they are going to work. The findings contradict assumptions that formal differences between the employment conditions of regulars and agency workers affect their opportunities for workplace flexibility. Similar technical control systems were used in the user firms despite differences between assembly line production and customer support. Despite these similarities in the opportunities for flexibility for both groups of workers, the findings showed some differences between TAWs’ and regulars’ everyday experiences of flexibility and control. The findings showed how close surveillance by technological systems was intertwined with a normative control, which means the awareness among TAWs of their replaceable position implicates anxiety about the consequences of absence from work. As a consequence of their vulnerable position, TAWs were striving to prove themselves to be competent to both the user firms and the agency. This highlights the dualistic controlling practices that TAWs are subjected to by user firms as well as the agency in their everyday work. This constitutes an effective and powerful system of organisational control.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114839093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The effects that work has on individuals are not unknown. The importance of work in terms of the subjective well-being and growth of individuals through their work, however, is not as extensively discussed and documented. Risk factors and unhealthy factors have long been discussed at the expense of positive conditions for well-being and personal growth. We like to call work with that type of potential regenerative work. Hence, that is the type of work that we have chosen to focus on in this study. The following research objectives have guided us through the study: Which everyday work processes may contribute to sustainable prerequisites for the subjective well-being and growth of individuals? The study takes an explorative approach to two workplaces—a care unit at a hospital and a manufacturing company. Our aim is to increase the understanding of prerequisites for the well-being and growth of individuals through their work. Three themes emerged in this type of regenerative work: performance, general overview and participation, and dialogue. These themes are problemised by looking at their potential in relation to the organisation of the work. Prerequisites for performance, general overview and participation, and finally dialogue prove to be more efficient in contexts where the complexity of the work and organisation is acknowledged and where there is room for inter-subjective sense-making and self-organising.
{"title":"On the organisation of sustainable prerequisites for the subjective well-being and growth of individuals","authors":"Sören Augustinsson, Ulf Ericsson, P. Pettersson","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18938","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18938","url":null,"abstract":"The effects that work has on individuals are not unknown. The importance of work in terms of the subjective well-being and growth of individuals through their work, however, is not as extensively discussed and documented. Risk factors and unhealthy factors have long been discussed at the expense of positive conditions for well-being and personal growth. We like to call work with that type of potential regenerative work. Hence, that is the type of work that we have chosen to focus on in this study. The following research objectives have guided us through the study: Which everyday work processes may contribute to sustainable prerequisites for the subjective well-being and growth of individuals? The study takes an explorative approach to two workplaces—a care unit at a hospital and a manufacturing company. Our aim is to increase the understanding of prerequisites for the well-being and growth of individuals through their work. Three themes emerged in this type of regenerative work: performance, general overview and participation, and dialogue. These themes are problemised by looking at their potential in relation to the organisation of the work. Prerequisites for performance, general overview and participation, and finally dialogue prove to be more efficient in contexts where the complexity of the work and organisation is acknowledged and where there is room for inter-subjective sense-making and self-organising.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127581600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The management of identities, particularly stigmatized identities, represents considerable challenge. This article considers some of the issues around the decision to conceal or reveal a stigmatized or potentially stigmatizing identity. The potential consequences of “telling or not telling” are examined. There is a need for all individuals to monitor behaviours, attitudes, systems and structures that convey disrespect, discrimination, and derogation towards those with a stigmatized identity (concealed or otherwise).
{"title":"“To tell or not to tell?” Managing a concealable identity in the workplace","authors":"R. Flett","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.16145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.16145","url":null,"abstract":"The management of identities, particularly stigmatized identities, represents considerable challenge. This article considers some of the issues around the decision to conceal or reveal a stigmatized or potentially stigmatizing identity. The potential consequences of “telling or not telling” are examined. There is a need for all individuals to monitor behaviours, attitudes, systems and structures that convey disrespect, discrimination, and derogation towards those with a stigmatized identity (concealed or otherwise).","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121935680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The relationship between intellectual functioning and criminal offending has received considerable focus within the literature. While there remains debate regarding the existence (and strength) of this relationship, there is a wider consensus that individuals with below average functioning (in particular cognitive impairments) are disproportionately represented within the prison population. This paper focuses on research that has implications for the effective management of lower functioning individuals within correctional environments as well as the successful rehabilitation and release of such individuals back into the community. This includes a review of the literature regarding the link between lower intelligence and offending and the identification of possible factors that either facilitate (or confound) this relationship. The main themes to emerge from this review are that individuals with lower intellectual functioning continue to be disproportionately represented in custodial settings and that there is a need to increase the provision of specialised programs to cater for their needs. Further research is also needed into a range of areas including: (1) the reason for this over-representation in custodial settings, (2) the existence and effectiveness of rehabilitation and release programs that cater for lower IQ offenders, (3) the effectiveness of custodial alternatives for this group (e.g. intensive corrections orders) and (4) what post-custodial release services are needed to reduce the risk of recidivism.
