Journal articles on the topic 'Empowerment – special needs – psychosocial skills'

The child with special needs has barriers on the function of the development Several aspects of emotional, physical and mental or any of aspects. The child with special needs has learning modalities that enable them to make-adaption with Reviews their environments. They need independence to adapt. One of the approaches to establish Reviews their independency is through the learning skills to develop self-help and economic activity. Reviews These are two vital aspect for the independence of the child with special needs.

<p>This paper examined the motivational factors for entrepreneurial empowerment of people with special needs, and determined the level of knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences that are necessary to become self-employed and contribute to individual growth and societal development rather than living in poverty, liabilities as beggars along the roads in Ondo and Osun states, Nigeria. Exploratory survey was adopted, using interviews and focus group discussion. The study revealed that most deaf and dumb in the societies who are involved in entrepreneurial skills development are cobblers, dry cleaners, tailors, bricklayers, carpenters, and hair dressers; while some disabled are into music, typing, teaching and trading. At the same time many are still depending on members of the society for survival. Many disabled are not motivated into engaging in entrepreneurial activities as the attitude of the society towards them does not indicate these people could be useful in different entrepreneurial activities of their abilities, while some families use their disabilities as sources of income. It is therefore recommended that parents should understand that no matter the nature of their children’s disability, individual is useful in one area or the other; people with special needs should be encouraged to engage themselves in entrepreneurial skills development and establish them after graduation. Members of the society and the government in particular should create avenues to identify areas where each disabled is gifted, develop them to be useful for themselves and the development of the society.</p>

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important aspect of well-being for the caregivers of children with disability, making it a noteworthy outcome. Little is known about the challenges faced by the caregivers in Asian countries and its association to their QoL. The purpose of this study was to examine a model describing the relationship between sociodemographic and disability-related factors on caregivers’ QoL, mediated by the caregivers’ psychosocial factors such as perceived stress, coping skills, and social support. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving caregivers of children with special needs in Kelantan, a state of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 383 caregivers completed questionnaires measuring sociodemographics, disability-related factors, psychosocial factors and QoL outcome. Structural equation modelling was performed to examine the relations of the variables in the conceptual model. Results: In the final model, childcare dependency, caregiver’s age, financial support, negative perception of stress and maladaptive coping skills were significant predictors of QoL (R2 = 0.65). Caregiver’s age had a direct effect on QoL, while financial support had an indirect effect on QoL via negative perception of stress. Childcare dependency had direct and indirect effects on QoL via negative perception of stress. Higher perceived stress was associated with lower QoL directly and indirectly via maladaptive coping skills. The final model fitted the data well (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.046; CFI = 0.923; χ2/df = 1.798). Conclusion: Intervention strategies to improve the QoL of caregivers should target the family unit and take into account the factors of child’s disability, demographic and caregiver’s psychosocial status.

The earthquake in Haiti and its consequences highlighted the need to enhance knowledge and skills for community intervention in situations of disaster and acute trauma. The large number of homeless people concentrated in enormous refugee camps has made such an investigation possible. In the lecture, we will present a model for empowerment intervention with victims of community disasters. The model is based on analyses of three cases in which psychosocial interventions were conducted by the investigators: the Tsunami in Sri Lanka, work at refugee camps in Georgia, and the earthquake in Haiti. Principles of the Model The more extensive the casualties are, the less relevant individual intervention will be. Entering an unfamiliar culture requires collaborative professional work with local residents. Intervention in a large-scale disaster needs to be based on an interdisciplinary perspective in terms of planning, preparation, and implementation. It is assumed that the intervention will be short-term, and a specific length of time is allocated for therapeutic agents to provide assistance. This approach was adopted in light of the limited resources at our disposal, and in an attempt to minimize dependence in the relationships between the therapeutic agents and the victims. An attempt is made to enhance efficacy for effective coping with changing needs that emerge in the wake of the disaster. An attempt is made to prevent CPTSD, which can inhibit the functioning of the community residents. We will present these principles and describe how they were implemented in community intervention at two refugee camps in Haiti following the earthquake there, and at a refugee camp in Georgia.

The article reveals the problem of social support for children and young people with special educational needs. The necessity of application of horticultural therapy as a special direction of psychosocial, labor and pedagogical rehabilitation of children and young people with special educational needs by involving them in work with plants is substantiated. It is proved that the use of horticultural therapy makes it possible to effectively implement the process of rehabilitation and adaptation of children and teenagers with special educational needs, to provide social assistance to the family raising such children, to reveal additional possibilities of the child’s personality through his interaction with the plant world, to enrich child’s social and adaptive experience, to develop the emotional and volitional sphere. The technology is based on the child's interaction with nature as a process of constant empathy and complicity.Working with plants, a child feels this tiny part of the beautiful nature. By taking care of flowers, children overcome their isolation, insecurity and simply enjoy life. This very moment is very important in rehabilitation.The foreign experience of using horticultural therapy is analyzed. On the basis of the theoretical analysis of foreign and domestic works horticultural therapy is justified as an effective technology in working with children and young people with special educational needs.The main indicators of the effectiveness of the technology are: improvement of somatic and psychoneurological health; increasing level of cognitive activity, formation and development of communication skills; improvement of motor skills; formation of basic knowledge and skills of caring for indoor and garden plants in children; increasing level of parental competence in building effective interaction with the child.Using horticultural therapy technology in the process of working with children and youth with special educational needs provides correction and development of fine motor skills, cognitive, emotional-volitional and personal spheres; promotes the social status of children with special educational needs by including them in socially useful activities; promotes the all-round harmonious development of children and youth, stabilizes their psychological state, further helps them to realize themselves in society. Keywords: horticultural therapy, children and youth, special educational needs, social support, rehabilitation, technology, socialization, adaptation.

Introduction:Effects of a disaster on a community’s mental health can persist after the physical effects of the event have passed. The pediatric population is often overrepresented in disasters and prone to serious mental health disorders based on their age and parental/community response. Pediatric primary healthcare providers require the psychosocial skills necessary to work in disaster zones and to care for children in disasters.Aim:Pediatric Disaster Mental Health Intervention (PDMHI) was initially developed in response to Superstorm Sandy’s impact on children and their families in New York City. The objective was to develop training for primary care providers in pediatric disaster mental healthcare and to study its impact on the trainees.Methods:A faculty of experts in pediatric mental health, psychiatry, psychology, and disaster preparedness was convened to develop curriculum. The faculty developed a four-hour intervention to equip healthcare providers with the skills and knowledge necessary to care for pediatric patients with mental health problems stemming from a disaster via evaluation, triage, intervention, and referral.Results:Three PDMHI training sessions were held. A total of 67 providers were trained. Of these, there were 31 pediatricians, 18 nurses, 8 social workers, 4 psychologists, 2 psychiatrists, and 4 others. Pre- and post-tests measured knowledge before and impact 3 months post-intervention. 62.5% of responding primary care providers made changes to their practice. 92% felt better equipped to identify, treat, and refer patients. 81% would be willing to work in a disaster zone and felt prepared to treat patients with disaster mental health issues.Discussion:PDMHI covers psychosocial responses to disasters from normal to mental health disorders. Participants gained tools for managing pediatric mental health issues in primary care. Study data showed an increase in the participants perceived knowledge and skills about pediatric disaster mental health, and willingness to participate in future disasters.

Malaysia seeks to transform its public healthcare sector to manage the growing number of people with diabetes. Patient engagement is a critical clinical competency for healthcare providers treating people with diabetes. In this study, we investigate the perceptions of and ability to practice patient engagement among doctors and nurses working in Malaysia’s primary healthcare system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine non-specialist doctors and ten nurses working in primary healthcare clinics. Further, 12 key informants with specialist knowledge about diabetes care and the healthcare system in Malaysia were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three main themes emerged: 1) understanding barriers to self-care and treatment, 2) perceived training needs and skills within patient engagement and empowerment, and 3) challenges to the practice of patient engagement. A range of barriers was identified in healthcare providers’ ability to practice patient engagement. Future efforts should seek to improve competencies within patient engagement, identification of especially psychosocial barriers to self-care and empowerment. Yet, available manpower and time also influence whether patient engagement is practiced.

<p><strong><em>Abstract.</em></strong> <em>Students at the Extra Ordinary School of Pesantren Sabilil Muttaqien (SLB PSM) Takeran Magetan Regency are dominated by students with special needs with mental disabilities. Paying attention to the fact that the student population is quite large, it is necessary to be concerned with creating empowerment programs to encourage community involvement in order to help students with special needs in order to achieve independence. In general, students have a background of poor socio-economic conditions and need help from other parties to improve their living conditions. On the other hand, the empowerment program from the local government has not been able to reach all existing students, so they find it difficult to increase resources. The purpose of community service to students at SLB PSM is to help students with special needs in improving skills and welfare, with the following objectives: 1. Facilitating the availability of materials, equipment and facilities needed as business capital; 2. Skills training and production of goods that can be made by students with special needs; 3. Ensuring the sustainability of businesses that have been initiated and developed; 4; Realizing business independence for students with special needs. Activities are carried out by pioneering and making various types of skills by utilizing ciprat batik cloths so that they can have artistic value, are economical and market-oriented, so that they can earn income to meet their daily needs.</em></p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstrak.</strong> Siswa di Sekolah Luar Biasa Pesantren Sabilil Muttaqien (SLB PSM) Takeran Kabupaten Magetan banyak didominasi oleh siswa berkebutuhan khusus tuna grahita. Memerhatikan fakta bahwa populasi siswa tersebut cukup banyak, perlu kepedulian dengan membuat program pemberdayaan unuk mendorong keterlibatan masyarakat agar membantu siswa berkebutuhan khusus agar bisa mewujudkan kemandirian. Secara umum, para siswa memiliki latar belakang kondisi sosial ekonomi miskin dan membutuhkan bantuan dari pihak lain untuk meningkatkan kondisi kehidupannya. Di sisi lain, program pemberdayaan dari pemerintah daerah juga belum mampu menjangkau seluruh siswa yang ada, sehingga mereka kesulitan untuk meningkatkan sumber daya. Tujuan pengabdian masyarakat pada siswa di SLB PSM adalah membantu siswa berkebutuhan khusus dalam meningkatkan keterampilan dan kesejahteraan, dengan tujuan: 1. Memfasilitasi ketersediaan bahan, peralatan serta sarana yang dibutuhkan sebagai modal usaha; 2. Pelatihan keterampilan dan produksi barang yang mampu dibuat oleh siswa berkebutuhan khusus; 3. Menjamin keberlanjutan usaha yang telah dirintis dan dikembangkan; 4; Mewujudkan kemandirian usaha bagi siswa berkebutuhan khusus. Kegiatan dilaksanakan dengan cara merintis dan membuat aneka jenis keterampilan dengan memanfaatkan perca kain batik ciprat agar bisa memiliki nilai seni, ekonomis dan berorientasi pasar, sehingga memeroleh pendapatan guna memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya.</p>

Mental health services in many countries undervalue the special needs of people with auditive disorders. The diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in this group of people, however, requires special skills in communication and knowledge of language and, relevant medical, psychosocial and cultural issues related to the auditive disorder. The great variation between these aspects complicates the psychiatric diagnostic process. In addition, there is a remarkable diversity of psychiatric syndromes and special target groups; these include deaf and hard of hearing patients, deaf-blind patients, mentally retarded patients, patients with brain damage, immigrants, forensic patients, patients with special medical problems and patients who have been physically and sexually abused.In several European countries specialised services have been developed with multidisciplinary teams. These teams observed difficulties in the diagnostic process and classification. Neither were psychiatric and psychological scales reliable nor validated, because they needed to be adapted to the language skills of the patients. Symptoms such as auditive hallucinations presented differently. In special causes of deafness such as prenatal Rubella, special symptoms occurred.In this lecture, an overview of these diagnostic problems will be presented illustrated with case-histories. A research project into the validity of screening lists for mental disorders and autism in mentally retarded deaf people will be discussed.

The article describes the experience of observation and medical support of a patient with Kanner’s syndrome from an early age to 27 years in the framework of complex medical, psychological and educational support. Long-term medical and psycho-educational support and family work allowed the patient to develop social skills and artistic abilities. The positive dynamics of intellectual and aesthetic development, smoothing of negative behavioral characteristics of the patient are demonstrated. The importance of joint well-coordinated work of a psychiatrist, speech therapist-special teacher, psychologist and parents is emphasized. The complex of rehabili- tation measures of professionals and parents gave a positive result: the young man is socialized and no longer needs special continuous medical and psychological support. As part of the supported employment, he attends an art workshop at the monastery and is engaged in painting. His personal exhibition had success. Such cases are an incentive for the constant active work of parents and teachers with children with severe forms of autistic disorders, and for the development of new effective methods of treatment, habilitation and rehabilitation, espe- cially in difficult to manage cases.

Oral health problem in Indonesian has increased. Yogyakarta is the fourth province with the highest number oral health problem and the third province with the highest Effective Medical Demands (EMD) for oral health in Indonesia. This fact indicates that it needs the attention of many parties to solve this problem, especially in Yogyakarta. Through community empowerment, community will be able to independently maintain their oral health and can be expected to be one of a solution to overcome the existing problems.The establishment of Oral Health Cadre (KADEGI) is a form of community empowerment strategy in terms of human resource development. Community empowerment, using the Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) method, is very effective to help the KADEGI mastered several skills such as (a) able to do dental health education, (b) able to do early detection of oral disease and (c) able to refer oral health cases to the nearest public health services (puskesmas).The results of KADEGI's work in data collecting of oral health problem in Desa Panjangrejo showed that from 1.198 respondents who were examined, 64% of respondents had tooth cavities and 49% had debris and calculus. These data indicate that Desa Panjangrejo’s resident are still need special attention in oral health problem by various parties.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this community service activity is to provide knowledge and skills to elementary school teachers in applying the principles of learning for deaf students in inclusive education institutions. Insights into the knowledge and skills provided about the basic concepts of inclusive education, the introduction of ABK and its characteristics, identification of deaf ABK, the principles of deaf ABK learning and assessment of learning outcomes for deaf ABK. This activity was carried out in the form of Technical Guidance (Bimtek) for elementary school teachers. The topic was the Socialization of Children with Special Needs specifically Deafness in the Fostered area of Sukamakmur District, Bogor. This community service is carried out for 2 (two) days through training methods, lectures, interactive discussions, Q and A with speakers coming from lecturers of Special Education (PKh) study programs. This P2M activity was followed enthusiastically by 50 teachers from schools located in Sukamakmur District. The results obtained from this P2M activity are changes in the mindset of teachers in looking at ABK and addressing inclusive education. In addition, teachers also have skills in identifying deaf ABK and learning by using specific principles for deaf ABK. It is expected that this P2M activity can be continued in the following year with more diverse material and wider target groups. ABSTRAK Tujuan kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini adalah untuk memberikan bekal pengetahuan dan keterampilan kepada guru sekolah dasar dalam menerapkan prinsip-prinsip pembelajaran untuk siswa tunarungu yang berada di sekolah penyelengagara pendidikan inklusif. Wawasan pengetahuan dan keterampilan yang diberikan tentang konsep dasar pendidikan inklusif, pengenalan ABK dan karakteristiknya, identifikasi ABK tunarungu, prinsip-prinsip pembelajaran ABK tunarungu dan penilaian hasil belajar bagi ABK tunarungu. Kegiatan ini dilakukan dalam bentuk Bimbingan Teknis (Bimtek) untuk guru sekolah dasar tentang Sosialisasi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus Tunarungu Di Gugus Wilayah Binaan Kecamatan Sukamakmur Bogor. Pengabdian masyarakat ini dilaksanakan selama 2 (dua) hari dengan metode pelatihan, melalui ceramah, diskusi dan tanya jawab interaktif, dengan nara sumber yaitu dosen-dosen program studi Pendidikan Khusus (PKh). Kegiatan P2M ini diikuti dengan antusias dan penuh semangat oleh 50 orang guru yang berasal dari sekolah-sekolah yang berada di Kecamatan Sukamakmur. Hasil yang diperoleh dari kegiatan P2M ini adalah perubahan mindset para guru dalam memandang ABK dan menyikapi pendidikan inklusif. Selain itu guru-guru juga memiliki keterampilan dalam mengidentifikasi ABK tunarungu serta melakukan pembelajaran dengan menggunakan prinsip-prisip khusus bagi ABK tunarungu. Diharapkan kegiatan P2M ini dapat dilanjutkan pada tahun berikutnya dengan materi yang lebih beragam dan kelompok sasaran yang lebih luas lagi.

Purpose of Study: Information and Communication Technology has a good impact on the economic progress of Indonesia. For that business supported by information and communication technology needs to get special attention because of its strategy to prosperity for the nation of Indonesia. The number of women studying technology as a means of business is still relatively low, indicating that women’s interest in technology is still minimum. On the other hand, the ability and expertise of women in using information technology should also be improved. The process of women’s empowerment is the addition of insight and information as well as the enhancement of skills and expertise in various fields, especially in the field of trade. The focus of this research is to see how the process of empowering women information access by using ICT for UMKM development as implemented in Jarpuk Ngudi Lestari Surakarta. The purpose of this research is to know the strategy of Jarpuk Ngudi Lestari Surakarta in the development of UMKM based on information and communication technology. Methodology: The method used is descriptive qualitative. Data collection is done by conducting interviews, observation, and completed with documentation. The validity technique used is the triangulation of data sources. Results: The results showed that women empowerment in Jarpuk Ngudi Lestari Surakarta not all uses ICT as a means of information access and development of UMKM. Age factor becomes an obstacle in the use of ICT. Implications/Applications: The strategies which are used improving access, creating environments, building educational centers, developing ICT-based programs, increasing opportunities and activating women’s participation in e-governance.

The use of technology for educational purposes is a consolidated reality, and many new tools are constantly being devised and offered for use with both normally developing children and children with special needs. Nonetheless, a detailed analysis of the processes being stimulated and of the goals being pursued is often lacking or absent. In this work we describe the design, development and preliminary testing of an integrated system which combines the use of smart devices, a physical cube, augmented reality (AR) technology, a smart TV, and a software application especially designed to stimulate cognitive and social functions in pre-school children. The system was tested with three groups of children (25 children in total) during kindergarten activities. The results show that the system is easy to understand, elicits high levels of participation and social interaction, favors strategic behaviors, and can be used by the children with limited need of instruction and support by the adult. The implications for empowerment in typically developing children and the possibilities for use with children who have specific impairments in social communication are discussed.

AbstractThe changing nature of modern warfare has increasingly exposed children, both boys and girls, to direct involvement in armed conflict. In order to bring this horrible practice to a halt, the international community ten years ago adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, establishing eighteen as the minimum age for compulsory recruitment and participation in hostilities. This article presents an overview of the legislative history, legal framework and key provisions of the Optional Protocol. It also discusses the experience and practices of the International Criminal Court and the issue of children and criminal responsibility. The paper further elaborates on the needs and difficulties of war-affected children for reintegration into their communities, with special attention to psychosocial health and the building of livelihood skills.

