Search

Social capital refers to the nature of ties within a social unit, as well as the unit's external relationships. We draw from organizational sociology and political science, and also build upon existing insights in school board research, to offer an approach that address the effects of "bonding" (internal ties) and "bridging" (external ties) by board members. We hypothesize that these two sources of social capital are positively associated with financial and academic outcomes at the district level. Results, based on data from 175 Pennsylvania districts between 2004-05 and 2006-07, support our hypotheses. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 3 figures, 3 tables, and 12 notes.)

Includes results of the "Modern Language Journal's" annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the United States. (Author/VWL)

Provides results of the Modern Language Journal's annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, and linguistic in foreign language education in the United States. (Author/VWL)

Presents results of the Modern Language Journal's annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, and linguistics in foreign language education in the United States. (Author/VWL)

Provides data from the Modern Language Association's survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the United States. (Author/VWL)

Publishes the results of an annual survey of Doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the United States. (Author/VWL)

First Nations doulas offer an innovative approach for strengthening capacity and increasing the Australian First Nations maternity workforce to improve access to services that produce optimal outcomes. Currently, there is no published evidence on the training needs and health sector industry support for developing a First Nations doula workforce. In the context of the 'Top End,' Northern Territory, Australia, the aim of this article is to document Industry feedback on the training needs and support for developing a First Nations doula workforce. Ten purposively recruited Industry representatives participated in a facilitated workshop using the Kaospiolit Vision Backcasting education design tool. Participants identified and reached consensus on almost all the underpinning skills, knowledge, mindset, and attitudes required to work as a First Nations doula. Overall participants indicated strong Industry appetite and support for formally developing the doula role. There was participant consensus that accredited doula training would be a 'game-changer', addressing inadequacies and inequities in NT's reproductive and maternal health services for remote-living First Nations women. More research is required to explore First Nations doula practice in addressing perinatal inequities and workforce issues. Investigation is required to identify funding and appropriate workforce models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics and foreign language education in the United States. The report lists degrees in the fields of African Languages and Literatures, Asian Languages and Literatures, Celtic Languages and Literatures, Classics, Comparative Literature, Germanic Languages and Literatures and others. (CK)

Birthing on Country for the best start in life: returning childbirth services to Yol u mothers, babies and communities in North East Arnhem, Northern Territory The workshop was in response to a previous Galiwin'ku community consultation in which senior Yol u women called for birthing services to be returned to their island, and that services should better incorporate Yol u cultural care. Keywords: Midwifery; Obstetrics; Maternal health; Community care EN Midwifery Obstetrics Maternal health Community care 5 8 4 07/05/22 20220701 NES 220701 First Nations Yol u women are speaking up to reclaim control and return of childbirth services Over the millennia, First Nations women across Australia have given birth on their Country, supported by family and cultural caring practices, until recent disruption from European colonisation.1 Today, First Nations women, babies and families experience profound health inequities when comparing health outcomes to their Australian counterparts. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract Background Overall, Indigenous Australians with cancer are diagnosed with more advanced disease, receive less cancer treatment and have poorer cancer survival than non-Indigenous Australians. The prognosis for Indigenous people with specific cancers varies however, and their prognosis for cancers of the head and neck is largely unknown. We therefore have compared clinical characteristics, treatment and survival between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people diagnosed with head and neck cancer in Queensland, Australia. Methods Rates were based on a cohort of Indigenous people (n = 67), treated in public hospitals between 1998 and 2004 and frequency-matched on age and location to non-Indigenous cases (n = 62) also treated in the public health system. Data were obtained from hospital records and the National Death Index. We used Pearson's Chi-squared analysis to compare categorical data (proportions) and Cox proportional hazard models to assess survival differences. Results There were no significant differences in socioeconomic status, stage at diagnosis or number and severity of comorbidities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients, although Indigenous patients were more likely to have diabetes. Indigenous people were significantly less likely to receive any cancer treatment (75% vs. 95%, P = 0.005) and, when cancer stage, socioeconomic status, comorbidities and cancer treatment were taken into account, they experienced greater risk of death from head and neck cancer (HR 1.88, 1.10, 3.22) and from all other causes (HR 5.83, 95% CI 1.09, 31.04). Conclusion These findings show for the first time that Indigenous Australians with head and neck cancer receive less cancer treatment and suggest survival disparity could be reduced if treatment uptake was improved. There is a need for a greater understanding of the reasons for such treatment and survival disparities, including the impact of the poorer overall health on cancer outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

