Landscapes of violence: women surviving family violence in regional and rural Victoria

In this research, family violence survivors have identified issues and barriers they have encountered, and have provided suggestions in regards to how both the criminal justice system and the broader Victorian community might assist survivors and help prevent family violence. Overview This project combines the findings of two studies undertaken by the Centre for Rural and Regional Law and Justice. Drawing on and extending the findings in Women\u27s experience of surviving family violence and accessing the Magistrate\u27s court in Geelong, Victoria (2013), this report extends the research in terms of geographic areas, issues covered and range of participants. It examines the experiences of, and outcomes for, women survivors of family violence in regional and rural Victoria, considering their contact with, and perceptions of, government agencies (including Victoria Police, the Victorian Magistrate\u27s courts and the Department of Human Services) as well as private and community advocates (legal services, women\u27s services and family violence services) and healthcare professionals. Through this research, survivors have identified issues and barriers they have encountered in escaping family violence, and have provided suggestions in regards to how both the criminal justice system and the broader Victorian community might assist survivors and help prevent family violence. As well as being informed by survivors, this publication includes insights provided by government and non-government practitioners and organisations who have offered their views on this report\u27s key findings and recommendations. In addition to the generous contributions of these participants, this report utilises relevant data and emerging research in an effort to identify best practice responses to family violence; improve access to justice, support and safety; and protect and promote women\u27s rights and entitlements

Public Service Delivery: Role of Information and Communication Technology in Improving Governance and Development Impact

The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of services to the poor, i.e., improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and reducing bribery. A number of papers recognize the potential benefits but they also point out that it has not been easy to harness this potential. This paper presents an analysis of effective case studies from developing countries where the benefits have reached a large number of poor citizens. It also identifies the critical success factors for wide-scale deployment. The paper includes cases on the use of ICTs in the management of delivery of public services in health, education, and provision of subsidized food. Cases on electronic delivery of government services, such as providing certificates and licenses to rural populations, which in turn provide entitlements to the poor for subsidized food, fertilizer, and health services are also included. ICT-enabled provision of information to enhance rural income is also covered

Digital health technologies for maternal and child health in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries: cross-disciplinary scoping review with stakeholder consultation

Background: Maternal and child health (MCH) is a global health concern, especially impacting low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Digital health technologies are creating opportunities to address the social determinants of MCH by facilitating access to information and providing other forms of support throughout the maternity journey. Previous reviews in different disciplines have synthesized digital health intervention outcomes in LMIC. However, contributions in this space are scattered across publications in different disciplines and lack coherence in what digital MCH means across fields. Objective: This cross-disciplinary scoping review synthesized the existing published literature in 3 major disciplines on the use of digital health interventions for MCH in LMIC, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We conducted a scoping review using the 6-stage framework by Arksey and O'Malley across 3 disciplines, including public health, social sciences applied to health, and human-computer interaction research in health care. We searched the following databases: Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and PLOS. A stakeholder consultation was undertaken to inform and validate the review. During the search, 284 peer-reviewed articles were identified. After removing 41 duplicates, 141 articles met our inclusion criteria: 34 from social sciences applied to health, 58 from public health, and 49 from human-computer interaction research in health care. These articles were then tagged (labeled) by 3 researchers using a custom data extraction framework to obtain the findings. First, the scope of digital MCH was found to target health education (eg, breastfeeding and child nutrition), care and follow-up of health service use (to support community health workers), maternal mental health, and nutritional and health outcomes. These interventions included mobile apps, SMS text messaging, voice messaging, web-based applications, social media, movies and videos, and wearable or sensor-based devices. Second, we highlight key challenges: little attention has been given to understanding the lived experiences of the communities; key role players (eg, fathers, grandparents, and other family members) are often excluded; and many studies are designed considering nuclear families that do not represent the family structures of the local cultures. Conclusions: Digital MCH has shown steady growth in Africa and other LMIC settings. Unfortunately, the role of the community was negligible, as these interventions often do not include communities early and inclusively enough in the design process. We highlight key opportunities and sociotechnical challenges for digital MCH in LMIC, such as more affordable mobile data; better access to smartphones and wearable technologies; and the rise of custom-developed, culturally appropriate apps that are more suited to low-literacy users. We also focus on barriers such as an overreliance on text-based communications and the difficulty of MCH research and design to inform and translate into policy.