As business companies compete in the market and seek to acquire a competitive advantage, one of the most important factors is well-motivated employees who are satisfied with their job. The success of companies operating in various sectors is determined by the quality of products, while the quality is ensured by qualified employees having appropriate skills and knowledge, whose work should be appreciated by monetary work pay established based on reasonable and clear criteria as well as other means of motivation. The process of human resources management in a business company places an ever-growing importance on the development of competences of employees, strengthening of cooperation, empowerment of employees as well as their work pay and motivation in order to achieve an employee’s work quality and productivity, satisfaction of customer needs and successful operation of a company. In the process of the company’s human resources management, special focus should be given to the satisfaction of the expectations and needs of new employees (who are usually young and inexperienced) as well as their integration, which ensures the generation of new and creative ideas in the company and, at the same time, high quality of products and work productivity.

AbstractDrawing on qualitative research undertaken with adolescents with disabilities from refugee and host communities in Jordan and the State of Palestine, this article critically interrogates the framing of child neglect, which to date has situated the state as a protector rather than a perpetrator, the narrow understanding of adolescent needs and the responsibility of international actors for ensuring that the full range of human rights of adolescents with disabilities is supported. We frame our findings on adolescent neglect through a multidimensional capabilities lens and argue that although both adolescence as a distinct lifecycle stage and the rights of persons with disabilities have moved up the development agenda, adolescents with disabilities remain largely invisible, and especially so in conflict-affected contexts. Our findings highlight that adolescents with disabilities have limited access to schooling, skills building for economic empowerment and healthcare, due to accessibility challenges, cost and highly limited specialist provisioning. Moreover, adolescents with disabilities also have very little access to psychosocial support or opportunities to develop the independence which is a hallmark of adolescence and critical for successful transitions into early adulthood. Rather than working to meet those needs, the government and UN agencies tasked with provisioning in conflict-affected areas continue to miss opportunities to link young people with disabilities to existent services and tend to rely on NGOs to deliver small-scale, time-bound programming rather than assuming responsibility for appropriate programming at scale.

Background: Psychologists, social workers, and spiritual care professionals report inadequate preparation to maximize their effectiveness in advocating for institutional reform to meet oncology patients' diverse bio-psychosocial-spiritual and cultural needs. This article provides an overview of the ACE Project, a National Cancer Institute, 5 year, R25-funded transdisciplinary palliative care education program designed to enhance the advocacy and leadership skills of 301 competitively selected psycho-oncology professionals. Methods: ACE Project participants identified an institutional goal, refined their goals during the course and received mentorship and support throughout the subsequent year. Participants were invited to return to a Reunion Conference in year five to report on their activities, network, and share the results of their change efforts. A subset of 28 ACE Project participants contributed to this OMEGA special issue. Results: Participants' goals primarily focused on strategies to improve clinical care through program development and improvements in palliative care education within their institutions. Conclusions: The results of this transdisciplinary leadership skills-building program for psycho-oncology professionals affirm the feasibility and perceived need for the program. See the ACE Project website ( http://www.cityofhope.org/education/health-professional-education/nursing-education/ACE-project/Pages/default.aspx ) for additional program information.

Much of what is written in this special issue points to the need for a clinical workforce that has much greater knowledge and skills for working with children with a history of alternate care, including those who are subsequently adopted. Standard child clinical conceptualization, assessment methods, and formulations miss the mark for these vulnerable populations in a number of critical ways. The present paper proposes 10 principles to guide the design of mental health services for children in care, and those adopted from care. Effective specialization in child welfare work by clinical child psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists, requires: (i) specialized knowledge and skills; (ii) a shift from traditional clinical practice to a clinical psychosocial-developmental scope of practice; and (iii) a strong advocacy role. To support such specialized practice, service design should be guided by: (iv) a primary—specialist care nexus, that includes universal, comprehensive assessments; (v) a shift from acute care to preventative, long-term engagement and monitoring; (vi) integration within the social care milieu; (vii) a shift from exclusion to active ownership of these client groups; (viii) normalization strategies; and (ix) alignment of services for these client groups. Finally, it is argued that mental health service provision for these children is strengthened by policy that promotes (x) “whole of government” accountability for their mental health needs.

AbstractObjective:Informal caregivers (ICs) are relatives, friends, and partners who have a significant relationship with and provide assistance (i.e., physical, emotional) to a patient with a life- threatening, incurable illness. The multidimensional burden that results from providing care to a patient with cancer is well documented, and as a result, a growing number of psychosocial interventions have been developed specifically to address this burden. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the state of the science of psychosocial interventions for informal cancer caregivers.Method:A comprehensive systematic review of interventions for cancer caregivers was conducted via an electronic literature search of publications between 1980 and January 13, 2011. A final sample of 49 interventions was reviewed in detail.Results:The interventions, which varied in terms of modality and patient population, fell into the following eight categories: psychoeducation, problem-solving/skills building interventions, supportive therapy, family/couples therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, complementary and alternative medicine interventions, and existential therapy. Benefits and disadvantages of each of the categories are discussed, with special attention given to studies that produced null findings.Significance of results:Beyond specific techniques, structured, goal-oriented, and time-limited interventions that are integrative appear to be the most feasible and offer the greatest benefits for ICs of cancer patients. Future studies are needed to examine the specific benefits and challenges of delivering interventions in alternative modalities (Internet, Skype) so that the needs of a greater number of ICs may be addressed.

One of the National Family Planning Population Board (BKKBN) programs in an effort to introduce the concept of quality families is Bina keluarga Lansia (BKL). BKL is a group of activities carried out to improve the knowledge and skills of elderly families and families who have family members aged over 60 years and over in the development, care, care, and empowerment of the elderly to improve their welfare. BKL aims to improve the quality of life of the elderly, through increasing knowledge and skills themselves entering the old age period. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elderly family development program, the aspects evaluated in this study were input, process, and output. This research is qualitative research by conducting in-depth interviews with research informants. The results of the evaluation are known in the input section there is still a lack of human resources, funding has not been able to meet the needs, and infrastructure in the form of a special building for BKL does not yet exist. In the process of planning and implementing BKL activities, it has been going well but was hampered by the covid period. Recording and reporting have not been carried out properly, especially on the use of the online system. output is still low community participation in BKL activities. This happens because of the busyness and work of the family. The target of BKL activities is not only the elderly but also families who have the elderly, but the facts in the field are that BKL activities only focus on the elderly.

Abstract Increasingly grandparents provide primary or supplementary care for their grandchildren globally. In view of the challenges faced by grandparent caregivers, a number of intervention programs were designed to act as a buffer to the potential negative impacts on their well-beings. A recent meta-analysis (Chan et al., 2019) shows that interventions for grandparent caregivers have small to moderate effect sizes for increases in social support and parenting skills. However, little is known how the multi-component interventions work. The aim of this review is to categorize the key components of intervention programs and determine the direct effect of components on grandparent caregivers’ outcomes (i.e., physical, mental health and well-being). A component-level approach is adopted to disentangle the ‘active ingredients’ of the interventions. Peer-reviewed articles were searched via five electronic database (published before January 2020). A keyword search was performed based on combinations of two groups of terms: (1) grandparent caregivers and (2) intervention, training, and support group. Studies adopting an experimental or pre/post design and reporting quantitative changes in grandparents’ outcomes were included. Studies focusing on the special needs of grandchildren were excluded. Fourteen interventions were identified from over 20 included studies. Preliminary analyses show that different physical and mental outcomes of grandparent caregivers were predicted from key components of education, skills training, relaxation and psychosocial support. With the goal of developing evidence-based interventions for grandparents raising grandchildren, this synthesis offers insight into the mechanisms of an intervention, which informs its generalizability or applicability to a new context.

Not only does pesantren (a term used to refer to an Islamic boarding school) instill a religious spirit, but it also interprets Indonesia based on the spirit of nationalism. Therefore, it is not surprising if later pesantren is presented in an attempt to dedicate itself to the nation and the state of Indonesia besides in the interests of Islam definitely. In addition to education, educational institutions such as pesantren also have socio-cultural functions and duties. Thus, a significant spiritual movement needs to be created in order to strengthen empowerment intended to provide education holistically. Among the tool to facilitate instructional processes is the mastery of Arabic. This paper describes the practices of teaching and learning Arabic among Muslim minorities using the approach of the principles of modernity. This research was conducted in West Papua, which covered five regencies and one city. Findings of the research suggest that instruction in a number of pesantren in Mayamuk, Aimas, Waisai, Teminabuan, Kaimana, Waigom, and Misol, was carried out in a structured manner. In those seven locations, Islamic education which adopted a language skill-based instructional framework was carried out by employing a communicative approach among santri (i.e. a term used to refer to students who go to pesantren). The skill developed among santri was language expression without any special emphasis on the mastery of grammar. The environment of pesantren equipped with a boarding school for santri as a place to stay facilitated interactions among santri to practice their language skills. Their language skills were adjusted to the learning context and the accompanying environment. The existing social aspects were then used to facilitate the learning process. Finally, this research draws conclusions that differences in learning objectives which determine the aspects of the approach and methodology affect Arabic instruction.

AbstractIslamic boarding schools not only can bring up the religious enthusiasm, but also interpret Indonesia with a spirit of nationalism. Hence, it is not surprising that pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) is present to give a dedication to this nation aside from Islamic interest. Not only in the role of education,an educational institution like pesantren also had socio-cultural functions and role, a significant spiritual movement needs to be done to provide reinforcement towards empowerment within the goal of education holistically. A means that supports the learning process is the mastery of Arabic. This paper will describe the practice of Arabic teaching and learning in Muslim minority area with an approach to the principle of moderation. The research was carried out in West Papua which included five districts and one city. The results of the study showed that the application of learning that was carried out in Islamic boarding schools in Mayamuk, Aimas, Waisai, Teminabuan, Kaimana, Waigom, and Misol, was done in a well-structured. In the seven locations, Islamic education within the framework of the learning process that is based on language skills is carried out with the santri (Students) communicative approach.The skill of the students that is trained is linguistic expression without special emphasis on grammar mastery. The environment of boarding schools that provide dormitories as a place to live becomes a tool of interaction among santri (students) in practicing language skills. The language ability of the students is adapted to the learning context along with the environment. The existing social aspects are used to support the learning process. Finally, this research concludes that differences in learning objectives and determining approach and methodological aspects will affect learning Arabic.Keywords: Modern, Learning, Islamic Boarding School

74 Background: Nearly 3 million cancer survivors in the US reside in rural areas. Existing survivorship care models were developed mainly at large academic centers, and thus require adaption to meet the challenging needs of the rural community. Rural cancer survivors (RCS) face issues with coordination of care, decision-making, access to specialty services, supportive care resources, and time and resources required for travel. RCS are at greater risk for social isolation and inadequate emotional support. To address these challenges, many studies propose information technology (IT), mobile, and video solutions. We assessed the potential of online and mobile video technology applications to reduce barriers to survivorship care for RCS, families, and caregivers. Methods: We conducted 2 in-person focus groups with rural care managers, providers, and public health professionals, and one virtual cross-disciplinary focus group of patients, caregivers, and provider stakeholders to evaluate acceptability of video modules. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, we worked with community partners to design and develop materials that adequately addressed their needs. Results: Focus group results indicate that video modules added little value for RCS due to sporadic internet access, limited patient IT literacy, vision and memory problems, and patient difficulty interpreting information. Therefore, we designed and piloted a paper RCS Checklist to be taken to appointments, available in waiting areas or through care managers, and to serve as a guide for shared patient-provider decision-making. The resulting checklist includes evidence-based information about survivorship care goals and approaches, care coordination strategies, information about local cancer supportive services, health insurance reimbursement, state disability policies, psychosocial support, and stress-reduction tips. Conclusions: In some special patient populations like RCS, use of health IT for patient empowerment and care coordination may be a poor choice. Engaging relevant stakeholders in the development of location-specific communication and decision aid materials is paramount to successful engagement of patients and caregivers.

Background and context: Breast cancer (BC) patients in Mexico are frequently diagnosed at advanced stages, with stages III or IV comprising up to 60%. Advanced BC (ABC) patients face distinct practical and emotional challenges and are recognized to be vulnerable to additional emotional distress and psychosocial issues, thus needing special supportive interventions. Equally significant are the consequences of the illness for their partners, children, parents and peers. However, in Mexico, a middle-income country with significant socioeconomic limitations, cancer control efforts have been predominantly directed to enhance medical care, while psychological and supportive interventions have not been a priority, especially among the ABC patients. Aim: To promote the empowerment of ABC patients, their children, spouses and caregivers by developing a supportive care model to help them cope better throughout the complex process of ABC. This proposed support intervention is an innovative approach for psychosocial support in a variety of modalities adapted for ABC patients' needs. This project is being supported by the SPARC Metastatic Breast Cancer Challenge. Strategy: Our target population includes patients with ABC followed at the National Cancer Institute in Mexico City. A supportive care model will be developed based on two main interventions: Support groups: Comprises a support group exclusively designed for women with ABC. Also, a toll-free telephone support session will be provided for patients with transportation restrictions to share their concerns. Integrative oncology techniques: This approach involves the implementation of four integrative oncology techniques, which include: occupational therapy, expressive creative techniques, mind–body interventions, and acupuncture. Policy process: The implementation of this adaptive model will allow us to understand the repercussions of the proposed strategy, to prioritize specific techniques in subsequent interventions. This novel support intervention will provide ABC patients, their caregivers, and children, with techniques to better cope through the disease process. We intent to further increase this model to reach patients of other medical institutions. Outcomes: At least 80 patients and their caregivers will participate in the proposed intervention. The results of this project will give us grounds to establish a replicable scheme, ensuring that ABC patients' needs will be addressed in an integral approach. This intervention aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. What was learned: At the end of this project a proven supportive care model will be defined and shared with other oncological clinical care centers and NGOs. Ultimately, we aim to contribute to the established guidelines in Mexico for ABC patients.

Purpose This paper aims to synchronize the various constitutional regulations that regulate the natural disaster management in Indonesia, especially those which apply in the Yogyakarta Special Territory after disaster through a legal interpretation and construction method to find a community empowerment-based disaster management model, which suits the Indonesian ideals of law. Design/methodology/approach This research is carried out in the Yogyakarta Special Territory province; this research uses the juridical normative method or the method with the doctrinal or the juridical normative approach. The approaches used in this research are the conceptual approach, statute approach and the sociological approach. Findings The numerous constitutional regulations that are formed and implemented to regulate the disaster management in Yogyakarta Special Territory cannot yet run its function as an integrating mechanism efficiently. This is mainly because the handling of disasters is usually responsive, without clear planning. Research limitations/implications In numerous constitutional regulations, there is a synchronization between the regulations on the society’s rights and responsibilities in disaster management. The point of these regulations is that they state that every citizen has the right to obtain social protection and a sense of safety. They have the right to obtain education, trainings and skills in the establishment of disaster management. Also, they have the right to participate in policies, in accessing information on disaster prevention policies. Practical implications Efforts of response toward a disaster should be neither exclusive nor partial. A condition of disaster is a complex condition, which usually asks for a holistic response from various perspectives and experiences. It needs effective teamwork between various institutional groups. Basically, it will not be effective if it is run by a single agency exclusively. Indonesia needs a clear disaster management and needs to synchronize the law for disaster mitigation for minimize the natural disaster impact. Social implications Various constitutional regulations made and applied to regulate disaster management in the Yogyakarta cannot yet run its function as an efficient integrating mechanism, as the law cannot yet undergo the rearrangement of the productive process in the society optimally. The goals determined in the execution of the disaster management are often not legitimized by the society, and they do not yet give a full sense of justice to them. Recovery after Yogyakarta earthquake is a slow process. Originality/value This is a relatively new research, as other researches focused on the disastrous impacts of the Yogyakarta earthquake. The disaster management system must consider and must be responsive toward diversity, differences and competition, which may arise due to social, economic, political, community and even religious factors. These differences often create a dynamic and complex relation. A wrong manner in handling this may cause horizontal conflicts.

Abstract: Che cosa significa educazione inclusiva? In che modo è possibile sostenere lo sviluppo di un sistema che favorisca l’inclusione nella quotidiana realtà scolastica? Su un campione di 162 studenti, dagli 8 ai 16 anni, si vogliono misurare gli effetti di efficaci metodologie didattiche quali feedback, formative evaluation, collaborative learning, digital technology. Variabili stimate sono le competenze e le abilità trasversali alle discipline, i fattori cognitivo-emozionali del successo scolastico, l’autostima. Valutazione bio psico-sociale che si oppone alla valutazione bio-medica prevalente in Italia. Osservare tutti gli allievi, trasformare la risposta speciale in normalità, misurare le variabili del contesto scolastico favorevoli all’inclusione può contribuire a migliorare, in Italia, l’efficacia di investimenti pubblici stimati nel 2013 in € 4,7B. Qui si costruisce un modello, il cui disegno sperimentale impone metodologie riconosciute a livello internazionale ed europeo come l’evidence based education (EBE), necessarie per confrontare i risultati e replicare il modello in un contesto sovranazionale. I risultati entreranno a far parte del progetto pilota dell’European Agency For Special Needs avviato in tre paesi, tra cui l’Italia, e che verrà concluso nell’ottobre 2016.Parole chiave: inclusione, organizzazione inclusiva, metodologie didattiche, evidence based education Abstract: What is inclusive education? How you can support the development of a system that favors the inclusion in the daily school reality? On a sample of 162 students, aged 8 to 16 years, they want to measure the effects of effective teaching methods such as feedback, formative evaluation, collaborative learning, digital technology. Estimated variables are the skills and abilities to cross disciplines, cognitive-emotional factors of academic success, self-esteem. Rating bio psychosocial which opposes the prevailing bio-medical evaluation in Italy. Observe all students, to transform the special response in normal, measure the variables of the school environment favorable to the inclusion in Italy improves the effectiveness of a welfare amounted to € 4,7B. Here we build a model, whose experimental design requires methodologies recognized at international and European level as the evidence-based education (EBE), necessary to compare the results and replicate the model in a supranational context. The results will become part of the pilot project of the European Agency For Special Needs started in three countries, including Italy, and which will be concluded in October 2016.Keywords: inclusion, inclusive rules, educational methods, evidence based education, EBE

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the critical features and outcomes of an Australian collaborative university- and school-based immersion project for mentoring final year pre-service primary teachers in the area of special education as they embed theory and practice in inclusive classrooms for a full year, to respond to diverse student needs. Design/methodology/approach – Using a three-year qualitative study design, data were gathered through pre surveys and post surveys, two one-to-one semi-structured interviews, and reflexive journal entries. Analysis using triangulation of data sources and inter-rater reliability was employed to reach consensus on the key themes. Findings – Findings suggest that mentors proved critical to reducing pre-service teacher anxieties and to enhancing their personal and professional knowledge, confidence and skills as they differentiated instruction and assessment techniques to cater for students with a diverse range of abilities. Research limitations/implications – This research suggests that maintaining the balance of theory and practice through genuine extended school engagement experiences provided opportunities for collaborative connections on multiple levels across the school. This mentoring pathway enhanced and reinforced pre-service teachers’ professional capacity, confidence and employability potential. Limitations such as small sample size and lack of secondary school representation must be noted. Originality/value – This work identified the importance of the unique features of a mentoring programme within a university-school partnership, including the benefits of a full-year immersion experience, financial reward, responsibility, empowerment and enhanced employability status of final year pre-service teachers as they transition to classroom teachers. This paper provides useful insights for researchers, practitioners and teacher education policy developers.

