On ‘being Australian’: Korean migrants in ‘post-multicultural’ Australia.

This paper reports on the findings of research into what Korean Australians thought about the process of ‘becoming and being Australian’, drawing on measures of social cohesion and ‘Australianness’. The aim of the research was to find out what Korean Australian migrants valued or were uncomfortable with in relation to multiculturalism and processes of ‘being Australian’, or conformation with ‘Australianness’. Based on in-depth interviews with ten and a survey of 153 members of the Korean migrant community in Sydney, data indicated that social activities and self-perception of identity effectively continue to reflect past Australian policy settings that recognised the importance of multiculturalism as both a community-based policy framework as well as a national social policy. The study found participants highly valued Korean identity, language and community and that bonds to the Korean community, limited English language competency and experiences of racism reinforced the importance of settling into a society that valued multiculturalism

Great musicians of the church

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

The impact and outcomes of the implementation of the Wakefield Birth Centre

In today’s western society childbirth takes place mainly in hospital settings and is under the control of doctors (Kirkham, 2003). More recently there have been concerns about increasingly high caesarean section rates (ref), the decreasing number of practising midwives (Ball et al. 2002) and the worryingly small number of women experiencing a natural birth (Page, 2003). Maternity services at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust provide for a social, cultural and ethnically diverse community and manage 3,600 births per year. Following reconfiguration in February 2002, including the relocation of hospital maternity services, the trust decided to implement some of the Department of Health’s Action Plan and open a standalone Birth Centre in Wakefield. Birth centres are facilities that provide individualised and family centred maternity care, with an emphasis on skilled, sensitive and respectful midwifery care. They provide a relaxed and informal environment where women are encouraged to labour at their own pace. Birth Centres seek to promote physiological childbirth by recognising, respecting and safeguarding normal birth processes. This philosophy enables women and their families to experience a positive start to parenthood (Shallow, 2001, Kirkham, 2003). Midwives are also able to practise “real midwifery” (Kirkham, 2003, p.14). The overall aim of this research was therefore to evaluate the impact and outcomes of the implementation of the Wakefield Birth Centre. The research was funded by the Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CHSCR) at the University of Huddersfield. Ethical advice was sought through School Research and Ethics Panel (SREP) at the university of Huddersfield and ethical approval was granted by the Local Research Ethics Committee (LREC) and the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Research and Development