Arthritis and disability

Executive summary: Arthritis Australia commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at UNSW Australia to carry out research on the lived experience of people with arthritis related conditions. This report outlines the methods, findings and implications of the research. Arthritis is the second leading cause of disability and the most common cause of chronic pain in Australia; it is the most prevalent long-term health condition, affecting 3 million people or about 15 per cent of the population. Studies are available on the health costs and loss of productivity associated with arthritis, but not as much is understood about the extent to which arthritis is associated with disability–who is affected, how people are affected, what helps people cope with their condition day to day, and how support services can be improved. Improving understanding of the disability impact of arthritis is particularly important given the transition in Australia to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the impact this may have on service availability and delivery

Evaluation of Services Our Way

An evaluation of Services Our Way, a NSW Government service model designed to build the capacity of Aboriginal people to have greater access to mainstream and disability services and encourage self-directed support. Overview Services Our Way is a NSW Government service model designed to build the capacity of Aboriginal people to have greater access to mainstream and disability services and encourage self-directed support. The Social Policy Research Centre was commissioned to evaluate the Services Our Way pilot in Nowra, New South Wales, and did so through interviews with families and service providers. Services Our Way had positive impacts on Aboriginal people with disability and their families. The program helped Aboriginal people access a range of services, meeting immediate priorities of the families. The program was successful in engaging with the Aboriginal community using a culturally appropriate approach – an approach which could be shared with other staff and services to improve the appropriateness of service delivery more broadly. Through the program, families were able to access support and services to participate in social, economic and cultural activities, that helped strengthen and support community and social relationships. The evaluation could not determine the degree to which families transitioned to mainstream services – the research found that families had urgent needs to be met prior to transitioning to other services. The Services Our Way program in Nowra was a pilot, which developed from the initial concept in response to local needs. The evaluation identifies a range of issues in providing person centred approaches to Aboriginal people with disability and their families and communities which should influence the future directions under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).&nbsp

Flipped learning, flipped satisfaction, getting the balance right

This paper explores students’ perceptions of their learning outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction with a technology-facilitated flipped approach in a third-year core subject at an Australian university during 2014. In this pilot study, findings reveal that students preferred the flipped approach to the traditional face-to-face delivery and reported increased engagement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes as a result of both the flipped classroom approach and the use of digital technologies in the delivery of the unit. However, students did report frustration and less satisfaction generally with the flipped model in the initial stages of the semester. The implications are that students may require extra support in the initial stages of delivery of a flipped class to assist them to understand and take up the challenge of theapproach, thereby maximising student engagement and satisfaction earlier in the semester

Fisheries Management Science Programme: an overview of development impact to 2005

This report examines the development impacts of the Department for International Development's Fisheries Management Science Programme, considering how the Programme has sought to achieve impact. Analysis of projects in Zanzibar, Laos and Namibia examines the development results

Supported accommodation evaluation framework (SAEF) guide

High hopes for the NDIS are that people with disability will be able to live as independently as they choose, with the housing of their choice, and with the paid support that suits their preferences and life goals. Research conducted by the Social Policy Research Centre for the NSW government about disability housing support that is like the NDIS found that most people did achieve some positive outcomes. Least change was evident in people’s interpersonal relationships and employment, and some people did not live in housing that met their needs.&nbsp

Generic vs. Name Brand

This article was published in the Fall 2009 issue of the Journal of Undergraduate Researc

An Approach to Combining the Institutions for Event-B and Temporal Logic

The abstract is included in the text

Dismantling White Supremacy in Social Work Education: We Build the Road by Walking

We are excited to share this special edition of Advances in Social Work with you. When we distributed a call for abstracts, we were inundated – in a good way – with proposals. The need for social workers to discuss the role that white supremacy occupies within our history, education, and practice was obvious. Because of the number of abstracts received, we made the decision to publish a double edition so that the important information contained in these articles can be widely shared. The submissions fell into three general themes--historical, instructional, and institutional examinations. Each set of articles offers much for us to reflect and act upon moving forward. There is a reckoning happening and we are thrilled that this special edition is part of that reckoning. In all, we hope that this special issue will help advance our conversations in social work education around white supremacy and how it influences our practice, research, and education. Recognizing that our Code of Ethics calls us to “pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups”, we believe it is important for social work as a profession to consistently evaluate its own institutions for ways we can practice what we preach. As social work educators, we have the ethical and moral responsibility to learn, grow, and challenge ourselves. We can do better. We must do better