Margaret Bowden

Work Integrated Learning: A Guide to Effective Practice

Acknowledgements The Authors Introduction 1. The New Higher Education Enterprise 2. A Conceptual Framework For Work Integrated Learning 3. Working To Learn, Learning To Work 4. Teaching In Work Integrated Learning 5. Assessing Work Integrated Learning 6. Supervision 7. Managing Difficult Situations 8. The Work Integrated Learning Process Appendix 1: Workplace Literacies - Knowledge, Skills And Attributes Appendix 2: Specific Risks And Difficulties Encountered In The Workplace Glossary References

Can social workers and police be partners when dealing with bikie-gang related domestic violence and sexual assault?

Welfare and criminal justice systems manifest different goals, cultures, values and working methods. In Australia, the welfare sector has a culture of empowerment and concern for victims’ rights, within which social workers focus on social justice and social change. In contrast, the criminal justice sector (police) is patriarchal and para-military in structure, focusing on enforcing and maintaining community order and safety. These differences can create tension when social workers and police need to work as partners in response to violence against women, in particular violence against women from bikie gangs. This article addresses the issue of partnerships between social workers and police when working with abused bikie-gang women. It presents the findings of recent research into social work practice with such women in South Australia, in conjunction with a brief exploration of the international literature on social work and police cultures, and partnerships. It concludes that whilst there is a great need for genuine collaboration and partnership between social workers and police in the complex context of domestic violence with links to organised crime, the cultures and mandates of these different professions make this difficult.

Contested Concepts in Violence Against Women: ‘Intimate’, ‘Domestic’ or ‘Torture’?

Abstract Ritualistic, overwhelmingly violent bikie gang or cult-inflicted abuse of women, entrenched by co-opting third party cult or gang members, has been referred to as ‘domestic violence’, ‘intimate violence’ or ‘intimate partner violence’. The present article questions the aptitude of these terms to convey the realities of this violence, in light of the experiences of women attending a South Australian domestic violence service, all of whom were escaping violent partners who were members or associates of bikie gangs and cults. The paper asks, ‘is torture an appropriate term for such violence?’ and discusses the impact of social, legal, organisational and human rights parallel states that collaborate to make it almost impossible for these women to escape this violence and make it difficult for social workers to work effectively with them. The paper concludes that the State needs to adopt a human rights rather than legal focus when addressing the issue of violence against women.

Working with Women Associated with Bikie Gangs: Practice Dilemmas

Abstract Much has been written about bikie gangs, but there is little about the women and children who are part of gang life. The present paper describes domestic violence agency social workers’ ethical practice dilemmas when assisting women who have left bikie gangs to search for a new, safer lifestyle away from the gang culture of drug use and violence, in particular sexual violence. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ethical processes and issues in resolving such practice dilemmas.

Kinship care: Child safety or easy option? Staff and carers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Formal kinship care continues to grow in Australia, demanding more research into its characteristics and organizational practice. This research aimed to gain a better understanding of kinship care, its practice issues, and its role in the South Australian alternative care system. Quantitative and qualitative methods, including an online staff survey (n = 81), staff focus groups (n = 56), and interviews and focus groups with Aboriginal (n = 11) and non-Aboriginal (n = 33) kinship carers were used to gain insight into staff and carers’ experiences of kinship care, and of working with each other and the care organization. Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses generated the findings. All participants focused on achieving child safety and the child’s best interests through kinship care. They agreed that kinship care is a valuable, but complex and under-resourced alternative to foster care. They called for more training and support for kinship carers and staff to develop mutual respect and trust to effectively address kinship care’s unique, complex, family, community, and cultural issues. The research concluded that greater resources, organizational support, and sharing and valuing of diverse knowledge and experience are needed to facilitate safe, stable kinship care that is also in the child’s best interests.

