Youths in custody in NSW: aspirations and strategies for the future

Aim: To investigate the extent to which youths in custody 1) rate specific life goals as important and likely to eventuate; 2) have strategies to achieve their goals; and 3) can anticipate barriers to achieving their goals.Method: A total of 107 detainees drawn from NSW Juvenile Justice centres were interviewed about their life goals.Results: Most youths rated specific life goals, such as having a well-paying job and avoiding trouble with the police, as ‘quite important’ or ‘very important’ goals to achieve in the future. When youths were asked how likely it was that these specific goals would be realised, the most common response was ‘quite likely’ or ‘very likely’. The most frequently identified strategies for having a well-paying job included getting the necessary diplomas and starting in a junior position to get experience. The most frequently identified strategies for avoiding trouble with the police were resisting peer pressure and obeying the law. Commonly reported barriers to achieving these goals included associating with antisocial peers, drugs and alcohol usage. Many youths also recognised that getting into trouble with the law would also be a barrier to having a well-paying job.Conclusion: Most youths interviewed in this study placed high importance on specific life goals and were generally optimistic about achieving them. Furthermore, most youths could think of strategies that would help them achieve their goals as well as identify possible barriers to achieving them. These findings have the potential to help service providers and policy makers target their services and policies appropriately

A decision support tool for landfill methane generation and gas collection

This study presents a decision support tool (DST) to enhance methane generation at individual landfill sites. To date there is no such tool available to provide landfill decision makers with clear and simplified information to evaluate biochemical processes within a landfill site, to assess performance of gas production and to identify potential remedies to any issues. The current lack in understanding stems from the complexity of the landfill waste degradation process. Two scoring sets for landfill gas production performance are calculated with the tool: (1) methane output score which measures the deviation of the actual methane output rate at each site which the prediction generated by the first order decay model LandGEM; and (2) landfill gas indicators’ score, which measures the deviation of the landfill gas indicators from their ideal ranges for optimal methane generation conditions. Landfill gas indicators include moisture content, temperature, alkalinity, pH, BOD, COD, BOD/COD ratio, ammonia, chloride, iron and zinc. A total landfill gas indicator score is provided using multi-criteria analysis to calculate the sum of weighted scores for each indicator. The weights for each indicator are calculated using an analytical hierarchical process. The tool is tested against five real scenarios for landfill sites in UK with a range of good, average and poor landfill methane generation over a one year period (2012). An interpretation of the results is given for each scenario and recommendations are highlighted for methane output rate enhancement. Results demonstrate how the tool can help landfill managers and operators to enhance their understanding of methane generation at a site-specific level, track landfill methane generation over time, compare and rank sites, and identify problems areas within a landfill site

Participant satisfaction with Youth Justice Conferencing

Aims: To evaluate offender and victim satisfaction with New South Wales (NSW) Youth Justice Conferences (YJCs) immediately after conference participation and to re-assess victim satisfaction 4 months after the conference date.Method: A self-report survey designed to assess satisfaction with YJCs was completed by 263 offenders and 141 victims immediately following their participation in a NSW YJC. Additionally, 96 victims also participated in a phone-based survey 4 months after the conference.Results: When asked immediately following the conference, more than 85 per cent of offenders and victims reported being ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with most aspects of the conference. High levels of satisfaction with conferencing were also reported by victims 4 months after the conference. For some measures, however, the percentage of victims who were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ was not as high at the 4-month follow-up, as it was in the baseline survey. The aspect of conferencing that victims at the 4-month follow-up reported the least satisfaction with was the lack of feedback they received from conference staff about the offender’s completion of the outcome plan. Fewer than half of the victims were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with this part of the conference.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that offender and victim satisfaction is high immediately following a YJC. Even 4 months after a YJC, victim satisfaction with most aspects of conferencing remains high. Satisfaction levels may be increased still further if, at some point prior to the end of the statutory time-period for completing the plan, victims were provided with feedback about the offender’s progress towards completing the outcome plan. Further research also needs to be conducted comparing victim satisfaction following a conference with victim satisfaction following a court appearance

Financial outcomes in retirement for female primary carers in Australia focusing on informal elder care

A number of researchers have examined likely financial outcomes in retirement for female primary carers in Australia. This literature has been motivated by both the significant proportion of working age women providing care, and the social and economic value of their unpaid labour. Although offering valuable insights into the significant relation between the life-course timing of care provision and superannuation balances, the existing literature does not consider the financial consequences in retirement for women who care for their parents, and in particular, those who simultaneously or sequentially “sandwich” this care with raising children. This thesis addresses this omission by developing a series of superannuation accumulation scenarios for carers of elders, and “sandwich generation” carers from a range of estimated life-course employment and earnings profiles. Within the framework of feminist political economy, the thesis interprets estimated financial outcomes for various cohorts of carers in the context of their likely financial needs in retirement. These outcomes are compared with likely outcomes for various cohorts of non-carers, including male and female full-time workers and mothers working part-time. The results indicate that average full-time continuous workers are unlikely to amass superannuation balances sufficient for their financial needs in retirement, and that “sandwich generation” carers along with mothers raising children with disabilities are likely to be particularly adversely affected. The research thus supports the body of literature challenging claims that Australia’s current retirement income policy is efficient and equitable. Additionally, claims that the current system will relieve the fiscal burden of the ageing population on future generations become contestable in light of the likely unsustainable outcomes for those currently providing substantial and unpaid elder care

