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This paper explores how the strong policy push to improve students' results on national literacy and numeracy tests - the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) - in the Australian state of Queensland influenced schooling practices, including teachers' learning. The paper argues the focus upon improved test scores on NAPLAN within schools was the result of sustained policy pressure for increased attention to such foci at national and state levels, and a broader political context in which rapid improvement in test results was considered imperative. However, implementation, (or what this paper describes more accurately as 'enactment') of the policy also revealed NAPLAN as providing evidence of students' learning, as useful for grouping students to help improve their literacy and numeracy capabilities, and as a stimulus for teacher professional development. Drawing upon the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, the paper argues that even as more political concerns about comparing NAPLAN results with other states were recognised by educators, the field of schooling practices was characterised by a logic of active appropriation of political concerns about improved test scores by teachers, for more educative purposes. In this way, policy enactment in schools is characterised by competing interests, and involving not just interpretation, translation and critique but active appropriation of political concerns by teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the issues facing young Vietnamese who have a sibling with an illicit drug addiction and the coping strategies that they and their families employ. This paper concentrated on the results from interviews/focus groups of Vietnamese parents and young people. There were some areas of commonality between the responses of the parent and youth cohorts. Issues of shame, guilt, grief and lack of support were raised by both groups. The reactions of parents and siblings change over time, as the negative impact of the user's behaviour intensified and family systems become strained. There were significant differences in the responses of the two cohorts in relation to parental behaviour. The youth cohort generally was critical of parental behaviour towards both children who are using illicit drugs and their non-using siblings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While drink driving continues to be significantly more common among male drivers, there is evidence from many countries that shows a growing trend of women engaging in this risky behaviour. The aims of the current study were threefold: (i) determine to what extent a sample of women drivers reported engaging in drink driving behaviour by expanding the construct into a range of definitions, (ii) determine if there were significant differences in self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviours in accordance with hazardous drinking behaviour, and (iii) identify which situational or personal factors would increase women drivers’ likelihood to engage in drink driving through presenting a range of scenarios. Method: Data were collected using an on-line, purpose-designed survey and promoted to reach women aged 17 years and older, living in Queensland, Australia. In addition to questions relating to demographic characteristics, participants completed items relating to engagement in seven drink driving related behaviours in the previous 12-month period, hazardous drinking as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and likelihood of driving when unsure if over the legal limit for licence type across a range of scenarios manipulating different situational factors. A total of 644 valid responses were received in the two-week period the study was advertised. Results: The results demonstrate women’s self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviour ranged from 12.6% (driving when they believed they were over the legal limit) to over 50.0% (driving when unsure if over the legal limit the morning after drinking alcohol) and was significantly more likely among those who reported hazardous levels of alcohol use. Circumstances in which women reported they would drive when unsure if over the legal BAC limit were when they were a few blocks from home, if they subjectively felt they were not too intoxicated, or if they needed their car to get somewhere the next morning. Conclusion: Examining drink driving behaviour by way of responses to nuanced definitions provided valuable insight into self-reported engagement in the behaviour and highlights the usefulness of multi-measure dependent variables in order to illuminate a more accurate acknowledgement into both the type (and extent) of drink driving behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Code of Ethics of pharmacy practitioners in Australia recognises the obligation to provide care to patients in a culturally safe and responsive manner. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine how Australian community pharmacists understand and experience the concept of ‘culture’ in their everyday practice environment. Methods: Voluntary, semi-structured interviews were conducted at community pharmacy placement sites in South-East Queensland, Australia. Pharmacists were asked to recall an incident that evoked their cultural awareness during the course of their practice. The question stated, verbatim: “We are preparing our students to be pharmacists in a highly multicultural community. Can you think of an incident where you learnt something about another person’s culture or it made you more aware of your own culture? Please briefly describe the incident.” Reportable responses were collected from 59 of the 92 visited pharmacists. These responses were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were collated and analysed through iterative, reflexive, thematic analysis using constant comparison. Results and significance: The responses provided a rich selection of lived experiences within Australian multicultural pharmacy practice, describing professional dilemmas, fears and the strategies employed to overcome practice challenges. Six main response categories were identified: (i) Language/communication challenges, (ii) Cultural attitudes and behaviours, (iii) Exposure to culture due to pharmacy location, (iv) Religion, gender, and age, (v) Prejudiced/perceived racist attitudes and discrimination towards ‘other’ cultures, (vi) Perceived ‘sameness’ of different cultures. The study has provided valuable insights into community pharmacists’ experiences of culture in their day-to-day professional practice, also highlighting the associated strategies used to maintain a high standard of practice. There is merit in ensuring that the pharmacy curriculum and professional development programs are designed to respond to the ethical obligation of pharmacists to practise in a culturally safe, responsive manner that acknowledges and incorporates the importance of culture, cultural differences and intercultural relations, while addressing culturally unique needs in a skilled and professional manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]