Place-based approaches to child and family services

This paper synthesizes the conceptual and empirical literature on place-based approaches to meeting the needs of young children and their families. A specific focus of the paper is on the potential contribution of place-based approaches to service reconfiguration and coordination. Outline The paper begins by outlining the sweeping social changes that have occurred in developed nations over the past few decades and their impact on children, families and communities. It explores the ‘joined up’ problems faced by families and communities in the contemporary world, and highlights the need to reconfigure services to support families more effectively. The paper then focuses on ‘joined up’ solutions, on what we know about how to meet the challenges posed by the complex problems that characterise our society. Next, the paper explores what a place-based approach involves, and what role it can play in supporting families with young children. The rationale underpinning place-based approaches is outlined and the evidence for the effectiveness of the approach is summarised. The paper then looks at what can be learned from efforts to implement place-based initiatives in Australia and overseas, and explores the issues that need to be addressed in implementing this strategy. The ways in which the early childhood service system might be reconfigured are also considered, and the paper ends with a consideration of the policy and implementation implications.&nbsp

Development of Cybermoms: A Computer-mediated Peer Support Group to Address the Needs of Young Mothers

This article presents findings from a three-year demonstration project in Sudbury, Ontario that used Internet-based technologies combined with other program elements to support teen mothers through the establishment of a computer-mediated peer support group. Based on an analysis of survey data and qualitative data from online chat messages, we conclude that most participants of the Cybermoms program gained some benefit from access to computers and the Internet, particularly in terms of online peer support. While online participation cannot immediately change life circumstances related to poverty, interactions within the program, such as the real time chat sessions with social service providers and decision-makers supported the young women in transcending some of the limitations and boundaries of their lives. Sharing experiences and knowledge helped young women to deal with the challenges of parenting and to navigate through the requirements of oppressive service systems. Other benefits of ICT technologies included schooling, labour market transitioning, and life skills that arose from interacting with others and learning ICT

The Impact of Digital Technology on Environmental Sustainability and Resilience: An Evidence Review

Striving for ‘environmental sustainability and resilience’ (ESR) is postulated as a crucial, universal and global challenge of the twenty-first century. Today, this challenge has to be addressed in a world that is dynamic in its societal, economic and political constituents, heightened by increased interconnectedness resulting from globalisation. From a developing country perspective these issues need to be reconciled alongside developmental priorities, producing ongoing controversies and contradictions. This is further compounded by the fundamental matter of climate change. Undeniably the multitude of dimensions interlinked to achieving ESR are inherently complex and dynamic, inter-related across geographies of scale, space and place. Hence recent academic literature depicts the necessity of a systems-based approach in effectively conceptualising the field in the future. It is proposed that to account for the competing challenges and complexity, radical rethinking and innovation of approaches are required. This standpoint contrasts strongly with conventional development approaches, which predominantly focus on ‘palliative care’. One area from which relevant innovation stems is the digital sector. As this is now firmly what many term the ‘digital age’ or even ‘digital revolution’, there has recently been increasing application of digital technologies in developing country contexts. To date, this innovation has incorporated a spectrum of developmental initiatives, inclusive of those categorised under ESR headings. Inevitably, evidence on the impact of these innovations in practice is key in justifying resources, continuous learning and enabling effective progress. The latest World Development Report, Digital Dividends, explores impact from a development perspective focused largely on increased prosperity and inclusivity through economic growth, social dynamics and public service delivery in developing countries. Similarly, there are examples such as the UK Department for International Development’s recent review exploring the impact of digital technologies across their own development programmes. However, there appears to be relatively limited work to date collating and addressing the existing evaluative evidence specifically from the ESR viewpoint. The evidence that does currently exist on these areas seems to be primarily documented at the individual intervention level. The objective of this report was, therefore, to contribute to this evolving field by exploring and synthesising existing documented evidence. Commonalities and disjoints of successes and failures were drawn from across the findings, to produce a stronger evidence base on the impact of digital innovation in ESR. Impacts were considered alongside the academic theorisations of innovation with particular reference to complexity. This aims to identify emerging themes and gaps to ultimately deduce research-informed policy and to practice relevant lessons moving forward.UK Department for International Developmen

Voice and Agency: Empowering women and girls for shared prosperity

This document presents Voice and Agency: Empowering women and girls for shared prosperity is a major new report by the World Bank that shines a spotlight on the value of voice and agency, the patterns of constraints that limit their realization, and the associated costs, not only to individual women but to their families, communities, and societies. It highlights promising policies and interventions, and it identifies priority areas where further research and more and better data and evidence are needed. Underlining that agency has both intrinsic and instrumental, concrete value, this report puts advancing women's voice and agency squarely on the international development agenda

The state of broadband 2012: achieving digital inclusion for all

With this Report, the Broadband Commission expands awareness and understanding of the importance of broadband networks, services, and applications for generating economic growth and achieving social progress. High-speed affordable broadband connectivity to the Internet is essential to modern society, offering widely recognized economic and social benefits (Annex 1). The Broadband Commission for Digital Development promotes the adoption of broadband-friendly practices and policies for all, so everyone can take advantage of the benefits offered by broadband. With this Report, the Broadband Commission expands awareness and understanding of the importance of broadband networks, services, and applications for generating economic growth and achieving social progress. It has been written collaboratively, drawing on insightful and thought-provoking contributions from our leading array of Commissioners and their organizations, foremost in their fields

Northern and Indigenous Health and Health Care

The provision of northern health care entails many unique challenges and circumstances that are rarely represented in mainstream health sciences education. This OpenEd Resource provides accessible content on health and health care from a northern perspective for the growing number of health professionals being educated in northern communities