Age, equality, and cultural oppression: An argument against ageism

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The concept of 'ageism' has often been thought to be of limited moral concern, especially in comparison to other forms of discrimination such as racism and sexism. Nevertheless, there are also those who believe that ageism is morally significant, and there are diametrically opposed views within liberal and egalitarian theory as to whether age discrimination is or is not just. This thesis has two objectives. Firstly, it seeks to overcome the apparent vagueness of the concept that has given rise to such diametrically opposed views concerning ageism by examining exactly what the phenomenon involves. It defines the wrongfulness of much age discrimination as originating in either the nature of the reasons for which people discriminate against the old or the nature of the consequences for the individuals affected. In the course of the thesis I make several important distinctions, the most important of which are between the social and moral worth of a person, and between the synchronic and diachronic interests of a person. These distinctions allow us to distinguish between a culturally oppressive ageism and ageism that is justified by reasons of equality and efficiency. The former is intrinsically morally wrong, the latter extrinsically wrong. The second aim of the thesis is to develop an anti-ageist ethical principle capable of challenging both forms of ageism in a comprehensive way, and which is consistent with a broader liberal egalitarian political theory. This is achieved by drawing on the distinction between the irreducible nature of each person's synchronic and diachronic interests. I have identified the principle that we should protect the synchronic interests of older persons with a democratic social egalitarianism that seeks to equalise the social relations between citizens rather than concentrating upon an equality of distribution. It is in this way that I also connect the debate about the morality (or otherwise) of age discrimination with debates within contemporary liberal egalitarian philosophy

Determination of renewable energy yield from mixed waste material from the use of novel image analysis methods

Two novel techniques are presented in this study which together aim to provide a system able to determine the renewable energy potential of mixed waste materials. An image analysis tool was applied to two waste samples prepared using known quantities of source-segregated recyclable materials. The technique was used to determine the composition of the wastes, where through the use of waste component properties the biogenic content of the samples was calculated. The percentage renewable energy determined by image analysis for each sample was accurate to within 5% of the actual values calculated. Microwave-based multiple-point imaging (AutoHarvest) was used to demonstrate the ability of such a technique to determine the moisture content of mixed samples. This proof-of-concept experiment was shown to produce moisture measurement accurate to within 10%. Overall, the image analysis tool was able to determine the renewable energy potential of the mixed samples, and the AutoHarvest should enable the net calorific value calculations through the provision of moisture content measurements. The proposed system is suitable for combustion facilities, and enables the operator to understand the renewable energy potential of the waste prior to combustion

National evaluation of Partnerships for Older People Projects

Executive Summary The Partnership for Older People Projects (POPP) were funded by the Department of Health to develop services for older people, aimed at promoting their health, well-being and independence and preventing or delaying their need for higher intensity or institutional care. The evaluation found that a wide range of projects resulted in improved quality of life for participants and considerable savings, as well as better local working relationships. • Twenty-nine local authorities were involved as pilot sites, working with health and voluntary sector partners to develop services, with funding of £60m • Those projects developed ranged from low level services, such as lunch-clubs, to more formal preventive initiatives, such as hospital discharge and rapid response services • Over a quarter of a million people (264,637) used one or more of these services • The reduction in hospital emergency bed days resulted in considerable savings, to the extent that for every extra £1 spent on the POPP services, there has been approximately a £1.20 additional benefit in savings on emergency bed days. This is the headline estimate drawn from a statistically valid range of £0.80 to £1.60 saving on emergency bed days for every extra £1 spent on the projects. • Overnight hospital stays were seemingly reduced by 47% and use of Accident & Emergency departments by 29%. Reductions were also seen in physiotherapy/occupational therapy and clinic or outpatient appointments with a total cost reduction of £2,166 per person • A practical example of what works is pro-active case coordination services, where visits to A&E departments fell by 60%, hospital overnight stays were reduced by 48%, phone calls to GPs fell by 28%, visits to practice nurses reduced by 25% and GP appointments reduced by 10% • Efficiency gains in health service use appear to have been achieved without any adverse impact on the use of social care resources • The overwhelming majority of the POPP projects have been sustained, with only 3% being closed – either because they did not deliver the intended outcomes or because local strategic priorities had changed • PCTs have contributed to the sustainability of the POPP projects within all 29 pilot sites. Moreover, within almost half of the sites, one or more of the projects are being entirely sustained through PCT funding – a total of 20% of POPP projects. There are a further 14% of projects for which PCTs are providing at least half of the necessary ongoing funding • POPP services appear to have improved users’ quality of life, varying with the nature of individual projects; those providing services to individuals with complex needs were particularly successful, but low-level preventive projects also had an impact • All local projects involved older people in their design and management, although to varying degrees, including as members of steering or programme boards, in staff recruitment panels, as volunteers or in the evaluation • Improved relationships with health agencies and the voluntary sector in the locality were generally reported as a result of partnership working, although there were some difficulties securing the involvement of GP