Introduction. All children who have an oncological or hematologic diagnosis during the period of diagnosis of treatment are in specialized departments, but failing of effective training of the patient, parents and family members in child care skills, with an oncological diagnosis negatively affects the results of treatment and the quality of life of the family. The process of training parents and family members allows the medical team to correct incorrect and false information that family members can get from different sources, as well as strengthen the skills of caring for a child with an oncological diagnosis in the conditions familiar to the family. The research objective is to develop an algorithm that can be used in practice to control the learning process of parents and family members of children with an oncological or oncological and hematological diagnosis. Materials and methods. As a basis for the development of the algorithm, we took the recommendations of experts from the 2016 Children's Cancer Group. Results and its discussion. An algorithm has been developed and adapted that is based on five basic principles: the perception and awareness that in pediatric oncology the education of parents and family members should be family oriented; Awareness of the child’s oncological diagnosis is emotionally difficult and takes some time to develop a plan to address current life needs; training of cancer patients, his parents and family members should be an interprofessional event, which is based on diagnosis and treatment, as well as discussion of psychosocial support and the organization of basic child care; training should be continuous and continuous; It is necessary to create an enabling environment for learning. Conclusions. Implementation in practice and the implementation of the training algorithm for caring for a child with an oncological diagnosis, the use of an integrative direction of training for family doctors will provide the opportunity to work with the main educational content, establish and strengthen feedback between doctors in specialized hospitals and family outpatient clinics, and increase the effectiveness of the prevention of complications that arise upon receipt of special treatment (polychemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc.), which in turn will lead to an improvement the quality of family life while receiving therapy with a child diagnosed with cancer.

AimsThe aim of this medical education case report was to outline the development and outcomes of a reverse-mentorship project that enabled cross-generational collaborative learning. The project took the shape of a philosophy of psychiatry journal club facilitated by a psychiatry core trainee in west London, UK.BackgroundReverse-mentorship reverses traditional roles of mentor and mentee. It is an increasingly fashionable concept in medical education. The junior mentors the senior clinician. The implicit learning outcomes include provision of a two-way learning process, development of mentoring skills for the more junior clinician and collaboration that builds social capital within the workplace. Reverse-mentorship is effective when the junior mentor is recognised for their expertise in a particular area. In this instance, the junior mentor has a special interest in the philosophy of psychiatry.MethodJunior mentor and senior mentees formed a monthly journal club. The club tracked arguments from anti- and biological psychiatry on the meaning of mental illness. The debate offered insight into a semantic analysis of mental illness and a deeper conceptual understanding of medicine. The learning material derived from the core concepts of philosophy and mental health (Fulford et al.). The role of the mentor was to facilitate group discussion around arguments from relevant papers. A survey, adapted from a recent reverse-mentorship review article, measured the quality of educational experience for mentor and mentees.ResultOverall, mentees (senior clinicians) agreed that the mentor (junior clinician) displayed attributes and behaviours for effective mentoring across most domains, including enthusiasm, effective communication, respect for mentee expertise and active listening to the needs of the mentee. The mentor was particularly impressed with the mentees’ openness to learn new concepts and respect shown. General reflections on the experience of reverse-mentorship were positive overall. A thematic review highlighted particular aspects, including: a good way to learn a new skill and great opportunity to develop professional skills of mentoring.ConclusionThe importance of mentoring in medical education is well established. Reverse-mentorship is a new concept that looks to harness the unique qualities of millennials, including their aptitudes for empowerment, innovation and collaboration. This medical education case report shows that an enthusiastic junior clinician can successfully pilot an educational-mentoring scheme aimed at senior clinicians. To make more explicit the intuitive benefits of reverse-mentorship, longitudinal reviews are needed. However, this case report contributes important insights into this burgeoning field of medical education.

Kuring tofu factory in Makassar / Gowa (South Sulawesi Province) is one of the home industries producing tofu from soybean raw materials that has been pioneered since 2017. The form of the curing tofu business is still very simple, the tofu production process is still simple, not yet regulated according to ideal needs. Likewise, special clothing equipment for production and packaging employees is not standard. The marketing system is still simple, market reach is still limited. In service activities by the UMI Makassar lecturer team funded by DRPM RISTEK-BRIN on the PKM (Community Partnership Program) scheme aims to help develop partners in the Makassar Kuring tofu factory business group to be more economically independent, improve their thinking and innovation skills. Service activities undertaken are to help deal with two main priority issues, namely: (1) Production Problems, which are related to production methods based on hygienic principles of the product, including production space management; (2) Marketing management issues. From the results of these service activities, increased partner empowerment, in this case increased production system arrangements, increased marketing reach, and finally increased turnover from sales of tofu preservative products from three million rupiahs per day to four point five million rupiahs per day (increased to 50%). Keywords: Kuring tofu, production, marketing management, increased turnover. ABSTRAK. Pabrik “Tahu Kuring” di Makassar/Gowa (Sulawesi Selatan) merupakan salah satu home industry yang meproduksi tahu dari bahan baku kedelai yang dirintis sejak tahun 2017. Bentuk usaha tahu kuring ini masih sangat sederhana, proses produksi tahu masih sederhana, belum tertata sesuai kebutuhan ideal. Begitu pula perlengkapan pakaian khusus untuk karyawan produksi dan pengemasan belum standar. Sistem pemasaran masih sederhana, jangkauan pasar masih terbatas. Dalam kegiatan pengabdian oleh tim dosen UMI Makassar yang dibiayai oleh DRPM RISTEK-BRIN pada skema PKM (Program Kemitraan Masyarakat) bertujuan membantu mengembangkan Mitra kelompok usaha pabrik tahu kuring Makassar untuk dapat lebih mandiri secara ekonomi, meningkatkan skill ketrampilan berfikir dan berinovasi. Aktifitas pengabdian yang dilakukan adalah membantu dalam penanganan dua permalahan prioritas utama yaitu: (1) Permasalahan produksi, yaitu yang berhubungan metode berpoduksi berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip higienitas produk, termasuk penataan ruang produksi; (2) Permasalahan manajemen pemasaran. Dari hasil kegiatan pengabdian ini berdampak pada adanya peningkatan keberdayaan mitra, dalam hal ini adanya peningkatan penataan system produksi, peningkatan jangkauan pemasaran, dan pada akhirnya peningkatan omzet dari hasil penjualan produk tahu kuring dari tiga juta rupiah perhari menjadi empat koma lima juta rupiah perhari (meningkat menjadi 50%). Kata kunci: Tahu kuring, produksi, manajemen pemasaran, kenaikan omzet.

The family is recognized in the international community as the best condition for the survival, protection and development of children, the main center of society, the natural environment for humans. As has been repeatedly noted, the efforts of the state and the public should be con-centrated at the well-being of the family, creating conditions for the protection of its rights in society and the rights of family members. Today, there is an urgent need not only for social support for a family that has certain problems in its life, but also for special work with families who find them-selves in difficult life circumstances and have more serious psychosocial problems, such as systematic violations of human rights. Such families are traditionally dealt with by law enforcement agencies, human rights are protected by law, but prosecution cannot be the only approach, since our main goal must be to preserve the integrity of the family (its family feelings, ties). First of all, long-term socio-pedagogical work aimed at re-education, training of its members in new techniques and methods of interaction should be carried out. International experience shows that majority of govern-mental social programs are focused on families. Existing family life adaptation programs in the United States are designed for families at different stages of development, each targeting different types of family issues. One more program - "Intensive course for adults on raising children”. In England there is a John Barnes program, which aims to work with children in families experiencing a crisis. The job of a social worker or a teacher is to study such a family, tosimulate the change in relations between its members, tohelp in adaptation, to train parents in self-control. Teach them and their children how to set strategic and supporting goals. Help to overcome obstacles without corporal punish-ment. In Croatia, children, who exhibit deviant behavior, are engaged in “peer-to-peer” school mediation programs, while specialists work with parents, revealing the shortcomings of family psycho-emotional and educational dynamics. Professional social activity is currently intensifying and improving in Ukraine. Therefore, the social education sys-tem must be flexible, mobile, respond quickly to changes in social policy and the social sphere, the needs of individuals and society as a whole. The education of students majoring in "Social Work" at the National University "Lviv Polytechnic" is determined by the Canadian-Ukrainian model of training of social workers, adapted to national conditions and needs. In terms of pro-fessional competencies in working with children and fami-lies, such training includes the acquisition of knowledge and practical experience. This further gives the opportunity to develop their own innovative programs, based on experi-ence gained on the problems and needs of the client. The most widely represented is the cycle of profession-ally oriented disciplines, which includes a 90-hour course "Social work with children and families." The content of the discipline covers all the main aspects of the social worker's work with this category of clients: from the concept of fami-ly, its functions and role in the child's life and identifying aspects of family risk of crisis, to the processes of interven-tion and improvement of children's social security. Particu-lar attention in the subject is paid to topics of deviantology, causes, manifestations and types of deviant behavior. The section "Interventions" covers such topics as: the functions of a social worker; theoretical principles of family counseling; methods and forms of family counseling; pro-fessional intervention focused on the family; institutional model of care for abused and neglected children; preventive measures. The study of the "Improvement of children's social security service" topic includes a mandatory study of possible changes in the system of services and possible ways of policy formation in the field of social security. A characteristic feature of the training of social workers according to the Canadian-Ukrainian model is the teaching of professionally-oriented disciplines in the form of integrat-ed classes, which are divided into two main categories: lecture-practical and lecture-laboratory. Students' educational activities are diversified by excur-sions to social services, video classes, participation in vol-unteer actions, educational conferences, trainings, work of the international scientific-practical seminar organized at the Department of SR, meetings with well-known experts in the field of social work, etc. According to the concept of training specialists in the field of social work, the leading place in this process is occupied by practical training of students. The cycle of practical training of students includes different types of practical educational activities of students: internships within the semesters, organized by "blocks", and educa-tional and research workshops conducted on the basis of social services, lasts 4 semesters (years of study 3rd and 4th) and occurs once a week during a full working day. The workshop aims, in particular, to develop students' skills to carry out scientific research, during which they have the opportunity to collect the necessary empirical material to perform individual tasks in professionally-oriented disci-plines that have a research nature, and writing term papers and dissertations. When performing the tasks of educational practice and educational-research workshop, students have a real oppor-tunity to apply the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities in professionally- oriented, fundamental and other disci-plines.