{"title":"The relationship between lower intelligence, crime and custodial outcomes: a brief literary review of a vulnerable group","authors":"J. Freeman","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14834","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14834","url":null,"abstract":"The relationship between intellectual functioning and criminal offending has received considerable focus within the literature. While there remains debate regarding the existence (and strength) of this relationship, there is a wider consensus that individuals with below average functioning (in particular cognitive impairments) are disproportionately represented within the prison population. This paper focuses on research that has implications for the effective management of lower functioning individuals within correctional environments as well as the successful rehabilitation and release of such individuals back into the community. This includes a review of the literature regarding the link between lower intelligence and offending and the identification of possible factors that either facilitate (or confound) this relationship. The main themes to emerge from this review are that individuals with lower intellectual functioning continue to be disproportionately represented in custodial settings and that there is a need to increase the provision of specialised programs to cater for their needs. Further research is also needed into a range of areas including: (1) the reason for this over-representation in custodial settings, (2) the existence and effectiveness of rehabilitation and release programs that cater for lower IQ offenders, (3) the effectiveness of custodial alternatives for this group (e.g. intensive corrections orders) and (4) what post-custodial release services are needed to reduce the risk of recidivism.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"103 3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131255870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Self-employed persons and their enterprises are regarded as important to the economy for their contribution to economic development. However, an understanding of the relationship between the psychosocial working conditions, the work-life balance and outcomes, such as health and wellbeing among the self-employed and micro-enterprise is limited. The main aim of this article is to study the relationships between control and demands at work, the work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women. Data were obtained from the European Social Survey (ESS) programme 2004, which is an interview survey conducted in 26 European countries (n =15 789). Wellbeing is measured by the WHO-Five Wellbeing Index and work-life balance is measured by an index consisting of two questions on work-life balance/conflict. The results show that men and women who are self-employed experience a lower level of work-life balance than those employed and this result is found more in men than women. When job control and demands are held constant for the self-employed and the employed, self-employed women experience a significantly higher level of work-life balance than do employed women, but self-employed men experience a similar level of work-life balance as do employed men. Self-employed women have a slightly higher level of wellbeing than do employed women and the difference between the self-employed and the employed men is non-significant. When controlling for the level of job control, the relationship between self-employment and wellbeing is non-significant among women and is significantly negative among men. The results of this study confirm that the psychosocial working conditions are important because demands and control in work influence work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women.