There is growing evidence in First Nations doula care as a strategy to address perinatal inequities and improve maternal care experiences. However, there is no evidence around the approach and principals required to successfully deliver First Nations doula (childbirth) training. To explore and describe the approach and principles used in piloting the training of First Nations doulas in remote, multilingual Northern Australian community settings. Case study with participant interviews to identify principles underpinning our Decolonising Participatory Action Research (D-PAR) approach and training delivery. Reflections on our D-PAR research process identified enabling principles: 1) Use of metaphors for knowledge reflexivity, 2) Accommodate cultural constructions of time 3) Practice mental agility at the Cultural Interface, 4) Advocate and address inequities, 5) Prioritise meaningful curriculums and resources, 6) Establish cross-cultural recognition and validity; and 7) Ensure continuity of First Nations culture and language. The success of our doula training pilot disrupts a pervasive colonial narrative of First Nation deficit and demonstrates that respectful, genuine, and authentic partnerships can power transformative individual and collective community change. Our D-PAR approach assumes mutual learning and expertise between community and researchers. It is well suited to collaborative design and delivery of First Nations reproductive health training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cervical cancer mortality has halved in Australia since the national cervical screening program began in 1991, but elevated mortality rates persist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (referred to as Aboriginal women in this report). We investigated differences by Aboriginal status in abnormality rates predicted by cervical cytology and confirmed by histological diagnoses among screened women. Methods: Using record linkage between cervical screening registry and public hospital records in South Australia, we obtained Aboriginal status of women aged 20–69 for 1993–2016 (this was not recorded by the registry). Differences in cytological abnormalities were investigated by Aboriginal status, using relative risk ratios from mixed effect multinomial logistic regression modelling. Odds ratios were calculated for histological high grade results for Aboriginal compared with non-Aboriginal women. Results: Of 1,676,141 linkable cytology tests, 5.8% were abnormal. Abnormal results were more common for women who were younger, never married, and living in a major city or socioeconomically disadvantaged area. After adjusting for these factors and numbers of screening episodes, the relative risk of a low grade cytological abnormality compared with a normal test was 14% (95% confidence interval 5–24%) higher, and the relative risk of a high grade cytological abnormality was 61% (95% confidence interval 44–79%) higher, for Aboriginal women. The adjusted odds ratio of a histological high grade was 76% (95% confidence interval 46–113%) higher. Conclusions: Ensuring that screen-detected abnormalities are followed up in a timely way by culturally acceptable services is important for reducing differences in cervical cancer rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this call to action, a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, United States and Canada argue for the urgent need for adequately funded Indigenous-led solutions to perinatal health inequities for Indigenous families in well-resourced settler-colonial countries. Authors describe examples of successful community-driven programs making a difference and call on all peoples to support and resource Indigenous-led perinatal health services by providing practical actions for individuals and different groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous women continue to experience a disproportionately higher burden of cervical cancer than non‐Indigenous women in Australia. The National Indigenous Cervical Screening Project used probabilistic record linkage to combine population‐based administrative databases and identify Indigenous women on Pap Smear Registers. This study aimed to quantify the spatial variation by local government areas (LGAs) for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous women in Queensland in cervical screening participation rates and related outcomes. Empirical Bayes local geostatistical smoothing was performed to reduce the likelihood of spurious variation between small areas. The cohort included 1,091,260 women (2 per cent Indigenous) aged 20 to 69 with 2,393,708 Pap smears between 2006 and 2011. Indigenous women had smoothed LGA‐specific 5‐year participation rates (interquartile range (IQR) 38.9–53.3 per 100 eligible women) consistently lower than non‐Indigenous women (IQR 80.7–85.3). The non‐overlapping confidence intervals of these rates suggest that the Indigenous differential was significant. Compared with Indigenous women, non‐Indigenous women had consistently lower and more stable prevalence rates of histologically confirmed high grade abnormalities (IQR 8.0–10.1 versus 15.0–21.3 per 1,000 screened women). Although the LGA‐specific rates also suggest that a higher proportion of non‐Indigenous women were followed‐up within two months of an abnormal screening result, the wide confidence intervals for these estimates limit our ability to draw definitive conclusions about spatial patterns for this outcome. These findings highlight the importance of continued monitoring and ongoing efforts to identify drivers of these patterns and develop effective strategies to improve participation and potentially reduce the cervical cancer burden among Indigenous women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]