Increasing hand hygiene compliance to reduce infection rates: is valid comparison of compliance methods possible? A literature review

The link between increased hand hygiene (HH) compliance and decreasing rates of infection cannot be ignored. Today, the increased acuity and invasiveness of many therapeutic interventions require greater HH compliance. Infection control personnel are challenged to find the best strategies to achieve this. This literature review, limited to studies between 2000 and 2007 using quasi- or pre-experimental research design, aimed to determine recent strategies for increased HH compliance in hospital settings. Multimodal strategies appeared most effective, but there was a lack of constant comparative research processes and discussion about how to facilitate behavioural change for sustainable increases. Innovative, comparable research, including justification of interventions as a reflection of adult learning principles, is needed to gauge the effectiveness of HH compliance strategies.

Providing culturally safe care in the best interests of unaccompanied humanitarian minors

Abstract Background: The increasing number of unaccompanied humanitarian minors in Australia demands research into their best care options. Aims: This paper reports empirical South Australian research that aimed to give voice to carers’ concerns about providing appropriate care to unaccompanied humanitarian minors (UHM), and UHMs’ perceptions of how their care meets their best interests during transition to life in Australia. Materials and Methods: Semi-structured questionnaires were used to interview 22 carers and 17 Afghani male UHMs. Results: Thematic analysis revealed carers’key concerns were achieving a balance between the UHMs’ cultural safety and fitting into the Australian social context, providing UHMs with sufficient psychological support, and training. Discussion: The UHMs felt their best interests were largely met but requested broader opportunities for education, mixing with Australians and learning living skills, and expressed concern about their accommodation when they began living independently at age 18. Conclusion: Culturally safe care alone may not meet UHMs’ best interests. Care policy and carer training need to incorporate UHMs’ and UHMs’ carers’ perspectives.

Voices from the Coalface: The Impact of Dedicated Education Units in Nursing

This chapter, in keeping with the Dedicated Education Unit principles of valuing everyone’s input, respecting and sharing their knowledge and experience, and learning from one another, presents 14 stories from people performing different roles in establishing, learning, teaching and working within differently structured Dedicated Education Units in different clinical contexts. It broadens the scope of this book by including experiences from Manukau Institute of Technology/Counties Manukau District Health Board Dedicated Education Units in Auckland, New Zealand. The stories complement the descriptions of Dedicated Education Units, from conception to sustainable management, in Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 (this volume) by adding a human element that gives insight into how different individuals experience the concepts and meanings of Dedicated Education Units in practice.

From Conceptualisation to Future Expansion: Keys to Successful Dedicated Education Unit Implementation and Sustainability

This chapter provides a foundation for those interested in setting up Dedicated Education Units. The authors summarise all steps from conceptualisation to implementation, drawing on the previous chapters in this volume and recent literature to identify and emphasise the key requisites for successful development and implementation of Dedicated Education Units. The authors use the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology/Canterbury District Health Board partnership model to illustrate how a successful Dedicated Education Unit works; an example of good practice in effective working partnerships between universities and health care service organisations. They describe the 13 steps in the initial stage, then provide seven key strategies for establishment, sustainability and looking to further develop Dedicated Education Units, proposing that you can use these to successfully develop, construct, implement, maintain and sustain interprofessional Dedicated Education Units and other practice learning and teaching innovations in a variety of work-integrated learning contexts.

Building Clinical and Academic Staff and Student Capacity in Dedicated Education Units

This chapter describes examples of the opportunities afforded to clinical and academic staff and students in Dedicated Education Units to participate in ‘capacity building’ activities, also referred to in other chapters as ‘preparation’ for the Dedicated Education Unit, ‘staff development’ or ‘faculty development’. The authors explore capacity building in terms of curriculum, formal and incidental capacity building strategies, and formal and incidental learning outcomes, including graduate attributes and competencies, with a major focus on clinical and academic staff capacity building in assessment of, and feedback to, students. They detail a University-run clinical and academic staff Dedicated Education Unit workshops designed to inform staff about how a Dedicated Education Unit works in different clinical settings, the undergraduate nursing programme, and teaching, assessment and feedback strategies. The authors also describe how the Dedicated Education Unit’s support structures and peer teaching and learning provide inbuilt capacity building for clinical and academic staff and students. The chapter concludes with a call for research into interprofessional Dedicated Education Units and into the impact of Dedicated Education Units on international nursing students’ clinical learning experiences.