Education in Oceania continues to reflect the embedded implicit and explicit colonial practices and processes from the past. This paper conceptualises a cultural approach to education and leadership appropriate and relevant to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As elementary school leaders, we highlight Kanne Lobal, a traditional Marshallese navigation practice based on indigenous language, values and practices. We conceptualise and develop Kanne Lobal in this paper as a framework for understanding the usefulness of our indigenous knowledge in leadership and educational practices within formal education. Through bwebwenato, a method of talk story, our key learnings and reflexivities were captured. We argue that realising the value of Marshallese indigenous knowledge and practices for school leaders requires purposeful training of the ways in which our knowledge can be made useful in our professional educational responsibilities. Drawing from our Marshallese knowledge is an intentional effort to inspire, empower and express what education and leadership partnership means for Marshallese people, as articulated by Marshallese themselves. Introduction As noted in the call for papers within the Waikato Journal of Education (WJE) for this special issue, bodies of knowledge and histories in Oceania have long sustained generations across geographic boundaries to ensure cultural survival. For Marshallese people, we cannot really know ourselves “until we know how we came to be where we are today” (Walsh, Heine, Bigler & Stege, 2012). Jitdam Kapeel is a popular Marshallese concept and ideal associated with inquiring into relationships within the family and community. In a similar way, the practice of relating is about connecting the present and future to the past. Education and leadership partnerships are linked and we look back to the past, our history, to make sense and feel inspired to transform practices that will benefit our people. In this paper and in light of our next generation, we reconnect with our navigation stories to inspire and empower education and leadership. Kanne lobal is part of our navigation stories, a conceptual framework centred on cultural practices, values, and concepts that embrace collective partnerships. Our link to this talanoa vā with others in the special issue is to attempt to make sense of connections given the global COVID-19 context by providing a Marshallese approach to address the physical and relational “distance” between education and leadership partnerships in Oceania. Like the majority of developing small island nations in Oceania, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has had its share of educational challenges through colonial legacies of the past which continues to drive education systems in the region (Heine, 2002). The historical administration and education in the RMI is one of colonisation. Successive administrations by the Spanish, German, Japanese, and now the US, has resulted in education and learning that privileges western knowledge and forms of learning. This paper foregrounds understandings of education and learning as told by the voices of elementary school leaders from the RMI. The move to re-think education and leadership from Marshallese perspectives is an act of shifting the focus of bwebwenato or conversations that centres on Marshallese language and worldviews. The concept of jelalokjen was conceptualised as traditional education framed mainly within the community context. In the past, jelalokjen was practiced and transmitted to the younger generation for cultural continuity. During the arrival of colonial administrations into the RMI, jelalokjen was likened to the western notions of education and schooling (Kupferman, 2004). Today, the primary function of jelalokjen, as traditional and formal education, it is for “survival in a hostile [and challenging] environment” (Kupferman, 2004, p. 43). Because western approaches to learning in the RMI have not always resulted in positive outcomes for those engaged within the education system, as school leaders who value our cultural knowledge and practices, and aspire to maintain our language with the next generation, we turn to Kanne Lobal, a practice embedded in our navigation stories, collective aspirations, and leadership. The significance in the development of Kanne Lobal, as an appropriate framework for education and leadership, resulted in us coming together and working together. Not only were we able to share our leadership concerns, however, the engagement strengthened our connections with each other as school leaders, our communities, and the Public Schooling System (PSS). Prior to that, many of us were in competition for resources. Educational Leadership: IQBE and GCSL Leadership is a valued practice in the RMI. Before the IQBE programme started in 2018, the majority of the school leaders on the main island of Majuro had not engaged in collaborative partnerships with each other before. Our main educational purpose was to achieve accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an accreditation commission for schools in the United States. The WASC accreditation dictated our work and relationships and many school leaders on Majuro felt the pressure of competition against each other. We, the authors in this paper, share our collective bwebwenato, highlighting our school leadership experiences and how we gained strength from our own ancestral knowledge to empower “us”, to collaborate with each other, our teachers, communities, as well as with PSS; a collaborative partnership we had not realised in the past. The paucity of literature that captures Kajin Majol (Marshallese language) and education in general in the RMI is what we intend to fill by sharing our reflections and experiences. To move our educational practices forward we highlight Kanne Lobal, a cultural approach that focuses on our strengths, collective social responsibilities and wellbeing. For a long time, there was no formal training in place for elementary school leaders. School principals and vice principals were appointed primarily on their academic merit through having an undergraduate qualification. As part of the first cohort of fifteen school leaders, we engaged in the professional training programme, the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL), refitted to our context after its initial development in the Solomon Islands. GCSL was coordinated by the Institute of Education (IOE) at the University of the South Pacific (USP). GCSL was seen as a relevant and appropriate training programme for school leaders in the RMI as part of an Asia Development Bank (ADB) funded programme which aimed at “Improving Quality Basic Education” (IQBE) in parts of the northern Pacific. GCSL was managed on Majuro, RMI’s main island, by the director at the time Dr Irene Taafaki, coordinator Yolanda McKay, and administrators at the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) RMI campus. Through the provision of GCSL, as school leaders we were encouraged to re-think and draw-from our own cultural repository and connect to our ancestral knowledge that have always provided strength for us. This kind of thinking and practice was encouraged by our educational leaders (Heine, 2002). We argue that a culturally-affirming and culturally-contextual framework that reflects the lived experiences of Marshallese people is much needed and enables the disruption of inherent colonial processes left behind by Western and Eastern administrations which have influenced our education system in the RMI (Heine, 2002). Kanne Lobal, an approach utilising a traditional navigation has warranted its need to provide solutions for today’s educational challenges for us in the RMI. Education in the Pacific Education in the Pacific cannot be understood without contextualising it in its history and culture. It is the same for us in the RMI (Heine, 2002; Walsh et al., 2012). The RMI is located in the Pacific Ocean and is part of Micronesia. It was named after a British captain, John Marshall in the 1700s. The atolls in the RMI were explored by the Spanish in the 16th century. Germany unsuccessfully attempted to colonize the islands in 1885. Japan took control in 1914, but after several battles during World War II, the US seized the RMI from them. In 1947, the United Nations made the island group, along with the Mariana and Caroline archipelagos, a U.S. trust territory (Walsh et al, 2012). Education in the RMI reflects the colonial administrations of Germany, Japan, and now the US. Before the turn of the century, formal education in the Pacific reflected western values, practices, and standards. Prior to that, education was informal and not binded to formal learning institutions (Thaman, 1997) and oral traditions was used as the medium for transmitting learning about customs and practices living with parents, grandparents, great grandparents. As alluded to by Jiba B. Kabua (2004), any “discussion about education is necessarily a discussion of culture, and any policy on education is also a policy of culture” (p. 181). It is impossible to promote one without the other, and it is not logical to understand one without the other. Re-thinking how education should look like, the pedagogical strategies that are relevant in our classrooms, the ways to engage with our parents and communities - such re-thinking sits within our cultural approaches and frameworks. Our collective attempts to provide a cultural framework that is relevant and appropriate for education in our context, sits within the political endeavour to decolonize. This means that what we are providing will not only be useful, but it can be used as a tool to question and identify whether things in place restrict and prevent our culture or whether they promote and foreground cultural ideas and concepts, a significant discussion of culture linked to education (Kabua, 2004). Donor funded development aid programmes were provided to support the challenges within education systems. Concerned with the persistent low educational outcomes of Pacific students, despite the prevalence of aid programmes in the region, in 2000 Pacific educators and leaders with support from New Zealand Aid (NZ Aid) decided to intervene (Heine, 2002; Taufe’ulungaki, 2014). In April 2001, a group of Pacific educators and leaders across the region were invited to a colloquium funded by the New Zealand Overseas Development Agency held in Suva Fiji at the University of the South Pacific. The main purpose of the colloquium was to enable “Pacific educators to re-think the values, assumptions and beliefs underlying [formal] schooling in Oceania” (Benson, 2002). Leadership, in general, is a valued practice in the RMI (Heine, 2002). Despite education leadership being identified as a significant factor in school improvement (Sanga & Chu, 2009), the limited formal training opportunities of school principals in the region was a persistent concern. As part of an Asia Development Bank (ADB) funded project, the Improve Quality Basic Education (IQBE) intervention was developed and implemented in the RMI in 2017. Mentoring is a process associated with the continuity and sustainability of leadership knowledge and practices (Sanga & Chu, 2009). It is a key aspect of building capacity and capabilities within human resources in education (ibid). Indigenous knowledges and education research According to Hilda Heine, the relationship between education and leadership is about understanding Marshallese history and culture (cited in Walsh et al., 2012). It is about sharing indigenous knowledge and histories that “details for future generations a story of survival and resilience and the pride we possess as a people” (Heine, cited in Walsh et al., 2012, p. v). This paper is fuelled by postcolonial aspirations yet is grounded in Pacific indigenous research. This means that our intentions are driven by postcolonial pursuits and discourses linked to challenging the colonial systems and schooling in the Pacific region that privileges western knowledge and learning and marginalises the education practices and processes of local people (Thiong’o, 1986). A point of difference and orientation from postcolonialism is a desire to foreground indigenous Pacific language, specifically Majin Majol, through Marshallese concepts. Our collective bwebwenato and conversation honours and values kautiej (respect), jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity), and jouj (kindness) (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). Pacific leaders developed the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative for and by Pacific People (RPEIPP) in 2002 to take control of the ways in which education research was conducted by donor funded organisations (Taufe’ulungaki, 2014). Our former president, Dr Hilda Heine was part of the group of leaders who sought to counter the ways in which our educational and leadership stories were controlled and told by non-Marshallese (Heine, 2002). As a former minister of education in the RMI, Hilda Heine continues to inspire and encourage the next generation of educators, school leaders, and researchers to re-think and de-construct the way learning and education is conceptualised for Marshallese people. The conceptualisation of Kanne Lobal acknowledges its origin, grounded in Marshallese navigation knowledge and practice. Our decision to unpack and deconstruct Kanne Lobal within the context of formal education and leadership responds to the need to not only draw from indigenous Marshallese ideas and practice but to consider that the next generation will continue to be educated using western processes and initiatives particularly from the US where we get a lot of our funding from. According to indigenous researchers Dawn Bessarab and Bridget Ng’andu (2010), doing research that considers “culturally appropriate processes to engage with indigenous groups and individuals is particularly pertinent in today’s research environment” (p. 37). Pacific indigenous educators and researchers have turned to their own ancestral knowledge and practices for inspiration and empowerment. Within western research contexts, the often stringent ideals and processes are not always encouraging of indigenous methods and practices. However, many were able to ground and articulate their use of indigenous methods as being relevant and appropriate to capturing the realities of their communities (Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Fulu-Aiolupotea, 2014; Thaman, 1997). At the same time, utilising Pacific indigenous methods and approaches enabled research engagement with their communities that honoured and respected them and their communities. For example, Tongan, Samoan, and Fijian researchers used the talanoa method as a way to capture the stories, lived realities, and worldviews of their communities within education in the diaspora (Fa’avae, Jones, & Manu’atu, 2016; Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Aiolupotea, 2014; Vaioleti, 2005). Tok stori was used by Solomon Islander educators and school leaders to highlight the unique circles of conversational practice and storytelling that leads to more positive engagement with their community members, capturing rich and meaningful narratives as a result (Sanga & Houma, 2004). The Indigenous Aborigine in Australia utilise yarning as a “relaxed discussion through which both the researcher and participant journey together visiting places and topics of interest relevant” (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010, p. 38). Despite the diverse forms of discussions and storytelling by indigenous peoples, of significance are the cultural protocols, ethics, and language for conducting and guiding the engagement (Bessarab & Ng’andu, 2010; Nabobo-Baba, 2008; Sualii-Sauni & Aiolupotea, 2014). Through the ethics, values, protocols, and language, these are what makes indigenous methods or frameworks unique compared to western methods like in-depth interviews or semi-structured interviews. This is why it is important for us as Marshallese educators to frame, ground, and articulate how our own methods and frameworks of learning could be realised in western education (Heine, 2002; Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014). In this paper, we utilise bwebwenato as an appropriate method linked to “talk story”, capturing our collective stories and experiences during GCSL and how we sought to build partnerships and collaboration with each other, our communities, and the PSS. Bwebwenato and drawing from Kajin Majel Legends and stories that reflect Marshallese society and its cultural values have survived through our oral traditions. The practice of weaving also holds knowledge about our “valuable and earliest sources of knowledge” (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019, p. 2). The skilful navigation of Marshallese wayfarers on the walap (large canoes) in the ocean is testament of their leadership and the value they place on ensuring the survival and continuity of Marshallese people (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019; Walsh et al., 2012). During her graduate study in 2014, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner conceptualised bwebwenato as being the most “well-known form of Marshallese orality” (p. 38). The Marshallese-English dictionary defined bwebwenato as talk, conversation, story, history, article, episode, lore, myth, or tale (cited in Jetnil Kijiner, 2014). Three years later in 2017, bwebwenato was utilised in a doctoral project by Natalie Nimmer as a research method to gather “talk stories” about the experiences of 10 Marshallese experts in knowledge and skills ranging from sewing to linguistics, canoe-making and business. Our collective bwebwenato in this paper centres on Marshallese ideas and language. The philosophy of Marshallese knowledge is rooted in our “Kajin Majel”, or Marshallese language and is shared and transmitted through our oral traditions. For instance, through our historical stories and myths. Marshallese philosophy, that is, the knowledge systems inherent in our beliefs, values, customs, and practices are shared. They are inherently relational, meaning that knowledge systems and philosophies within our world are connected, in mind, body, and spirit (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014; Nimmer, 2017). Although some Marshallese believe that our knowledge is disappearing as more and more elders pass away, it is therefore important work together, and learn from each other about the knowledges shared not only by the living but through their lamentations and stories of those who are no longer with us (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014). As a Marshallese practice, weaving has been passed-down from generation to generation. Although the art of weaving is no longer as common as it used to be, the artefacts such as the “jaki-ed” (clothing mats) continue to embody significant Marshallese values and traditions. For our weavers, the jouj (check spelling) is the centre of the mat and it is where the weaving starts. When the jouj is correct and weaved well, the remainder and every other part of the mat will be right. The jouj is symbolic of the “heart” and if the heart is prepared well, trained well, then life or all other parts of the body will be well (Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). In that light, we have applied the same to this paper. Conceptualising and drawing from cultural practices that are close and dear to our hearts embodies a significant ontological attempt to prioritize our own knowledge and language, a sense of endearment to who we are and what we believe education to be like for us and the next generation. The application of the phrase “Majolizing '' was used by the Ministry of Education when Hilda Heine was minister, to weave cultural ideas and language into the way that teachers understand the curriculum, develop lesson plans and execute them in the classroom. Despite this, there were still concerns with the embedded colonized practices where teachers defaulted to eurocentric methods of doing things, like the strategies provided in the textbooks given to us. In some ways, our education was slow to adjust to the “Majolizing '' intention by our former minister. In this paper, we provide Kanne Lobal as a way to contribute to the “Majolizing intention” and perhaps speed up yet still be collectively responsible to all involved in education. Kajin Wa and Kanne Lobal “Wa” is the Marshallese concept for canoe. Kajin wa, as in canoe language, has a lot of symbolic meaning linked to deeply-held Marshallese values and practices. The canoe was the foundational practice that supported the livelihood of harsh atoll island living which reflects the Marshallese social world. The experts of Kajin wa often refer to “wa” as being the vessel of life, a means and source of sustaining life (Kelen, 2009, cited in Miller, 2010). “Jouj” means kindness and is the lower part of the main hull of the canoe. It is often referred to by some canoe builders in the RMI as the heart of the canoe and is linked to love. The jouj is one of the first parts of the canoe that is built and is “used to do all other measurements, and then the rest of the canoe is built on top of it” (Miller, 2010, p. 67). The significance of the jouj is that when the canoe is in the water, the jouj is the part of the hull that is underwater and ensures that all the cargo and passengers are safe. For Marshallese, jouj or kindness is what living is about and is associated with selflessly carrying the responsibility of keeping the family and community safe. The parts of the canoe reflect Marshallese culture, legend, family, lineage, and kinship. They embody social responsibilities that guide, direct, and sustain Marshallese families’ wellbeing, from atoll to atoll. For example, the rojak (boom), rojak maan (upper boom), rojak kōrā (lower boom), and they support the edges of the ujelā/ujele (sail) (see figure 1). The literal meaning of rojak maan is male boom and rojak kōrā means female boom which together strengthens the sail and ensures the canoe propels forward in a strong yet safe way. Figuratively, the rojak maan and rojak kōrā symbolise the mother and father relationship which when strong, through the jouj (kindness and love), it can strengthen families and sustain them into the future. Figure 1. Parts of the canoe Source: https://www.canoesmarshallislands.com/2014/09/names-of-canoe-parts/ From a socio-cultural, communal, and leadership view, the canoe (wa) provides understanding of the relationships required to inspire and sustain Marshallese peoples’ education and learning. We draw from Kajin wa because they provide cultural ideas and practices that enable understanding of education and leadership necessary for sustaining Marshallese people and realities in Oceania. When building a canoe, the women are tasked with the weaving of the ujelā/ujele (sail) and to ensure that it is strong enough to withstand long journeys and the fierce winds and waters of the ocean. The Kanne Lobal relates to the front part of the ujelā/ujele (sail) where the rojak maan and rojak kōrā meet and connect (see the red lines in figure 1). Kanne Lobal is linked to the strategic use of the ujelā/ujele by navigators, when there is no wind north wind to propel them forward, to find ways to capture the winds so that their journey can continue. As a proverbial saying, Kanne Lobal is used to ignite thinking and inspire and transform practice particularly when the journey is rough and tough. In this paper we draw from Kanne Lobal to ignite, inspire, and transform our educational and leadership practices, a move to explore what has always been meaningful to Marshallese people when we are faced with challenges. The Kanne Lobal utilises our language, and cultural practices and values by sourcing from the concepts of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity). A key Marshallese proverb, “Enra bwe jen lale rara”, is the cultural practice where families enact compassion through the sharing of food in all occurrences. The term “enra” is a small basket weaved from the coconut leaves, and often used by Marshallese as a plate to share and distribute food amongst each other. Bwe-jen-lale-rara is about noticing and providing for the needs of others, and “enra” the basket will help support and provide for all that are in need. “Enra-bwe-jen-lale-rara” is symbolic of cultural exchange and reciprocity and the cultural values associated with building and maintaining relationships, and constantly honouring each other. As a Marshallese practice, in this article we share our understanding and knowledge about the challenges as well as possible solutions for education concerns in our nation. In addition, we highlight another proverb, “wa kuk wa jimor”, which relates to having one canoe, and despite its capacity to feed and provide for the individual, but within the canoe all people can benefit from what it can provide. In the same way, we provide in this paper a cultural framework that will enable all educators to benefit from. It is a framework that is far-reaching and relevant to the lived realities of Marshallese people today. Kumit relates to people united to build strength, all co-operating and working together, living in peace, harmony, and good health. Kanne Lobal: conceptual framework for education and leadership An education framework is a conceptual structure that can be used to capture ideas and thinking related to aspects of learning. Kanne Lobal is conceptualised and framed in this paper as an educational framework. Kanne Lobal highlights the significance of education as a collective partnership whereby leadership is an important aspect. Kanne Lobal draws-from indigenous Marshallese concepts like kautiej (respect), jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity), and jouj (kindness, heart). The role of a leader, including an education leader, is to prioritise collective learning and partnerships that benefits Marshallese people and the continuity and survival of the next generation (Heine, 2002; Thaman, 1995). As described by Ejnar Aerōk, an expert canoe builder in the RMI, he stated: “jerbal ippān doon bwe en maron maan wa e” (cited in Miller, 2010, p. 69). His description emphasises the significance of partnerships and working together when navigating and journeying together in order to move the canoe forward. The kubaak, the outrigger of the wa (canoe) is about “partnerships”. For us as elementary school leaders on Majuro, kubaak encourages us to value collaborative partnerships with each other as well as our communities, PSS, and other stakeholders. Partnerships is an important part of the Kanne Lobal education and leadership framework. It requires ongoing bwebwenato – the inspiring as well as confronting and challenging conversations that should be mediated and negotiated if we and our education stakeholders are to journey together to ensure that the educational services we provide benefits our next generation of young people in the RMI. Navigating ahead the partnerships, mediation, and negotiation are the core values of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity). As an organic conceptual framework grounded in indigenous values, inspired through our lived experiences, Kanne Lobal provides ideas and concepts for re-thinking education and leadership practices that are conducive to learning and teaching in the schooling context in the RMI. By no means does it provide the solution to the education ills in our nation. However, we argue that Kanne Lobal is a more relevant approach which is much needed for the negatively stigmatised system as a consequence of the various colonial administrations that have and continue to shape and reframe our ideas about what education should be like for us in the RMI. Moreover, Kannel Lobal is our attempt to decolonize the framing of education and leadership, moving our bwebwenato to re-framing conversations of teaching and learning so that our cultural knowledge and values are foregrounded, appreciated, and realised within our education system. Bwebwenato: sharing our stories In this section, we use bwebwenato as a method of gathering and capturing our stories as data. Below we capture our stories and ongoing conversations about the richness in Marshallese cultural knowledge in the outer islands and on Majuro and the potentialities in Kanne Lobal. Danny Jim When I was in third grade (9-10 years of age), during my grandfather’s speech in Arno, an atoll near Majuro, during a time when a wa (canoe) was being blessed and ready to put the canoe into the ocean. My grandfather told me the canoe was a blessing for the family. “Without a canoe, a family cannot provide for them”, he said. The canoe allows for travelling between places to gather food and other sources to provide for the family. My grandfather’s stories about people’s roles within the canoe reminded me that everyone within the family has a responsibility to each other. Our women, mothers and daughters too have a significant responsibility in the journey, in fact, they hold us, care for us, and given strength to their husbands, brothers, and sons. The wise man or elder sits in the middle of the canoe, directing the young man who help to steer. The young man, he does all the work, directed by the older man. They take advice and seek the wisdom of the elder. In front of the canoe, a young boy is placed there and because of his strong and youthful vision, he is able to help the elder as well as the young man on the canoe. The story can be linked to the roles that school leaders, teachers, and students have in schooling. Without each person knowing intricately their role and responsibility, the sight and vision ahead for the collective aspirations of the school and the community is difficult to comprehend. For me, the canoe is symbolic of our educational journey within our education system. As the school leader, a central, trusted, and respected figure in the school, they provide support for teachers who are at the helm, pedagogically striving to provide for their students. For without strong direction from the school leaders and teachers at the helm, the students, like the young boy, cannot foresee their futures, or envisage how education can benefit them. This is why Kanne Lobal is a significant framework for us in the Marshall Islands because within the practice we are able to take heed and empower each other so that all benefit from the process. Kanne Lobal is linked to our culture, an essential part of who we are. We must rely on our own local approaches, rather than relying on others that are not relevant to what we know and how we live in today’s society. One of the things I can tell is that in Majuro, compared to the outer islands, it’s different. In the outer islands, parents bring children together and tell them legends and stories. The elders tell them about the legends and stories – the bwebwenato. Children from outer islands know a lot more about Marshallese legends compared to children from the Majuro atoll. They usually stay close to their parents, observe how to prepare food and all types of Marshallese skills. Loretta Joseph Case There is little Western influence in the outer islands. They grow up learning their own culture with their parents, not having tv. They are closely knit, making their own food, learning to weave. They use fire for cooking food. They are more connected because there are few of them, doing their own culture. For example, if they’re building a house, the ladies will come together and make food to take to the males that are building the house, encouraging them to keep on working - “jemjem maal” (sharpening tools i.e. axe, like encouraging workers to empower them). It’s when they bring food and entertainment. Rubon Rubon Togetherness, work together, sharing of food, these are important practices as a school leader. Jemjem maal – the whole village works together, men working and the women encourage them with food and entertainment. All the young children are involved in all of the cultural practices, cultural transmission is consistently part of their everyday life. These are stronger in the outer islands. Kanne Lobal has the potential to provide solutions using our own knowledge and practices. Connie Joel When new teachers become a teacher, they learn more about their culture in teaching. Teaching raises the question, who are we? A popular saying amongst our people, “Aelon kein ad ej aelon in manit”, means that “Our islands are cultural islands”. Therefore, when we are teaching, and managing the school, we must do this culturally. When we live and breathe, we must do this culturally. There is more socialising with family and extended family. Respect the elderly. When they’re doing things the ladies all get together, in groups and do it. Cut the breadfruit, and preserve the breadfruit and pandanus. They come together and do it. Same as fishing, building houses, building canoes. They use and speak the language often spoken by the older people. There are words that people in the outer islands use and understand language regularly applied by the elderly. Respect elderly and leaders more i.e., chiefs (iroj), commoners (alap), and the workers on the land (ri-jerbal) (social layer under the commoners). All the kids, they gather with their families, and go and visit the chiefs and alap, and take gifts from their land, first produce/food from the plantation (eojōk). Tommy Almet The people are more connected to the culture in the outer islands because they help one another. They don’t have to always buy things by themselves, everyone contributes to the occasion. For instance, for birthdays, boys go fishing, others contribute and all share with everyone. Kanne Lobal is a practice that can bring people together – leaders, teachers, stakeholders. We want our colleagues to keep strong and work together to fix problems like students and teachers’ absenteeism which is a big problem for us in schools. Demetria Malachi The culture in the outer islands are more accessible and exposed to children. In Majuro, there is a mixedness of cultures and knowledges, influenced by Western thinking and practices. Kanne Lobal is an idea that can enhance quality educational purposes for the RMI. We, the school leaders who did GCSL, we want to merge and use this idea because it will help benefit students’ learning and teachers’ teaching. Kanne Lobal will help students to learn and teachers to teach though traditional skills and knowledge. We want to revitalize our ways of life through teaching because it is slowly fading away. Also, we want to have our own Marshallese learning process because it is in our own language making it easier to use and understand. Essentially, we want to proudly use our own ways of teaching from our ancestors showing the appreciation and blessings given to us. Way Forward To think of ways forward is about reflecting on the past and current learnings. Instead of a traditional discussion within a research publication, we have opted to continue our bwebwenato by sharing what we have learnt through the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL) programme. Our bwebwenato does not end in this article and this opportunity to collaborate and partner together in this piece of writing has been a meaningful experience to conceptualise and unpack the Kanne Lobal framework. Our collaborative bwebwenato has enabled us to dig deep into our own wise knowledges for guidance through mediating and negotiating the challenges in education and leadership (Sanga & Houma, 2004). For example, bwe-jen-lale-rara reminds us to inquire, pay attention, and focus on supporting the needs of others. Through enra-bwe-jen-lale-rara, it reminds us to value cultural exchange and reciprocity which will strengthen the development and maintaining of relationships based on ways we continue to honour each other (Nimmer, 2017). We not only continue to support each other, but also help mentor the next generation of school leaders within our education system (Heine, 2002). Education and leadership are all about collaborative partnerships (Sanga & Chu, 2009; Thaman, 1997). Developing partnerships through the GCSL was useful learning for us. It encouraged us to work together, share knowledge, respect each other, and be kind. The values of jouj (kindness, love), kautiej (respect), and jouj eo mour eo (reciprocity) are meaningful in being and becoming and educational leader in the RMI (Jetnil-Kijiner, 2014; Miller, 2010; Nimmer, 2017). These values are meaningful for us practice particularly given the drive by PSS for schools to become accredited. The workshops and meetings delivered during the GCSL in the RMI from 2018 to 2019 about Kanne Lobal has given us strength to share our stories and experiences from the meeting with the stakeholders. But before we met with the stakeholders, we were encouraged to share and speak in our language within our courses: EDP05 (Professional Development and Learning), EDP06 (School Leadership), EDP07 (School Management), EDP08 (Teaching and Learning), and EDP09 (Community Partnerships). In groups, we shared our presentations with our peers, the 15 school leaders in the GCSL programme. We also invited USP RMI staff. They liked the way we presented Kannel Lobal. They provided us with feedback, for example: how the use of the sail on the canoe, the parts and their functions can be conceptualised in education and how they are related to the way that we teach our own young people. Engaging stakeholders in the conceptualisation and design stages of Kanne Lobal strengthened our understanding of leadership and collaborative partnerships. Based on various meetings with the RMI Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) team, PSS general assembly, teachers from the outer islands, and the PSS executive committee, we were able to share and receive feedback on the Kanne Lobal framework. The coordinators of the PREL programme in the RMI were excited by the possibilities around using Kanne Lobal, as a way to teach culture in an inspirational way to Marshallese students. Our Marshallese knowledge, particularly through the proverbial meaning of Kanne Lobal provided so much inspiration and insight for the groups during the presentation which gave us hope and confidence to develop the framework. Kanne Lobal is an organic and indigenous approach, grounded in Marshallese ways of doing things (Heine, 2002; Taafaki & Fowler, 2019). Given the persistent presence of colonial processes within the education system and the constant reference to practices and initiatives from the US, Kanne Lobal for us provides a refreshing yet fulfilling experience and makes us feel warm inside because it is something that belongs to all Marshallese people. Conclusion Marshallese indigenous knowledge and practices provide meaningful educational and leadership understanding and learnings. They ignite, inspire, and transform thinking and practice. The Kanne Lobal conceptual framework emphasises key concepts and values necessary for collaborative partnerships within education and leadership practices in the RMI. The bwebwenato or talk stories have been insightful and have highlighted the strengths and benefits that our Marshallese ideas and practices possess when looking for appropriate and relevant ways to understand education and leadership. 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AbstractThe aim of this paper is to argue that there are a number of key drivers for Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision that have to be met by Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) and teaching professionals so as to ensure optimal provision and inclusion for children with SEN in mainstream primary schools. Although the research has been carried out in England, there is a significant European Dimension to the issue, as a similar role to that of SENCOs in respect of SEN management already exists in countries such as Finland and Ireland, and is being considered in Italy.This paper focuses on the data gathered for the purpose of the author’s doctoral research in England, through questionnaires and interviews with SENCOs, head teachers and teachers. Thematic analysis was used to explore key drivers of SEN provision by practitioners who support children with SEN.Data illustrate that the key drivers of SEN provision include time; teacher openness to change; target setting; evidence of tried interventions; empowerment; decision-making and approachability. The implementation of such drivers depend largely on practitioner skills and competencies.The main conclusion within this paper is to develop points of reference for planning and practice, with illustrations of optimal provision by all practitioners who work with children with SEN.