{"title":"Job control and demands, work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women in Europe","authors":"Mikael Nordenmark, S. Vinberg, M. Strandh","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18896","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18896","url":null,"abstract":"Self-employed persons and their enterprises are regarded as important to the economy for their contribution to economic development. However, an understanding of the relationship between the psychosocial working conditions, the work-life balance and outcomes, such as health and wellbeing among the self-employed and micro-enterprise is limited. The main aim of this article is to study the relationships between control and demands at work, the work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women. Data were obtained from the European Social Survey (ESS) programme 2004, which is an interview survey conducted in 26 European countries (n =15 789). Wellbeing is measured by the WHO-Five Wellbeing Index and work-life balance is measured by an index consisting of two questions on work-life balance/conflict. The results show that men and women who are self-employed experience a lower level of work-life balance than those employed and this result is found more in men than women. When job control and demands are held constant for the self-employed and the employed, self-employed women experience a significantly higher level of work-life balance than do employed women, but self-employed men experience a similar level of work-life balance as do employed men. Self-employed women have a slightly higher level of wellbeing than do employed women and the difference between the self-employed and the employed men is non-significant. When controlling for the level of job control, the relationship between self-employment and wellbeing is non-significant among women and is significantly negative among men. The results of this study confirm that the psychosocial working conditions are important because demands and control in work influence work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"262 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134461125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Freeman, B. Scott-Parker, Ides Wong, N. Haworth
Scientific efforts to understand and reduce the occurrence of road crashes continue to expand, particularly in the areas of vulnerable road user groups. Three groups that are receiving increasing attention within the literature are younger drivers, motorcyclists and older drivers. These three groups are at an elevated risk of being in a crash or seriously injured, and research continues to focus on the origins of this risk as well as the development of appropriate countermeasures to improve driving outcomes for these cohorts. However, it currently remains unclear what factors produce the largest contribution to crash risk or what countermeasures are likely to produce the greatest long term positive effects on road safety. This paper reviews research that has focused on the personal and environmental factors that increase crash risk for these groups as well as considers direction for future research in the respective areas. A major theme to emerge from this review is that while there is a plethora of individual and situational factors that influence the likelihood of crashes, these factors often combine in an additive manner to exacerbate the risk of both injury and fatality. Additionally, there are a number of risk factors that are pertinent for all three road user groups, particularly age and the level of driving experience. As a result, targeted interventions that address these factors are likely to maximise the flow-on benefits to a wider range of road users. Finally, there is a need for further research that aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap, in order to develop appropriate pathways to ensure that evidenced-based research is directly transferred to effective policies that improve safety outcomes.
{"title":"Vulnerable road user groups: a review of younger drivers, motorcyclists and older drivers","authors":"J. Freeman, B. Scott-Parker, Ides Wong, N. Haworth","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14889","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14889","url":null,"abstract":"Scientific efforts to understand and reduce the occurrence of road crashes continue to expand, particularly in the areas of vulnerable road user groups. Three groups that are receiving increasing attention within the literature are younger drivers, motorcyclists and older drivers. These three groups are at an elevated risk of being in a crash or seriously injured, and research continues to focus on the origins of this risk as well as the development of appropriate countermeasures to improve driving outcomes for these cohorts. However, it currently remains unclear what factors produce the largest contribution to crash risk or what countermeasures are likely to produce the greatest long term positive effects on road safety. This paper reviews research that has focused on the personal and environmental factors that increase crash risk for these groups as well as considers direction for future research in the respective areas. A major theme to emerge from this review is that while there is a plethora of individual and situational factors that influence the likelihood of crashes, these factors often combine in an additive manner to exacerbate the risk of both injury and fatality. Additionally, there are a number of risk factors that are pertinent for all three road user groups, particularly age and the level of driving experience. As a result, targeted interventions that address these factors are likely to maximise the flow-on benefits to a wider range of road users. Finally, there is a need for further research that aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap, in order to develop appropriate pathways to ensure that evidenced-based research is directly transferred to effective policies that improve safety outcomes.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129740674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Introduction: Personligt Ombud (PO) is a Swedish version of case management (CM) which was established with the Swedish Mental Health Reform in 1995. The main purpose of POs is to ensure that people with psychiatric disabilities receive the services needed to live an independent life in the community and to coordinate these services. Studies have shown that POs provide more support than this and it was interesting to investigate this further. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore what supportive strategies Personligt Ombuds (POs) use in their work with the clients who have PO support. Method: To obtain extensive descriptions of strategies that POs use in work, POs from different parts of Sweden were chosen and asked to participate in the study and 22 POs agreed to participate. The interviews were conducted over the telephone. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The findings of the study were reflected in a main category where PO could be described as a facilitator of an active changing process, where the clients make their personal changes in life, based on personal active choices. POs used several strategies, such as defining goals, acting to push the client forward, acting as mentors, strengthening the client and mobilizing external resources. Conclusion: Many of the strategies POs used are similar to strategies in recovery-oriented services and, in particular, in Strengths Model Case Management. However, there are strategies that POs could develop to be even more recovery-oriented. There is a lack of systematic review of the strengths of a client, and this could be solved by using an already existing assessment instrument like the one in the Strengths Model Case Management.
{"title":"Moving toward a recovery-oriented approach in the Swedish mental health system—an interview study of Personligt Ombud in Sweden","authors":"Carolina Klockmo, S. Marnetoft, Mikael Nordenmark","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.18879","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Personligt Ombud (PO) is a Swedish version of case management (CM) which was established with the Swedish Mental Health Reform in 1995. The main purpose of POs is to ensure that people with psychiatric disabilities receive the services needed to live an independent life in the community and to coordinate these services. Studies have shown that POs provide more support than this and it was interesting to investigate this further. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore what supportive strategies Personligt Ombuds (POs) use in their work with the clients who have PO support. Method: To obtain extensive descriptions of strategies that POs use in work, POs from different parts of Sweden were chosen and asked to participate in the study and 22 POs agreed to participate. The interviews were conducted over the telephone. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The findings of the study were reflected in a main category where PO could be described as a facilitator of an active changing process, where the clients make their personal changes in life, based on personal active choices. POs used several strategies, such as defining goals, acting to push the client forward, acting as mentors, strengthening the client and mobilizing external resources. Conclusion: Many of the strategies POs used are similar to strategies in recovery-oriented services and, in particular, in Strengths Model Case Management. However, there are strategies that POs could develop to be even more recovery-oriented. There is a lack of systematic review of the strengths of a client, and this could be solved by using an already existing assessment instrument like the one in the Strengths Model Case Management.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"247 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132273369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acknowledgement that many children in Australia travel in restraints that do not offer them the best protection has led to recent changes in legislation such that the type of restraint for children under 7 years is now specified. This paper reports the results of two studies (observational; focus group/ survey) carried out in the state of Queensland to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes to the legislation. Observations suggested that almost all of the children estimated as aged 0–12 years were restrained (95%). Analysis of the type of restraint used for target-aged children (0–6 year olds) suggests that the proportion using an age-appropriate restraint has increased by an estimated 7% since enactment of the legislation. However, around 1 in 4 children estimated as aged under 7 years were using restraints too large for good fit. Results from the survey and focus group suggested parents were supportive of the changes in legislation. Non-Indigenous parents agreed that the changes had been necessary, were effective at getting children into the right restraints, and were easy to understand as well as making it clear what restraint to use with children. Moreover, they did not see the legislation as too complicated or too hard to comply with. Indigenous parents who participated in a focus group also regarded the legislation as improving children's safety. However, they identified the cost of restraints as an important barrier to compliance. In summary, the legislation appears to have had a positive effect on compliance levels and on raising parental awareness of the need to restrain children in child-specific restraints for longer. However, it would seem that an important minority of parents transition their children into larger restraints too early for optimal protection. Intervention efforts should aim to better inform these parents about appropriate ages for transition, especially from forward facing child seats. This could potentially be through use of other important transitions that occur at the same age, such as starting school. The small proportion of parents who do not restrain their children at all are also an important community sector to target. Finally, obtaining restraints presents a significant barrier to compliance for parents on limited incomes and interventions are needed to address this.
{"title":"Has increasing the age for child passengers to wear child restraints improved the extent to which they are used? Results from an Australian focus group and survey study","authors":"Alexia Janet Lennon","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14975","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.14975","url":null,"abstract":"Acknowledgement that many children in Australia travel in restraints that do not offer them the best protection has led to recent changes in legislation such that the type of restraint for children under 7 years is now specified. This paper reports the results of two studies (observational; focus group/ survey) carried out in the state of Queensland to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes to the legislation. Observations suggested that almost all of the children estimated as aged 0–12 years were restrained (95%). Analysis of the type of restraint used for target-aged children (0–6 year olds) suggests that the proportion using an age-appropriate restraint has increased by an estimated 7% since enactment of the legislation. However, around 1 in 4 children estimated as aged under 7 years were using restraints too large for good fit. Results from the survey and focus group suggested parents were supportive of the changes in legislation. Non-Indigenous parents agreed that the changes had been necessary, were effective at getting children into the right restraints, and were easy to understand as well as making it clear what restraint to use with children. Moreover, they did not see the legislation as too complicated or too hard to comply with. Indigenous parents who participated in a focus group also regarded the legislation as improving children's safety. However, they identified the cost of restraints as an important barrier to compliance. In summary, the legislation appears to have had a positive effect on compliance levels and on raising parental awareness of the need to restrain children in child-specific restraints for longer. However, it would seem that an important minority of parents transition their children into larger restraints too early for optimal protection. Intervention efforts should aim to better inform these parents about appropriate ages for transition, especially from forward facing child seats. This could potentially be through use of other important transitions that occur at the same age, such as starting school. The small proportion of parents who do not restrain their children at all are also an important community sector to target. Finally, obtaining restraints presents a significant barrier to compliance for parents on limited incomes and interventions are needed to address this.