ABSTRACT Objective: to know the contributions of simulation regarding the training of caregivers of children with special healthcare needs, in the preparation for hospital discharge. Method: descriptive-exploratory study, with qualitative approach, carried out with caregivers of children with special healthcare needs. The study was developed in a simulation center of a public university in the South of Brazil, in partnership with a state reference children's hospital. The training program was based on simulations, using low, medium and high fidelity simulators, in which 15 caregivers participated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to content analysis, in its thematic modality. Results: two categories emerged: simulation as a learning strategy and implications of training for home care. The simulations allowed the improvement of procedural skills and coping with possible complications in the home setting. Feelings of fear and anxiety were initially triggered, especially in the high fidelity simulation. However, after the training, the caregivers felt relieved, self-confident and satisfied with their performance, highlighting the importance of the support provided during the simulations. They reported having greater confidence to perform the procedures on the child and face the challenges of home care. Conclusion: the simulation was considered a valid strategy for the training of caregivers, stimulating empowerment and self-confidence in the face of complex care required by a child with special healthcare needs. The study innovates by exploring the potentialities of simulation in this context, bringing important contributions to qualify the home care of this clientele.

Abstract In France, health public policies for people with disabilities are based on specific laws, recommendations and systems of reference. This population is under the responsibility of the medico-social sector, which governs specialized institutions and services. These services favor a medical approach to health focused on access to care. Their main missions are to take care of disabled people with kindness on a daily basis and to adapt the care to each person’s special needs, whatever the disability. They create links with families, organize the services offered and the living environments, administer their staff and collaborate with health professionals. As they ensure safety and health at all levels, from every individual project to collective life, they have a real opportunity to act on a set of health determinants. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion refers to the empowerment and participation of the population as fundamental principles; this is also true as far as people with disabilities are concerned. With the principal stakeholders on a national level, we wrote a handbook in order to support the implementation of these principles in medico-social institutions and services: ’Promoting health and well-being in the medico-social field in cooperation with people with disabilities” and their families. In this presentation, based on concrete examples, we will outline how the five intervention strategies of the Ottawa Charter can apply to people with disabilities, their families and their communities, especially inside specialized institutions and services. We will pay particular attention to the intervention methods and pedagogical tools which can be used to initiate or to improve the participation of disabled people in decisions, through the valuing of their experiential expertise, the development of their social skills, the strengthening of their health literacy, family-professional co-education, and cooperative strategies. Key messages Specialized institutions and services can promote the health of the people with disabilities they care for, by acting on the determinants of their health and by mobilizing participatory strategies. To strengthen disabled people’s participation, using their experiential expertise, developing their social skills and health literacy, and mobilizing co-education, are the best strategies.

Abstract Mig-healthCare has identified sources in the countries and languages of the consortium providing guidance for community-based healthcare for migrants and refugees. A total of 54 sources that refer to best practices in seven European countries were identified. Results were categorized along with the themes: organization, communication, training, education and facilities & services. Successful organizational measures were a close collaboration with different governmental authorities, NGOs, community organizations and various local service providers. Moreover, engagement with members from both the host community and the migrant/refugee community in the design and implementation phases is essential. The need to track all activities through data collection and periodic evaluations is important in order to evaluate the effectiveness of systems. Funding was mentioned as important to secure continuity of projects and systems. Bridging communication barriers is a major facilitator to reduce health disparities. Differences in the types of practices and challenges per country were noted. Translators and cultural mediators are a key element in successful implementation, but across EU there is a need for more specialized staff to face the cultural barriers of the large variation in refugee/migrant backgrounds. The empowerment of migrants/refugees in promoting well-being through the engagement of the host community to help reduce stigma and discrimination is a successful strategy facilitating the access to care due to the increase of their health literacy skills. Finally, tailored services to give an answer to the specific needs of migrants and refugees are important, for example at first reception centres, standard medical screening and psychosocial risk assessment was recommended. Through this analysis, we can distinguish community-based care models elements facilitating the access of migrants and refugees to healthcare.

Abstract People with disabilities have physical and mental disabilities that have differences when compared to normal people, therefore there needs to be special attention from the government to empower or positive activities that are useful to hone the skills of the people with stability. Therefore, the role of the government is necessary for the development of people with disabilities. Through social services empowerment of people with disabilities is more targeted and focused. The purpose of this research is to decrypt what efforts are made as well as what obstacles are faced in the empowerment of people with disabilities. The type of method used in this study is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques used are, observation, interview, documentation. The result of this research is that the efforts made by Social Services are social assistance for severe disabilities in the form of money, as well as training but stalled per the year 2018 because it is focused in Dipnaker. Besides, there is assistance from the ministry in the form of non-cash social assistance for all classifications of people with disabilities. There are also other supporting activities as well as UPSK from the Social Service of East Java Province. Keywords: empowerment; disability; government role Abstrak Para penyandang disabilitas memiliki kelemahan secara fisik dan mental yang memiliki perbedaan bila dibandingkan dengan orang-orang normal, oleh sebab itu perlu adanya perhatian khusus dari pemerintah untuk memberdayakan ataupun kegiatan yang bersifat positif yang berguna untuk mengasah kemampuan para penyandang stabilitas. Maka dari itu peran pemerintah sangatlah perlu dalam pembinaan penyandang disabilitas. Lewat Dinas Sosial pemberdayaan penyandang disabilitas lebih terarah dan fokus. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mendekripsikan upaya apa yang dilakukan serta kendala apa yang dihadapi dalam pemberdayaan penyandang disabilitas. Jenis metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan yaitu, observasi, wawancara, dokumentasi. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah upaya yang dilakukan Dinas Sosial adalah bantuan sosial untuk disabilitas berat berupa uang, dan juga pelatihan namun terhenti pertahun 2018 karena difokuskan di Dipnaker. Selain itu terdapat bantuan dari kemensos berupa bantuan sosial non tunai untuk semua klasifikasi penyandang disabilitas. Terdapat juga kegiatan penunjang lain dan juga UPSK dari Dinas Sosial Provinsi Jawa Timur.Kata Kunci: pemberdayaan; penyandang disabilitas; peran pemerintah

Abstract Background Children’s academic readiness has important implications for subsequent achievement and psychosocial functioning. A growing number of studies are utilizing randomized controlled trials (RCT) to examine whether responsive parenting interventions lead to positive gains in children’s academic readiness. A synthesis of the extant literature is warranted to gain a precise estimate of the causal influence of responsive parenting on academic readiness, as well as to examine moderators that may serve to strengthen or weaken this effect. The main objective of this study will be to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs evaluating the use of responsive parenting interventions to target academic readiness: problem-solving/reasoning, language proficiency, executive functioning, and pre-academic skills (e.g., numeracy/literacy). Methods Studies that took place in the early childhood period (< 6 years at baseline), targeted responsive parenting behaviours using an RCT (with control group, waitlist, or treatment as usual as a comparator), and included an outcome assessment of academic readiness will be considered for eligibility. Children and/or parents with special needs and/or disabilities will be excluded. The primary outcome is the effect of responsive parenting interventions on academic readiness. Secondary outcomes include substantive and methodological moderators and parent-mediated effects on outcomes. We will search MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global databases from their inception onwards and we will also conduct backward/forward searching of eligible studies. Published and unpublished works will be considered. Screening, full-text assessments, and data extraction will be completed by two independent reviewers. Risk of bias will be assessed using the CLARITY tool for RCTs. Effect sizes will be calculated based on study-level standardized differences between experimental and control groups and entered into random effects models to obtain a pooled effect (meta-analysis). Moderation will be examined through Q-statistics and meta-regression to study sources of between-study variation in effect sizes. A pooled path model of mediation will be used to study parent-mediated effects. Discussion Findings will illuminate causal relations between responsive parenting and academic readiness, with implications for developmental science. Findings will also guide decision making in policy and practice for supporting early childhood development and reducing social disparities in children prior to school-entry. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020222143.

There is a wide range of academic effort put into the questions of food. It is obvious that eating is necessary for everybody, but it is equally acknowledged that there are lots of cultural meanings in the area of food as well. However, it is rarely answered why preparing food is important to some people. My aim is to address this question in the context of unemployment, where food has social, recreational and spiritual meanings for the whole life. My analysis is based on the writings of the unemployed written during the unexpected recession in Finland in the 1990s. It occurred, perhaps surprisingly, that many participants wrote about food in their entries to the writing contest called 'The Story of the Unemployed'. It is worth mentioning that to be unemployed in Finland means that it is possible to get along because of the -- still on-going but shifting -- welfare state. Usually the study of food is based on specific problematics within different disciplines. Examples of these include the symbolic connection between food and culture à la Mary Douglas in anthropology, meanings and connotations of food in Barthesian semiotics, and taste as a distinctive feature or the connection between taste and class position in the sociology of taste. In addition, phenomena such as anorexia nervosa and vegetarianism has been explained within a social context by cultural sociologists. Personally I want to introduce a slightly different route. It goes from actual articulation of food and unemployment in the writings of the unemployed to the context of media and consumer culture. There are certainly some basic explanations why food is included in the stories. When you write a story in the form of a diary, it is easy to tell about eating or cooking. The time of eating is the glue of human relations, the moment of the day which connects partners together. It is not surprising, then, that human relations are of great importance when there is no work and workplace to offer social relations and position in social hierarchy. In spite of this I want to offer more interpretative and provocative insights. In the societies based on 'primitive technology', hunger was shared (see, for instance, Sahlins). On the contrary, hunger is privatised in modern and postmodern societies. The uneven sharing of food is a result of a hierarchy based on having or not having money. As a result, to keep hunger away means to have at least some money (or favourable friends). In this context, writing about food is a part of the conceptual battle against hunger. It is a conceptual proof of having survived thus far. For those who have a job, their work ensures an economic ability to stay far from the poverty. In addition to this, they have a privileged access to the space of 'normality' of being a good citizen. This is because the Protestant work ethic says so. In the case of the unemployed the relations are more complex. One's social position is marginalised since the beginning of one's period of unemployment but I suggest that food and things related to it take the place of work. Food becomes a space for continuity when work does not offer it. As long as you have food you do not have to be a criminal to go on. This should be understood in the context of Zygmunt Bauman's provocative statement that, according to the logic of consumer society, differences between its Others (poor, unemployed, criminals, madmen, drug addicts) are fading. To be poor is to be an enemy of the society. Society wants nothing from its others. It would be best if they just burnt their tents and left (Bauman 72-7). In this context food functions as an element in constructing self-definition of the unemployed. Food prevents them from sliding into a criminal position and keeps up the cultural boundaries between different forms of otherness. The actual point is not whether Bauman's claim is correct or not but its power to illuminate both the worries of the poor and the unemployed and the role food plays in it. Anything that produces empowerment for the unemployed is important in the situation which normally narrows one's possibilities to act. The situation of the unemployed is usually devoid of social dignity and material resources. That is why it is especially important for them to experience success, to learn something new and to measure it in some ways. Normally these kinds of acts are reserved for the area of work but the unemployed person transfers them into the area of cooking. Making good, perhaps healthy and affordable food allows one to experience feelings of success. This raises one's self-esteem and ability to act. It is perhaps no surprise that most writers emphasise the meaning of cooking in their lives only after they have been left without work. Food is connected to empowerment in two senses. It is important in itself but it has an instrumental function as well. It produces pleasure and it becomes a part of identity-building (for example when people put effort into making healthy or affordable food). It can also be an instrument in building different life projects when it offers feelings of success and leads to an ability to act on some different level. Thematically, food is a good example of the many activities that allow the unemployed to empower themselves. When all this is articulated in the context of media, the point and battleground become clear. The image of the unemployed presented in the media is unfortunately one-dimensional at least in Finland and perhaps in other countries as well. Outside the 'human interest' type of magazines, media describe them as unskilled job-seekers or as 'lazy bums'. This picture is part of the neoliberal machinery which blames individuals for their inability to get a job even though the reasons for high unemployment rates are mostly based on changes in the economic structure (such as the breakdown of the Soviet Union, which the Finnish economy previously leaned on, and the low state of technology except for a few leading enterprises). So the notions of food in the writings of the unemployed pointed at the media are an attempt to disarticulate and rearticulate the image of the unemployed. There is one hegemonic discourse on the topic of identity in consumer culture. Identity is not something you are born with. It is something that everybody constructs, it is changeable and what is more, it is something you can buy in postmodern consumer society. Buy it, be it! Buy caviar -- be high class! Pleasure follows purchase as well as identity. I am not saying that talk about changing identities is just capitalist mishmash. In fact, it is relevant for the unemployed as well. If identity was understood as petrifying, not possible to change, it would be sad to live as an unemployed, carrying the burdens of Protestant work ethic and seeing getting a job as the only way for constructing a reasonable life. That is why talk about contextually changing postmodern identities is not out of picture here. What is the other side of postmodern consumer identity discourse is that the unemployed have no resources to buy their identity. Thus, food comes again into the picture. For the unemployed, buying food does not lead to identity or to pleasure. It depends on who cooks (unemployed him/herself, partner, friend) and what the food tastes like. Food is not an equivalent to commodities that are ready to use. Raw materials should be handled with skill or with care before food can produce pleasure or empowerment. Accumulation of cultural capital is not based on buying as such, because it is a race where unemployed are definitely determined to resignation compared to economically privileged people. A commodity does not guarantee happiness. It must be made to mean something by using it in a specific way. You can consume cars, clothes and television without the requirement of any special skills. Food and especially cooking resonate with other rhythms. It requires skills. (This point is emphasised in Warde, especially pages 200-1.) As we have seen, food as a hobby is a part of the life projects of the unemployed. It is an important way to acquire feelings of success. As such, it produces empowerment on an individual level. At the same time, it extends its tentacles to struggle for articulations in the contexts of media and consumer culture. Its aim is to rearticulate the term unemployed as different from the passive media creations. Moreover, it is directed towards consumeristic identity discourse in the sense that food and especially cooking represent an area where identity and pleasure do not follow directly from buying and consuming. Thus, writing about food is a part of a wider spiritual quest -- a way of constructing meanings for life outside the world of work. On a more general level, this text shows clearly that the questions posed on the problematics of food are complex. Food is never only about material food for biological needs. Its discourses always point to some other spaces depending on the context. Furthermore, when food is articulated together with the unemployed, it should be seen as different from many other forms of building identity by consuming. References Bauman, Zygmunt. Work, Consumerism and the New Poor. Buckingham: Open UP, 1998. Warde, Alan. Consumption, Food and Taste: Culinary Antinomies and Commodity Culture. London: Sage, 1997. Sahlins, Marshall. Stone Age Economics. Chicago: Aldine, 1972. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Teemu Taira. "Material Food, Spiritual Quest: When Pleasure Does Not Follow Purchase." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2.7 (1999). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9910/pleasure.php>. Chicago style: Teemu Taira, "Material Food, Spiritual Quest: When Pleasure Does Not Follow Purchase," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2, no. 7 (1999), <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9910/pleasure.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Teemu Taira. (1999) Material food, spiritual quest: when pleasure does not follow purchase. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2(7). <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9910/pleasure.php> ([your date of access]).

This article explores resilience as it is experienced by refugees in the context of a relational community, visiting the notions of trauma, a thicker description of resilience and the trajectory toward positive growth through community. It calls for going beyond a Western biomedical therapeutic approach of exploration and adopting more of an emic perspective incorporating the worldview of the refugees. The challenge is for service providers working with refugees (who have experienced trauma) to move forward from a ‘harm minimisation’ model of care to recognition of a facilitative, productive community of people who are in a transitional phase between homelands. Contextualising Trauma Prior to the 1980s, the term ‘trauma’ was not widely used in literature on refugees and refugee mental health, hardly existing as a topic of inquiry until the mid-1980’s (Summerfield 422). It first gained prominence in relation to soldiers who had returned from Vietnam and in need of medical attention after being traumatised by war. The term then expanded to include victims of wars and those who had witnessed traumatic events. Seahorn and Seahorn outline that severe trauma “paralyses you with numbness and uses denial, avoidance, isolation as coping mechanisms so you don’t have to deal with your memories”, impacting a person‘s ability to risk being connected to others, detaching and withdrawing; resulting in extreme loneliness, emptiness, sadness, anxiety and depression (6). During the Civil War in the USA the impact of trauma was referred to as Irritable Heart and then World War I and II referred to it as Shell Shock, Neurosis, Combat Fatigue, or Combat Exhaustion (Seahorn & Seahorn 66, 67). During the twenty-five years following the Vietnam War, the medicalisation of trauma intensified and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became recognised as a medical-psychiatric disorder in 1980 in the American Psychiatric Association international diagnostic tool Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM–III). An expanded description and diagnosis of PTSD appears in the DSM-IV, influenced by the writings of Harvard psychologist and scholar, Judith Herman (Scheper-Hughes 38) The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) outlines that experiencing the threat of death, injury to oneself or another or finding out about an unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of the same kind to a family member or close person are considered traumatic events (Chung 11); including domestic violence, incest and rape (Scheper-Hughes 38). Another significant development in the medicalisation of trauma occurred in 1998 when the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (VFST) released an influential report titled ‘Rebuilding Shattered Lives’. This then gave clinical practice a clearer direction in helping people who had experienced war, trauma and forced migration by providing a framework for therapeutic work. The emphasis became strongly linked to personal recovery of individuals suffering trauma, using case management as the preferred intervention strategy. A whole industry soon developed around medical intervention treating people suffering from trauma related problems (Eyber). Though there was increased recognition for the medicalised discourse of trauma and post-traumatic stress, there was critique of an over-reliance of psychiatric models of trauma (Bracken, et al. 15, Summerfield 421, 423). There was also expressed concern that an overemphasis on individual recovery overlooked the socio-political aspects that amplify trauma (Bracken et al. 8). The DSM-IV criteria for PTSD model began to be questioned regarding the category of symptoms being culturally defined from a Western perspective. Weiss et al. assert that large numbers of traumatized people also did not meet the DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD (366). To categorize refugees’ experiences into recognizable, generalisable psychological conditions overlooked a more localized culturally specific understanding of trauma. The meanings given to collective experience and the healing strategies vary across different socio-cultural groupings (Eyber). For example, some people interpret suffering as a normal part of life in bringing them closer to God and in helping gain a better understanding of the level of trauma in the lives of others. Scheper-Hughes raise concern that the PTSD model is “based on a conception of human nature and human life as fundamentally vulnerable, frail, and humans as endowed with few and faulty defence mechanisms”, and underestimates the human capacity to not only survive but to thrive during and following adversity (37, 42). As a helping modality, biomedical intervention may have limitations through its lack of focus regarding people’s agency, coping strategies and local cultural understandings of distress (Eyber). The benefits of a Western therapeutic model might be minimal when some may have their own culturally relevant coping strategies that may vary to Western models. Bracken et al. document case studies where the burial rituals in Mozambique, obligations to the dead in Cambodia, shared solidarity in prison and the mending of relationships after rape in Uganda all contributed to the healing process of distress (8). Orosa et al. (1) asserts that belief systems have contributed in helping refugees deal with trauma; Brune et al. (1) points to belief systems being a protective factor against post-traumatic disorders; and Peres et al. highlight that a religious worldview gives hope, purpose and meaning within suffering. Adopting a Thicker Description of Resilience Service providers working with refugees often talk of refugees as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’ populations and strive for ‘harm minimisation’ among the population within their care. This follows a critical psychological tradition, what (Ungar, Constructionist) refers to as a positivist mode of inquiry that emphasises the predictable relationship between risk and protective factors (risk and coping strategies) being based on a ‘deficient’ outlook rather than a ‘future potential’ viewpoint and lacking reference to notions of resilience or self-empowerment (342). At-risk discourses tend to focus upon antisocial behaviours and appropriate treatment for relieving suffering rather than cultural competencies that may be developing in the midst of challenging circumstances. Mares and Newman document how the lives of many refugee advocates have been changed through the relational contribution asylum seekers have made personally to them in an Australian context (159). Individuals may find meaning in communal obligations, contributing to the lives of others and a heightened solidarity (Wilson 42, 44) in contrast to an individual striving for happiness and self-fulfilment. Early naturalistic accounts of mental health, influenced by the traditions of Western psychology, presented thin descriptions of resilience as a quality innate to individuals that made them invulnerable or strong, despite exposure to substantial risk (Ungar, Thicker 91). The interest then moved towards a non-naturalistic contextually relevant understanding of resilience viewed in the social context of people’s lives. Authors such as Benson, Tricket and Birman (qtd. in Ungar, Thicker) started focusing upon community resilience, community capacity and asset-building communities; looking at areas such as - “spending time with friends, exercising control over aspects of their lives, seeking meaningful involvement in their community, attaching to others and avoiding threats to self-esteem” (91). In so doing far more emphasis was given in developing what Ungar (Thicker) refers to as ‘a thicker description of resilience’ as it relates to the lives of refugees that considers more than an ability to survive and thrive or an internal psychological state of wellbeing (89). Ungar (Thicker) describes a thicker description of resilience as revealing “a seamless set of negotiations between individuals who take initiative, and an environment with crisscrossing resources that impact one on the other in endless and unpredictable combinations” (95). A thicker description of resilience means adopting more of what Eyber proposes as an emic approach, taking on an ‘insider perspective’, incorporating the worldview of the people experiencing the distress; in contrast to an etic perspective using a Western biomedical understanding of distress, examined from a position outside the social or cultural system in which it takes place. Drawing on a more anthropological tradition, intervention is able to be built with local resources and strategies that people can utilize with attention being given to cultural traditions within a socio-cultural understanding. Developing an emic approach is to engage in intercultural dialogue, raise dilemmas, test assumptions, document hopes and beliefs and explore their implications. Under this approach, healing is more about developing intelligibility through one’s own cultural and social matrix (Bracken, qtd. in Westoby and Ingamells 1767). This then moves beyond using a Western therapeutic approach of exploration which may draw on the rhetoric of resilience, but the coping strategies of the vulnerable are often disempowered through adopting a ‘therapy culture’ (Furedi, qtd. in Westoby and Ingamells 1769). Westoby and Ingamells point out that the danger is by using a “therapeutic gaze that interprets emotions through the prism of disease and pathology”, it then “replaces a socio-political interpretation of situations” (1769). This is not to dismiss the importance of restoring individual well-being, but to broaden the approach adopted in contextualising it within a socio-cultural frame. The Relational Aspect of Resilience Previously, the concept of the ‘resilient individual’ has been of interest within the psychological and self-help literature (Garmezy, qtd. in Wilson) giving weight to the aspect of it being an innate trait that individuals possess or harness (258). Yet there is a need to explore the relational aspect of resilience as it is embedded in the network of relationships within social settings. A person’s identity and well-being is better understood in observing their capacity to manage their responses to adverse circumstances in an interpersonal community through the networks of relationships. Brison, highlights the collective strength of individuals in social networks and the importance of social support in the process of recovery from trauma, that the self is vulnerable to be affected by violence but resilient to be reconstructed through the help of others (qtd. in Wilson 125). This calls for what Wilson refers to as a more interdisciplinary perspective drawing on cultural studies and sociology (2). It also acknowledges that although individual traits influence the action of resilience, it can be learned and developed in adverse situations through social interactions. To date, within sociology and cultural studies, there is not a well-developed perspective on the topic of resilience. Resilience involves a complex ongoing interaction between individuals and their social worlds (Wilson 16) that helps them make sense of their world and adjust to the context of resettlement. It includes developing a perspective of people drawing upon negative experiences as productive cultural resources for growth, which involves seeing themselves as agents of their own future rather than suffering from a sense of victimhood (Wilson 46, 258). Wilson further outlines the display of a resilience-related capacity to positively interpret and derive meaning from what might have been otherwise negative migration experiences (Wilson 47). Wu refers to ‘imagineering’ alternative futures, for people to see beyond the current adverse circumstances and to imagine other possibilities. People respond to and navigate their experience of trauma in unique, unexpected and productive ways (Wilson 29). Trauma can cripple individual potential and yet individuals can also learn to turn such an experience into a positive, productive resource for personal growth. Grief, despair and powerlessness can be channelled into hope for improved life opportunities. Social networks can act as protection against adversity and trauma; meaningful interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging assist individuals in recovering from emotional strain. Wilson asserts that social capabilities assist people in turning what would otherwise be negative experiences into productive cultural resources (13). Graybeal (238) and Saleeby (297) explore resilience as a strength-based practice, where individuals, families and communities are seen in relation to their capacities, talents, competencies, possibilities, visions, values and hopes; rather than through their deficiencies, pathologies or disorders. This does not present an idea of invulnerability to adversity but points to resources for navigating adversity. Resilience is not merely an individual trait or a set of intrinsic behaviours that can be displayed in ‘resilient individuals’. Resilience, rather than being an unchanging attribute, is a complex socio-cultural phenomenon, a relational concept of a dynamic nature that is situated in interpersonal relations (Wilson 258). Positive Growth through a Community Based Approach Through migrating to another country (in the context of refugees), Falicov, points out that people often experience a profound loss of their social network and cultural roots, resulting in a sense of homelessness between two worlds, belonging to neither (qtd. in Walsh 220). In the ideological narratives of refugee movements and diasporas, the exile present may be collectively portrayed as a liminality, outside normal time and place, a passage between past and future (Eastmond 255). The concept of the ‘liminal’ was popularised by Victor Turner, who proposed that different kinds of marginalised people and communities go through phases of separation, ‘liminali’ (state of limbo) and reincorporation (qtd. in Tofighian 101). Difficulties arise when there is no closure of the liminal period (fleeing their former country and yet not being able to integrate in the country of destination). If there is no reincorporation into mainstream society then people become unsettled and feel displaced. This has implications for their sense of identity as they suffer from possible cultural destabilisation, not being able to integrate into the host society. The loss of social supports may be especially severe and long-lasting in the context of displacement. In gaining an understanding of resilience in the context of displacement, it is important to consider social settings and person-environment transactions as displaced people seek to experience a sense of community in alternative ways. Mays proposed that alternative forms of community are central to community survival and resilience. Community is a source of wellbeing for building and strengthening positive relations and networks (Mays 590). Cottrell, uses the concept of ‘community competence’, where a community provides opportunities and conditions that enable groups to navigate their problems and develop capacity and resourcefulness to cope positively with adversity (qtd. in Sonn and Fisher 4, 5). Chaskin, sees community as a resilient entity, countering adversity and promoting the well-being of its members (qtd. in Canavan 6). As a point of departure from the concept of community in the conventional sense, I am interested in what Ahmed and Fortier state as moments or sites of connection between people who would normally not have such connection (254). The participants may come together without any presumptions of ‘being in common’ or ‘being uncommon’ (Ahmed and Fortier 254). This community shows little differentiation between those who are welcome and those who are not in the demarcation of the boundaries of community. The community I refer to presents the idea as ‘common ground’ rather than commonality. Ahmed and Fortier make reference to a ‘moral community’, a “community of care and responsibility, where members readily acknowledge the ‘social obligations’ and willingness to assist the other” (Home office, qtd. in Ahmed and Fortier 253). Ahmed and Fortier note that strong communities produce caring citizens who ensure the future of caring communities (253). Community can also be referred to as the ‘soul’, something that stems out of the struggle that creates a sense of solidarity and cohesion among group members (Keil, qtd. in Sonn and Fisher 17). Often shared experiences of despair can intensify connections between people. These settings modify the impact of oppression through people maintaining positive experiences of belonging and develop a positive sense of identity. This has enabled people to hold onto and reconstruct the sociocultural supplies that have come under threat (Sonn and Fisher 17). People are able to feel valued as human beings, form positive attachments, experience community, a sense of belonging, reconstruct group identities and develop skills to cope with the outside world (Sonn and Fisher, 20). Community networks are significant in contributing to personal transformation. Walsh states that “community networks can be essential resources in trauma recovery when their strengths and potential are mobilised” (208). Walsh also points out that the suffering and struggle to recover after a traumatic experience often results in remarkable transformation and positive growth (208). Studies in post-traumatic growth (Calhoun & Tedeschi) have found positive changes such as: the emergence of new opportunities, the formation of deeper relationships and compassion for others, feelings strengthened to meet future life challenges, reordered priorities, fuller appreciation of life and a deepening spirituality (in Walsh 208). As Walsh explains “The effects of trauma depend greatly on whether those wounded can seek comfort, reassurance and safety with others. Strong connections with trust that others will be there for them when needed, counteract feelings of insecurity, hopelessness, and meaninglessness” (208). Wilson (256) developed a new paradigm in shifting the focus from an individualised approach to trauma recovery, to a community-based approach in his research of young Sudanese refugees. Rutter and Walsh, stress that mental health professionals can best foster trauma recovery by shifting from a predominantly individual pathology focus to other treatment approaches, utilising communities as a capacity for healing and resilience (qtd. in Walsh 208). Walsh highlights that “coming to terms with traumatic loss involves making meaning of the trauma experience, putting it in perspective, and weaving the experience of loss and recovery into the fabric of individual and collective identity and life passage” (210). Landau and Saul, have found that community resilience involves building community and enhancing social connectedness by strengthening the system of social support, coalition building and information and resource sharing, collective storytelling, and re-establishing the rhythms and routines of life (qtd. in Walsh 219). Bracken et al. suggest that one of the fundamental principles in recovery over time is intrinsically linked to reconstruction of social networks (15). This is not expecting resolution in some complete ‘once and for all’ getting over it, getting closure of something, or simply recovering and moving on, but tapping into a collective recovery approach, being a gradual process over time. Conclusion A focus on biomedical intervention using a biomedical understanding of distress may be limiting as a helping modality for refugees. Such an approach can undermine peoples’ agency, coping strategies and local cultural understandings of distress. Drawing on sociology and cultural studies, utilising a more emic approach, brings new insights to understanding resilience and how people respond to trauma in unique, unexpected and productive ways for positive personal growth while navigating the experience. This includes considering social settings and person-environment transactions in gaining an understanding of resilience. Although individual traits influence the action of resilience, it can be learned and developed in adverse situations through social interactions. Social networks and capabilities can act as a protection against adversity and trauma, assisting people to turn what would otherwise be negative experiences into productive cultural resources (Wilson 13) for improved life opportunities. The promotion of social competence is viewed as a preventative intervention to promote resilient outcomes, as social skill facilitates social integration (Nettles and Mason 363). As Wilson (258) asserts that resilience is not merely an individual trait or a set of intrinsic behaviours that ‘resilient individuals’ display; it is a complex, socio-cultural phenomenon that is situated in interpersonal relations within a community setting. References Ahmed, Sara, and Anne-Marie Fortier. “Re-Imagining Communities.” International of Cultural Studies 6.3 (2003): 251-59. Bracken, Patrick. J., Joan E. Giller, and Derek Summerfield. Psychological Response to War and Atrocity: The Limitations of Current Concepts. Elsevier Science, 1995. 8 Aug, 2013 ‹http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/documents/Summerfield-PsychologicalResponses.pdf>. Brune, Michael, Christian Haasen, Michael Krausz, Oktay Yagdiran, Enrique Bustos and David Eisenman. “Belief Systems as Coping Factors for Traumatized Refugees: A Pilot Study.” Eur Psychiatry 17 (2002): 451-58. Canavan, John. “Resilience: Cautiously Welcoming a Contested Concept.” Child Care in Practice 14.1 (2008): 1-7. Chung, Juna. Refugee and Immigrant Survivors of Trauma: A Curriculum for Social Workers. Master’s Thesis for California State University. Long Beach, 2010. 1-29. Eastmond, Maria. “Stories of Lived Experience: Narratives in Forced Migration Research.” Journal of Refugee Studies 20.2 (2007): 248-64. Eyber, Carola “Cultural and Anthropological Studies.” In Forced Migration Online, 2002. 8 Aug, 2013. ‹http://www.forcedmigration.org/research-resources/expert-guides/psychosocial- issues/cultural-and-anthropological-studies>. Graybeal, Clay. “Strengths-Based Social Work Assessment: Transforming the Dominant Paradigm.” Families in Society 82.3 (2001): 233-42. Kleinman, Arthur. “Triumph or Pyrrhic Victory? The Inclusion of Culture in DSM-IV.” Harvard Rev Psychiatry 4 (1997): 343-44. Mares, Sarah, and Louise Newman, eds. Acting from the Heart- Australian Advocates for Asylum Seekers Tell Their Stories. Sydney: Finch Publishing, 2007. Mays, Vicki M. “Identity Development of Black Americans: The Role of History and the Importance of Ethnicity.” American Journal of Psychotherapy 40.4 (1986): 582-93. Nettles, Saundra Murray, and Michael J. Mason. “Zones of Narrative Safety: Promoting Psychosocial Resilience in Young People.” The Journal of Primary Prevention 25.3 (2004): 359-73. Orosa, Francisco J.E., Michael Brune, Katrin Julia Fischer-Ortman, and Christian Haasen. “Belief Systems as Coping Factors in Traumatized Refugees: A Prospective Study.” Traumatology 17.1 (2011); 1-7. Peres, Julio F.P., Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Antonia, G. Nasello, and Harold, G. Koenig. “Spirituality and Resilience in Trauma Victims.” J Relig Health (2006): 1-8. Saleebey, Dennis. “The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice: Extensions and Cautions.” Social Work 41.3 (1996): 296-305. Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. “A Talent for Life: Reflections on Human Vulnerability and Resilience.” Ethnos 73.1 (2008): 25-56. Seahorn, Janet, J. and Anthony E. Seahorn. Tears of a Warrior. Ft Collins, USA: Team Pursuits, 2008. Sonn, Christopher, and Adrian Fisher. “Sense of Community: Community Resilient Responses to Oppression and Change.” Unpublished article. Curtin University of Technology & Victoria University of Technology: undated. Summerfield, Derek. “Childhood, War, Refugeedom and ‘Trauma’: Three Core Questions for Medical Health Professionals.” Transcultural Psychiatry 37.3 (2000): 417-433. Tofighian, Omid. “Prolonged Liminality and Comparative Examples of Rioting Down Under”. Fear and Hope: The Art of Asylum Seekers in Australian Detention Centres Literature and Aesthetics (Special Edition) 21 (2011): 97-103. Ungar, Michael. “A Constructionist Discourse on Resilience: Multiple Contexts, Multiple Realities Among at-Risk Children and Youth.” Youth Society 35.3 (2004): 341-365. Ungar, Michael. “A Thicker Description of Resilience.” The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work 3 & 4 (2005): 85-96. Walsh, Froma. “Traumatic Loss and Major Disasters: Strengthening Family and Community Resilience.” Family Process 46.2 (2007): 207-227. Weiss, Daniel. S., Charles R. Marmar, William. E. Schlenger, John. A. Fairbank, Kathleen Jordon, Richard L. Hough, and Richard A. Kulka. “The Prevalence of Lifetime and Partial Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam Theater Veterans.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 5.3 (1992):365-76. Westoby, Peter, and Ann Ingamells. “A Critically Informed Perspective of Working with Resettling Refugee Groups in Australia.” British Journal of Social Work 40 (2010): 1759-76. Wilson, Michael. “Accumulating Resilience: An Investigation of the Migration and Resettlement Experiences of Young Sudanese People in the Western Sydney Area.” PHD Thesis. University of Western Sydney ( 2012): 1-297. Wu, K. M. “Hope and World Survival.” Philosophy Forum 12.1-2 (1972): 131-48.