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"451 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116174623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The main aim of this paper is to outline a proposed program of research which will attempt to quantify the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drugs in the Australian construction industry, and furthermore, develop an appropriate industry-wide policy and cultural change management program and implementation plan to address the problem. This paper will also present preliminary results from the study. The study will use qualitative and quantitative methods (in the form of interviews and surveys, respectively) to evaluate the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in this industry, to ascertain the feasibility of an industry-wide policy and cultural change management program, and to develop an appropriate implementation plan. The study will be undertaken in several construction organisations, at selected sites in South Australia, Victoria and Northern Territory. It is anticipated that approximately 500 employees from the participating organisations across Australia will take part in the study. The World Health Organisation's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) will be used to measure the extent of alcohol use in the industry. Illicit drug use, “readiness to change”, impediments to reducing impairment, feasibility of proposed interventions, and employee attitudes and knowledge regarding workplace AOD impairment, will also be measured through a combination of interviews and surveys. Among the preliminary findings, for 51% (n = 127) of respondents, score on the AUDIT indicated alcohol use at hazardous levels. Of the respondents who were using alcohol at hazardous levels, 76% reported (n = 97) that they do not have a problem with drinking and 54% (n = 68) reported that it would be easy to “cut down” or stop drinking. Nearly half (49%) of all respondents (n = 122) had used marijuana/cannabis at some time prior to being surveyed. The use of other illicit substances was much less frequently reported. Preliminary interview findings indicated a lack of adequate employee knowledge regarding the physical effects of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace. As for conclusions, the proposed study will address a major gap in the literature with regard to the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in the construction industry in Australia. The study will also develop and implement a national, evidence-based workplace policy, with the aim of mitigating the deleterious effects of alcohol and other drugs in this industry.
{"title":"The role of education and awareness in workplace alcohol and drug use in the Australian construction industry: Proposed program of research and preliminary results","authors":"H. Biggs, A. Williamson, T. Davey","doi":"10.3402/vgi.v3i0.17284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3402/vgi.v3i0.17284","url":null,"abstract":"The main aim of this paper is to outline a proposed program of research which will attempt to quantify the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drugs in the Australian construction industry, and furthermore, develop an appropriate industry-wide policy and cultural change management program and implementation plan to address the problem. This paper will also present preliminary results from the study. The study will use qualitative and quantitative methods (in the form of interviews and surveys, respectively) to evaluate the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in this industry, to ascertain the feasibility of an industry-wide policy and cultural change management program, and to develop an appropriate implementation plan. The study will be undertaken in several construction organisations, at selected sites in South Australia, Victoria and Northern Territory. It is anticipated that approximately 500 employees from the participating organisations across Australia will take part in the study. The World Health Organisation's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) will be used to measure the extent of alcohol use in the industry. Illicit drug use, “readiness to change”, impediments to reducing impairment, feasibility of proposed interventions, and employee attitudes and knowledge regarding workplace AOD impairment, will also be measured through a combination of interviews and surveys. Among the preliminary findings, for 51% (n = 127) of respondents, score on the AUDIT indicated alcohol use at hazardous levels. Of the respondents who were using alcohol at hazardous levels, 76% reported (n = 97) that they do not have a problem with drinking and 54% (n = 68) reported that it would be easy to “cut down” or stop drinking. Nearly half (49%) of all respondents (n = 122) had used marijuana/cannabis at some time prior to being surveyed. The use of other illicit substances was much less frequently reported. Preliminary interview findings indicated a lack of adequate employee knowledge regarding the physical effects of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace. As for conclusions, the proposed study will address a major gap in the literature with regard to the extent of the problem of alcohol and other drug use in the construction industry in Australia. The study will also develop and implement a national, evidence-based workplace policy, with the aim of mitigating the deleterious effects of alcohol and other drugs in this industry.","PeriodicalId":356239,"journal":{"name":"Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion","volume":"114 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121419586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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