Individual performance, as one of the productivity components, is determined mainly by appropriate knowledge and skills, high work motivation, and good health status. At the enterprise level, productivity levels depend on many factors, including market forces, company policies, seasons, or societal situations such as the pandemic we are currently facing. Health is only one factor, interacting with other factors and influencing performance and ultimately, productivity. A person in a healthy state who has physical and emotional abilities, accompanied by a desire to work, will show high performance. Individual performance measures are generally based on time measures, namely absenteeism, which is not coming to work due to health problems, and presentism, namely unproductive time at work due to health problems. High worker performance will lead to higher productivity because it can produce better goods and services, more creativity and innovation, high intellectual capacity, and reliable resilience. High productivity can lead to higher profits. Many health conditions and health risks affect the decline in performance. The Healthy Workplace framework showed a high association between health conditions and health risks with absenteeism and presentism.1 Health risks associated with absenteeism include lack of physical activity, high stress, and diabetes. Diabetes is the highest risk factor for absenteeism, which increases the chance of absenteeism by 2.3 times (OR=2.29, 95% CI 1.17, 4.47). Stress most increased presentism odds (OR=2.09; 95% CI 1.65, 2.63), followed by unmet emotional needs (OR=1.93, 95% CI 1.52, 2.44). Other health risks were associated with presentism, including poor nutrition, body mass index and low physical activity.2 Chronic diseases such as hepatic disorders are a risk factor for young mining workers.3 WHO's Global Health Estimates provide the data that seven of the top ten causes of death globally are non-communicable diseases. Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the leading causes of death in high-income and lower-middle-income countries.4 The other study found that smoking, occupational risk, and air pollutants were high rank of COPD risk factors. These diseases generally occur in the working-age group, indicated by the prevalence of smoking, which is 31%, the prevalence of hypertension at the age of >18 years, which is 31.3% in men and 36.9% in women.5 The main nutritional problems in the working-age group based on the Indonesian Basic Health Survey 2018 were obesity (prevalence 21.8% at age >18 years), anemia (48.9% in pregnant women), and chronic energy deficiency (32%). The other health problems in this working age group were mental-emotional disorders (9.8%) with an increase compared to 6% in the Basic Health Survey 2013.5 The prevalence of anemia and chronic energy deficiency is still high in women of childbearing age who are also included in the productive age group.6,7 With a high participation rate of female workers and a high prevalence of chronic energy deficiency and anemia, nutritional problems are immense. In low-income countries, Infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, are also a health problem in the working-age population.4 Tuberculosis has a considerable impact on families. Studies in Indonesia show that although treatment is guaranteed through the National Health Insurance, households affected by TB still face the risk of poverty. Impoverishment occurs due to additional expenses outside of treatment for treatment, including reduced income due to not coming to work.8 The effect of health problem on worker productivity is getting bigger, along with the increasing risk of work accidents. The cost of per work accidents case in Europe is high; highest for The Netherlands (€ 73,410) and the lowest for Poland (€ 37,860). The total costs ranged from 2.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) for Finland to 10.2% for Poland. The cost calculation considered three categories: direct healthcare, indirect productivity, and intangible health-related quality of life costs.9 The most significant work accidents came from the construction and manufacturing sectors (32%), followed by the transportation sector (9%), forestry (4%), and mining (2%). Unfortunately, there is no exact data on the magnitude of occupational diseases. Indirect costs related to lost workdays, costs for absenteeism payments, and worker presentism were considerable. In addition, the burden of personal expenses incurred by workers for transportation costs and other costs to obtain health services decreases productivity. Medical, social and economic consequences of non-communicable diseases, occupational accidents and diseases, and nutritional problems lead to public health problems in the working population. The workplace-based intervention to overcome the workers' health problem by integrating occupational health services is a method of choice.10 Since 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched Workers' Health: A Global Plan of Action. The action plan responds to the importance of workers' health as a prerequisite for productivity and economic development through increasing access to health services for workers and building a healthy workplace.11 Furthermore, WHO introduced the Healthy Workplace Framework as practical guidance. A healthy workplace is a place where workers and managers work together continuously to make improvements to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of workers and workplace sustainability. There are four interrelated factors: a) health and safety in the physical environment, b) health, safety, and wellbeing in the psychosocial environment, including workplace organization and work culture, c) health resources in the workplace; and d) workplace community participation to improve the health of workers, their families, and the surroundings.1 The implementation of the healthy workplace program needs supporting evidence on workplace-based intervention through relevant research. This is what this special issue on Occupational Health of the Acta Medica Philippina is facilitating. Prof. Muchtaruddin Mansyur, MD, PhDDepartment of Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia REFERENCES Burton J. WHO Healthy Workplace Framework and Model: Background and Supporting Literature and Practices. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2010. p. 123. Available from: https://www.who.int/occupational_health/WHO_health_assembly_en_web.pdf Boles M, Pelletier B, Lynch W. The relationship between health risks and work productivity. J Occup Environ Med. [Internet]. [cited 2021 Aug 24]. Available from: doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000131830.45744.97 PMID: 15247814. Mansyur M, Jen Fuk L. Mining workers, administrative task, obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and young workers increased risk liver function elevation among Indonesian male workers April 201875(Suppl 2):A244.2-A244 DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2018-ICOHabstracts.697. BMJ Occup Environ Med [Internet]. [cited 2021 Aug 24]. 2018;75(Suppl 2):224. Available from: https://oem.bmj.com/content/75/Suppl_2/A244.2 World Health Organisation. Top Ten Cause of Death 15 August 2007 [Internet]. [cited 2021 Aug 24], Geneva: World Health Organisation. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kesehatan Kementerian Kesehatan. Hasil Utama Riskesdas 2018 [Internet]. [cited 2021 Aug 24]. Kementerian Kesehatan RI; 2019. 220 p. Available from: https://kesmas.kemkes.go.id/assets/upload/dir_519d41d8cd98f00/files/Hasil-riskesdas-2018_1274.pdf Reskia RN, Hadju V, Indriasari R, Muis M. Anemia, chronic energy deficiency and their relationship in preconception women. Enfermería Clínica. 2020; 30 (Suppl. 6):76-80 Msemo OA, Bygbjerg IC, Møller SL, Nielsen BB, Ødum L, Perslev K, et al. (2018) Prevalence and risk factors of preconception anemia: a community-based cross-sectional study of rural women of reproductive age in Northeastern Tanzania. PLoS ONE 13(12): e0208413. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208413 Fuady A, Houweling TAJ, Mansyur M, Richardus JH. Catastrophic total costs in tuberculosis-affected households and their determinants since Indonesia’s implementation of universal health coverage. Infect Dis Poverty. 2018; 7(1). Tompa E, Mofidi A, van den Heuvel S, van Bree T, Michaelsen F, Jung Y, et al. Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries. BMC Public Health. 2021; 21(49). doi:10.1186/s12889-020-10050-7 Mansyur M, Khoe LC, Karman MM, Ilyas M. Improving workplace-based intervention in Indonesia to prevent and control anemia. J Prim Care Community Heal. 2019; 10. World Health Organization. Workers’ health: global plan of action. In: Sixtieth World Health Assembly Agenda. 23 May 2007 [Internet]. [cited 2021 Aug 24]. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2007. p. Available from: https://www.who.int/occupational_health/WHO_health_assembly_en_web.pdf

Who Are Carers? A carer is any individual who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, mental illness, drug and/or alcohol dependency, chronic condition, terminal illness or who is frail. Carers come from all walks of life, cultural backgrounds and age groups. For many, caring is a 24 hour-a-day job with emotional, physical and financial impacts, with implications for their participation in employment, education and community activities. Carers exist in all communities, including amongst Aboriginal communities, those of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, amongst Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex communities, and throughout metropolitan, regional and rural areas (Carers NSW). These broad characteristics mean that caring occurs across a wide variety of situations and care responsibilities can impact an even wider group of people. The ubiquitous nature of informal care warrants its consideration as a major social issue, as well as the potential impacts that these roles can have on carers in both short and long term contexts. Caring for a loved one is often an unseen component of people’s domestic lives. As will be outlined below, the potentially burdensome nature of care can have negative influences on carers’ wellbeing. As such, factors that can enhance the resilience of carers in the face of such adversity have been widely investigated. This being said, individual differences exist in carers’ responses to their caring responsibilities. The caring experience can therefore be argued to exist on a continuum, from the adversity in relation to stressful challenges through to prosperity in light of their caring responsibilities. By considering the experience of care as existing along this continuum, the place of resilience within people’s domestic spaces can be viewed as a mechanism towards identifying and developing supportive practices. Negative Impacts of Care A significant body of research has identified potential negative impacts of caring. Many of the most commonly cited outcomes relate to negative effects on mental health and/or psychological functioning, including stress, anxiety and depression (e.g. Baker et al.; Barlow, Cullen-Powell and Cheshire; Cheshire, Barlow and Powell; Dunn et al.; Gallagher et al.; Hastings et al.; Lach et al.; Singer; Sörensen et al.; Vitaliano, Zhang and Scanlan; Whittingham et al.; Yamada et al.). These feelings can be exacerbated when caring responsibilities become relentlessly time consuming, as demonstrated by this comment from a carer of a person with dementia: “I can’t get away from it” (O'Dwyer, Moyle and van Wyk 758). Similarly, emotional responses such as sorrow, grief, anger, frustration, and guilt can result from caring for a loved one (Heiman; Whittingham et al.). Negative emotional responses are not necessarily a direct result of caring responsibilities as such, but an understanding of the challenges faced by the person requiring their care. The following quote from the carer of a child with autism exemplifies the experience of sorrow: “It was actually the worst day of our lives, that was the day we came to terms with the fact that we had this problem” (Midence and O’Neill 280). Alongside these psychological and emotional outcomes, physical health may also be negatively impacted due to certain demands of the caring role (Lach et al.; Sörensen et al.; Vitaliano, Zhang and Scanlan). Outcomes such as these are likely to vary across individual caring circumstances, dictated by variables such as the specific tasks required of the carer, and individual personality characteristics of both the carer and the person for whom they care. Nevertheless, an awareness of these potential outcomes is particularly important when considering the place of resilience in the domestic space of individuals caring for a loved one. This conceptualisation of caring as being a burdensome task reflects many publicly held perceptions. If caring is widely viewed as compromising carers’ wellbeing, then there is likely to be an increased likelihood of carers viewing themselves as victims. This is particularly true amongst children and adolescents with caring responsibilities, since young people are most susceptible to having their personal identities shaped by others’ perceptions (Andreouli, Skovdal and Campbell). Resilience in Caring Adversity Despite the widely acknowledged potential for caring to have negative consequences for carers, it must be noted that the occurrence of these outcomes are not inevitable. In fact, much of the research that has identified increased stress amongst carers also finds that the majority cope well with the demands of their role (Barnett et al.). These carers have been considered by many researchers to demonstrate resilience (e.g. Barnett et al.; O'Dwyer, Moyle and van Wyk). The ability to respond positively despite exposure to risk or adversity is a key feature of most definitions of resilience (Luthar, Cicchetti and Becker; Masten and Obradović; Zauszniewski, Bekhet and Suresky). Resilience in this context can thus be defined as a psychological process that facilitates healthy functioning in response to intense life stressors (Johnson et al.). Since caring experiences are likely to continue for an extended period of time, resilience is likely to be necessary on an ongoing basis, rather than in response to a single traumatic event. A resilient carer is therefore one who is able to effectively and adaptively cope with extenuating pressures of caring for a loved one. This involves the presence of personal, social, familial, or institutional protective factors that enable carers to resist stress (Kaplan et al.). For example, support from health professionals, family, or community has been found to effectively support carers in coping with their role (Bekhet, Johnson and Zauszniewski; Gardiner and Iarocci; Heiman; Whittingham et al.). The benefit of support networks in assisting carers to cope in their role is widely reported in the associated research, reinforced by many examples such as the following from a carer of a person with dementia: “It’s a social thing, like, I’ve got friends on there… I find that is my escape” (O'Dwyer, Moyle and van Wyk 758). At an individual level, those who demonstrate resilient in the face of adversity demonstrate optimistic or hopeful outlooks (Ekas, Lickenbrock and Whitman; Lloyd and Hastings; Whittingham et al.), while simultaneously holding realistic expectations of the future (Rasmussen et al.; Wrosch, Miller, et al.; Wrosch, Scheier, et al.). Such attitudes are particularly significant amongst people caring for family members or friends with disabilities or illnesses. The following attitude held by a carer of a child with cerebral palsy exemplifies this optimistic outlook: “I look at the glass half full and say that “well, it’s only his walking, everything else is fine”. “So, get over [it] and deal with it” (Whittingham et al. 1451). Those who cognitively process information, rather than reacting in a highly emotion way have also been found to cope better (Bekhet, Johnson and Zauszniewski; Heiman; Monin et al.; Pennebaker, Mayne and Francis), as have those with a greater sense of self-efficacy or an internal locus of control (Bekhet, Johnson and Zauszniewski; Kuhn and Carter). However effective these coping strategies prove to be, this is unlikely to provide the full picture of caring experiences, or the place of resilience within that space. Associating resilience with adversity presumes a consensus on what constitutes adversity. Taking the typical approach to investigating resilience amongst carers risks making undue assumptions of the nature of individual carers’ experiences – namely, that caring equates to adversity. The following paragraphs will outline how this is not necessarily the case. And furthermore, that the concept of resilience still has a place in considering informal caring, regardless of whether adversity is considered to be present. Benefits of Care While a great deal of evidence suggests that caring for a loved one can be a stressful experience, research has also demonstrated the existence of positive impacts of care. In many instances, carers not only cope, but also thrive in their caring roles (Turnbull et al.). Elements such as positive relationships within caring relationships can both challenge and strengthen individuals – factors that only exist due to the specific nature of the individual caring role (Bayat; Heiman). Such positive elements of the caring experience have been reflected in the literature, illustrated by quotes such as: “In some sense, this makes our family closer” (Bayat 709). Rather than viewing carers from a perspective of victimisation (which is particularly prominent in relation to children and young people with caring responsibilities), recognising the prevalence of positive wellbeing within this population provides a more nuanced understanding of the lived experiences of all carers (Aldridge). Reported benefits of caring tend to revolve around personal relationships, particularly in reference to parents caring for their children with special needs. Reflective of the parental relationship, carers of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses generally report feelings of love, joy, optimism, strength, enjoyment, and satisfaction with their role (Barnett et al.; Heiman). The views of such carers do not reflect an attitude of coping with adversity, but rather a perspective that considers their children to be positive contributors to carers’ quality of life and the wellbeing of the wider family (King et al.). This point of view suggests an additional dimension to resilience; in particular, that resilience in the relative absence of risk factors, can cause carers to flourish within their caring role and relationships. In addition to benefits in relationships, carers may also prosper through their own personal growth and development in the course of their caring (Knight). This includes factors such as the development of life skills, maturity, purpose, social skills, a sense of responsibility, and recognition – particularly amongst young people in caring roles (Earley, Cushway and Cassidy; Early, Cushway and Cassidy; Jurkovic, Thirkield and Morrell; Skovdal and Andreouli; Stein, Rotheram-Borus and Lester; Tompkins). Recognition of the potential personal benefits of caring for a loved one is not intended to suggest that the view of carers coping with adversity is universally applicable. While it is likely that individual caring situations will have an impact on the extent to which a carer faces adversity (e.g. intensity of caring responsibilities, severity of loved one’s impairment, etc.), it is important to recognise the benefits that carers can experience alongside any challenges they may face. Circumstances that appear adversarial may not be thought of as such by those within that context. Defining resilience as an ability to cope with adversity therefore will not apply to such contexts. Rather, the concept of resilience needs to incorporate those who not only cope, but also prosper. Carers who do not perceive their role as burdensome, but identify positive outcomes, can therefore be said to demonstrate resilience though contextually different from those coping with adversity. This is not to suggest that resilience is the sole contributing factor in terms of prospering in the caring role. We must also consider individual circumstances and nuances differ between carers, those they care for, interpersonal relationships, and wider caring situations. Continuum of Care Awareness of the range of impacts that caring can have on carers leads to a recognition of the broad spectrum of experience that this role entails. Not only do caring experiences exhibit large variations in terms of practical issues (such as functional capacities, or type and severity of illness, disability, or condition), they include carers’ diverse personal responses to caring responsibilities. These responses can reflect either positive or negative dimensions, or a combination of both (Faso, Neal-Beevers and Carlson). In this way, caring experiences can be conceptualised as existing along a continuum. At one end of the spectrum, experiences align with the traditional view of caring as a struggle with and over adversity. More specifically, carers experience burdens as a result of their additional caring responsibilities, with negative outcomes likely to occur. At the other end of the spectrum, however, carers prosper in the role, experiencing significant personal benefits that would not have been possible without the caring role. This continuum makes a case for an expanded approach to stress and coping models of resilience to include positive concepts and a benefit-orientated perspective (Cassidy and Giles). In contrast to research that has argued for a progression from stress and coping models to strengths-based approaches (e.g. Glidden, Billings and Jobe; Knight), the continuum of care acknowledges the benefits of each of these theoretical positions, and thus may prove more comprehensive in attempting to understand the everyday lived experiences of carers. The framework provided by a representation of a continuum allows for the individual differences in caring situations and carers’ personal responses to be acknowledged, as well as accounting for any changes in these circumstances. Further, the experience and benefits of resilience in different contextual spheres can be identified. The flexibility afforded by such an approach is particularly important in light of individual differences in the ways carers respond to their situations, their changing caring contexts, and their subsequent individual needs (Monin et al.; Walsh; Whittingham et al.). As the caring experience can be dynamic and fluctuate in both directions along the continuum, resilience may be seen as the mechanism by which such movement occurs. In line with stress and coping models, resilience can assist carers to cope with adversarial circumstances at that end of the continuum. Similarly, it may be argued that those who prosper in their caring role exhibit characteristics of resilience. In other words, it is resilience that enables carers to cope with adversity at one end of the continuum and also to prosper at the other. Furthermore, by supporting the development of resilient characteristics, carers may be assisted in shifting their experiences along the continuum, from adversity to prosperity. This view extends upon traditional approaches reported in the stress and coping literature by contending that caring experiences may progress beyond positions of coping with adversity, to a position where caring is not understood in terms of adversity at all, but rather in terms of benefits. The individual circumstances of any carer must be taken into consideration with this framework of resilience and the continuum of care. It is unrealistic to assume that all caring situations will allow for the possibility of reaching the end point of this continuum. Carers with particularly high demands in terms of time, resources, effort, or energy may not reach a stage where they no longer consider their caring role to involve any personal burden. However, the combination of a coping and strengths-based approach suggests that there is always the possibility of moving away from perceptions of adversity and further towards an attitude of prosperity. Implications for Supportive Practice From the perspective of this continuum of care, the protective factors and coping strategies identified in previous literature provide a valuable starting point for the facilitation of resilience amongst carers. Enhancing factors such as these can assist carers to move from situations of adversity towards experiences of prosperity (Benzies and Mychasiuk). Research has suggested that carers who are less analytical in their thinking and less optimistic about their personal situations may find particular benefit from support systems that assist them in redirecting their attention towards positive aspects of their daily lives, such as the benefits of caring outlined earlier (Monin et al.). The principle of focusing on positive experiences and reframing negative thoughts is thought to benefit carers across all levels of functioning and adaptive experience (Monin et al.). While those entrenched in more burdensome mindsets are likely to experience the greatest benefit from supportive interventions, there is still merit in providing similar supports to carers who do not appear to experience the similar experiences of burden, or demonstrate greater resilience or adaptation to their situation. The dynamic view of caring situations and resilience suggested by a continuum of care incorporates benefits of stress and coping models as well as strengths-based approaches. This has implications for supportive practice in that the focus is not on determining whether or not a carer is resilient, but identifying the ways in which they already are resilient (Simon, Murphy and Smith). For carers who experience their role through a lens of adversity, resilience may need to be purposefully fostered in order to better enable them to cope and develop through the ongoing stresses of their role. For carers at the other end of the spectrum, resilience is likely to take on a substantially different meaning. Under these circumstances, caring for a loved one is not considered a burdensome task; rather, the positive impact of the role is pre-eminent. This point of view suggests that carers are resilient, not only in terms of an ability to thrive despite adversity, but in prospering to the extent that adversity is not considered to exist. The attitudes and approaches of services, support networks, and governments towards carers should remain flexible enough to acknowledge the wide variety of caring circumstances that exist. The continuum of care provides a framework through which certain aspects of caring and variations in resilience can be interpreted, as well as the type of support required by individual carers. Furthermore, it must be noted that caring circumstances can change – either gradually or suddenly – with the extent to which carers experience adversity, coping or prosperity also changing. Any attempts to provide support to carers or acknowledge their resilience should demonstrate an awareness of the potential for such fluctuation. The fundamental view that carers always have the potential to move towards more positive outcomes has the potential to reframe perceptions of carers as victims, or as simply coping, to one that embraces the personal strengths and resilience of the individual. As such, carers can be supported when faced with adversity, and to flourish beyond that position. This in turn has the potential to safeguard against any detrimental effects of adversity that may arise in the future. References Aldridge, Jo. "All Work and No Play? Understanding the Needs of Children with Caring Responsibilities." Children & Society 22.4 (2008): 253-264. Andreouli, Eleni, Morten Skovdal, and Catherine Campbell. "‘It Made Me Realise That I Am Lucky for What I Got’: British Young Carers Encountering the Realities of Their African Peers." Journal of Youth Studies (2013): 1-16. Baker, Bruce L., et al. "Behavior Problems and Parenting Stress in Families of Three-Year-Old Children with and without Developmental Delays." 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Introduction The term ‘resilience’ is on everyone’s lips - from politicians to community service providers to the seemingly endless supply of self-help gurus. The concept is undergoing a renaissance of sorts in contemporary Western society; but why resilience now? One possible explanation is that individuals and their communities are experiencing increased and intensified levels of adversity and hardship, necessitating the accumulation and deployment of ‘more resilience’. Whilst a strong argument could made that this is in fact the case, it would seem that the capacity to survive and thrive has been a feature of human survival and growth long before we had a name for it. Rather than an inherent characteristic, trait or set of behaviours of particularly ‘resilient’ individuals or groups, resilience has come to be viewed more as a common and everyday capacity, expressed and expressible by all people. Having researched the concept for some time now, we believe that we are only marginally closer to understanding this captivating but ultimately elusive concept. What we are fairly certain of is that resilience is more than basic survival but less than an invulnerability to adversity, resting somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Given the increasing prevalence of populations affected by war and other disasters, we are certain however that efforts to better understand the accumulative dynamics of resilience, are now, more than ever, a vital area of public and academic concern. In our contemporary world, the concept of resilience is coming to represent a vital conceptual tool for responding to the complex challenges emerging from broad scale movements in climate change, rural and urban migration patterns, pollution, economic integration and other consequences of globalisation. In this article, the phenomenon of human resilience is defined as the cumulative build-up of both particular kinds of knowledge, skills and capabilities as well as positive affects such as hope, which sediment over time as transpersonal capacities for self-preservation and ongoing growth (Wilson). Although the accumulation of positive affect is crucial to the formation of resilience, the ability to re-imagine and utilise negative affects, events and environmental limitations, as productive cultural resources, is a reciprocal and under-researched aspect of the phenomenon. In short, we argue that resilience is the protective shield, which capacitates individuals and communities to at least deal with, and at best, overcome potential challenges, while also facilitating the realisation of hoped-for objects and outcomes. Closely tied to the formation of resilience is the lived experience of hope and hoping practices, with an important feature of resilience related to the future-oriented dimensions of hope (Parse). Yet it is important to note that the accumulation of hope, as with resilience, is not headed towards some state of invulnerability to adversity; as presumed to exist in the foundational period of psychological research on the construct (Garmezy; Werner and Smith; Werner). In contrast, we argue that the positive affective experience of hopefulness provides individuals and communities with a means of enduring the present, while the future-oriented dimensions of hope offer them an instrument for imagining a better future to come (Wilson). Given the complex, elusive and non-uniform nature of resilience, it is important to consider the continued relevance of the resilience concept. For example, is resilience too narrow a term to describe and explain the multiple capacities, strategies and resources required to survive and thrive in today’s world? Furthermore, why do some individuals and communities mobilise and respond to a crisis; and why do some collapse? In a related discussion, Ungar (Constructionist) posed the question, “Why keep the term resilience?” Terms like resilience, even strengths, empowerment and health, are a counterpoint to notions of disease and disorder that have made us look at people as glasses half empty rather than half full. Resilience reminds us that children survive and thrive in a myriad of ways, and that understanding the etiology of health is as, or more, important than studying the etiology of disease. (Ungar, Constructionist 91) This productive orientation towards health, creativity and meaning-making demonstrates the continued conceptual and existential relevance of resilience, and why it will remain a critical subject of inquiry now and into the future. Early Psychological Studies of Resilience Definitions of resilience vary considerably across disciplines and time, and according to the theoretical context or group under investigation (Harvey and Delfabro). During the 1970s and early 1980s, the developmental literature on resilience focused primarily on the “personal qualities” of “resilient children” exposed to adverse life circumstances (Garmezy Vulnerability; Masten; Rutter; Werner). From this narrow and largely individualistic viewpoint, resilience was defined as an innate “self-righting mechanism” (Werner and Smith 202). Writing from within the psychological tradition, Masten argued that the early research on resilience (Garmezy Vulnerability; Werner and Smith) regularly implied that resilient children were special or remarkable by virtue of their invulnerability to adversity. As research into resilience progressed, researchers began to acknowledge the ordinariness or everydayness of resilience-related phenomena. Furthermore, that “resilience may often derive from factors external to the child” (Luthar; Cicchetti and Becker 544). Besides the personal attributes of children, researchers within the psychological sciences also began to explore the effects of family dynamics and impacts of the broader social environment in the development of resilience. Rather than identifying which child, family or environmental factors were resilient or resilience producing, they turned their attention to how these underlying protective mechanisms facilitated positive resilience outcomes. As research evolved, resilience as an absolute or unchanging attribute made way for more relational and dynamic conceptualisations. As Luthar et al noted, “it became clear that positive adaptation despite exposure to adversity involves a developmental progression, such that new vulnerabilities and/or strengths often emerge with changing life circumstances” (543-44). Accordingly, resilience came to be viewed as a dynamic process, involving positive adaptations within contexts of adversity (Luthar et al. 543). Although closer to the operational definition of resilience argued for here, there remain a number of definitional concerns and theoretical limitations of the psychological approach; in particular, the limitation of positive adaptation to the context of significant adversity. In doing so, this definition fails to account for the subjective experience and culturally located understandings of ‘health’, ‘adversity’ and ‘adaptation’ so crucial to the formation of resilience. Our major criticism of the psychodynamic approach to resilience relates to the construction of a false dichotomy between “resilient” and “non-resilient” individuals. This dichotomy is perpetuated by psychological approaches that view resilience as a distinct construct, specific to “resilient” individuals. In combating this assumption, Ungar maintained that this bifurcation could be replaced by an understanding of mental health “as residing in all individuals even when significant impairment is present” (Thicker 352). We tend to agree. In terms of economic resilience, we must also be alert to similar false binaries that place the first and low-income world into simple, apposite positions of coping or not-coping, ‘having’ or ‘not-having’ resilience. There is evidence to indicate, for example, that emerging economies fared somewhat better than high-income nations during the global financial crisis (GFC). According to Frankel and Saravelos, several low-income nations attained better rates of gross domestic product GDP, though the impacts on the respective populations were found to be equally hard (Lane and Milesi-Ferretti). While the reasons for this are broad and complex, a study by Kose and Prasad found that a broad set of policy tools had been developed that allowed for greater flexibility in responding to the crisis. Positive Affect Despite Adversity An emphasis on deficit, suffering and pathology among marginalised populations such as refugees and young people has detracted from culturally located strengths. As Te Riele explained, marginalised young people residing in conditions of adversity are often identified within “at-risk” discourses. These social support frameworks have tended to highlight pathologies and antisocial behaviours rather than cultural competencies. This attitude towards marginalised “at risk” young people has been perpetuated by psychotherapeutic discourse that has tended to focus on the relief of suffering and treatment of individual pathologies (Davidson and Shahar). By focusing on pain avoidance and temporary relief, we may be missing opportunities to better understand the productive role of ‘negative’ affects and bodily sensations in alerting us to underlying conditions, in need of attention or change. A similar deficit approach is undertaken through education – particularly civics – where young people are treated as ‘citizens in waiting’ (Collin). From this perspective, citizenship is something that young people are expected to ‘grow into’, and until that point, are seen as lacking any political agency or ability to respond to adversity (Holdsworth). Although a certain amount of internal discomfort is required to promote change, Davidson and Shahar noted that clinical psychotherapists still “for the most part, envision an eventual state of happiness – both for our patients and for ourselves, described as free of tension, pain, disease, and suffering” (229). In challenging this assumption, they asked, But if desiring-production is essential to what makes us human, would we not expect happiness or health to involve the active, creative process of producing? How can one produce anything while sitting, standing, or lying still? (229) A number of studies exploring the affective experiences of migrants have contested the embedded psychological assumption that happiness or well-being “stands apart” from experiences of suffering (Crocker and Major; Fozdar and Torezani; Ruggireo and Taylor; Tsenkova, Love, Singer and Ryff). A concern for Ahmed is how much the turn to happiness or happiness turn “depends on the very distinction between good and bad feelings that presume bad feelings are backward and conservative and good feelings are forward and progressive” (Happiness 135). Highlighting the productive potential of unhappy affects, Ahmed suggested that the airing of unhappy affects in their various forms provides people with “an alternative set of imaginings of what might count as a good or at least better life” (Happiness 135). An interesting feature of refugee narratives is the paradoxical relationship between negative migration experiences and the reporting of a positive life outlook. In a study involving former Yugoslavian, Middle Eastern and African refugees, Fozdar and Torezani investigated the “apparent paradox between high-levels of discrimination experienced by humanitarian migrants to Australia in the labour market and everyday life” (30), and the reporting of positive wellbeing. The interaction between negative experiences of discrimination and reports of wellbeing suggested a counter-intuitive propensity among refugees to adapt to and make sense of their migration experiences in unique, resourceful and life-affirming ways. In a study of unaccompanied Sudanese youth living in the United States, Goodman reported that, “none of the participants displayed a sense of victimhood at the time of the interviews” (1182). Although individual narratives did reflect a sense of victimisation and helplessness relating to the enormity of past trauma, the young participants viewed themselves primarily as survivors and agents of their own future. Goodman further stated that the tone of the refugee testimonials was not bitter: “Instead, feelings of brotherliness, kindness, and hope prevailed” (1183). Such response patterns among refugees and trauma survivors indicate a similar resilience-related capacity to positively interpret and derive meaning from negative migration experiences and associated emotions. It is important to point out that demonstrations of resilience appear loosely proportional to the amount or intensity of adverse life events experienced. However, resilience is not expressed or employed uniformly among individuals or communities. Some respond in a resilient manner, while others collapse. On this point, an argument could be made that collapse and breakdown is a built-in aspect of resilience, and necessary for renewal and ongoing growth. Cultures of Resilience In a cross continental study of communities living and relying on waterways for their daily subsistence, Arvanitakis is involved in a broader research project aiming to understand why some cultures collapse and why others survive in the face of adversity. The research aims to look beyond systems of resilience, and proposes the term ‘cultures of resilience’ to describe the situated strategies of these communities for coping with a variety of human-induced environmental challenges. More specifically, the concept of ‘cultures of resilience’ assists in explaining the specific ways individuals and communities are responding to the many stresses and struggles associated with living on the ‘front-line’ of major waterways that are being impacted by large-scale, human-environment development and disasters. Among these diverse locations are Botany Bay (Australia), Sankhla Lake (Thailand), rural Bangladesh, the Ganges (India), and Chesapeake Bay (USA). These communities face very different challenges in a range of distinctive contexts. Within these settings, we have identified communities that are prospering despite the emerging challenges while others are in the midst of collapse and dispersion. In recognising the specific contexts of each of these communities, the researchers are working to uncover a common set of narratives of resilience and hope. We are not looking for the ’magic ingredient’ of resilience, but what kinds of strategies these communities have employed and what can they learn from each other. One example that is being pursued is a community of Thai rice farmers who have reinstated ceremonies to celebrate successful harvests by sharing in an indigenous rice species in the hope of promoting a shared sense of community. These were communities on the cusp of collapse brought on by changing economic and environmental climates, but who have reversed this trend by employing a series of culturally located practices. The vulnerability of these communities can be traced back to the 1960s ‘green revolution’ when they where encouraged by local government authorities to move to ‘white rice’ species to meet export markets. In the process they were forced to abandoned their indigenous rice varieties and abandon traditional seed saving practices (Shiva, Sengupta). Since then, the rice monocultures have been found to be vulnerable to the changing climate as well as other environmental influences. The above ceremonies allowed the farmers to re-discover the indigenous rice species and plant them alongside the ‘white rice’ for export creating a more robust harvest. The indigenous species are kept for local consumption and trade, while the ‘white rice’ is exported, giving the farmers access to both the international markets and income and the local informal economies. In addition, the indigenous rice acts as a form of ‘insurance’ against the vagaries of international trade (Shiva). Informants stated that the authorities that once encouraged them to abandon indigenous rice species and practices are now working with the communities to re-instigate these. This has created a partnership between the local government-funded research centres, government institutions and the farmers. A third element that the informants discussed was the everyday practices that prepare a community to face these challenges and allow it recover in partnership with government, including formal and informal communication channels. These everyday practices create a culture of reciprocity where the challenges of the community are seen to be those of the individual. This is not meant to romanticise these communities. In close proximity, there are also communities engulfed in despair. Such communities are overwhelmed with the various challenges described above of changing rural/urban settlement patterns, pollution and climate change, and seem to have lacked the cultural and social capital to respond. By contrasting the communities that have demonstrated resilience and those that have not been overwhelmed, it is becoming increasingly obvious that there is no single 'magic' ingredient of resilience. What exist are various constituted factors that involve a combination of community agency, social capital, government assistance and structures of governance. The example of the rice farmers highlights three of these established practices: working across formal and informal economies; crossing localised and expert knowledge as well as the emergence of everyday practices that promote social capital. As such, while financial transactions occur that link even the smallest of communities to the global economy, there is also the everyday exchange of cultural practices, which is described elsewhere by Arvanitakis as 'the cultural commons': visions of hope, trust, shared intellect, and a sense of safety. Reflecting the refugee narratives citied above, these communities also report a positive life outlook, refusing to see themselves as victims. There is a propensity among members of these communities to adapt an outlook of hope and survival. Like the response patterns among refugees and trauma survivors, initial research is confirming a resilience-related capacity to interpret the various challenges that have been confronted, and see their survival as reason to hope. Future Visions, Hopeful Visions Hope is a crucial aspect of resilience, as it represents a present- and future-oriented mode of situated defence against adversity. The capacity to hope can increase one’s powers of action despite a complex range of adversities experienced in everyday life and during particularly difficult times. The term “hope” is commonly employed in a tokenistic way, as a “nice” rhetorical device in the mind-body-spirit or self-help literature or as a strategic instrument in increasingly empty domestic and international political vocabularies. With a few notable exceptions (Anderson; Bloch; Godfrey; Hage; Marcel; Parse; Zournazi), the concept of hope has received only modest attention from within sociology and cultural studies. Significant increases in the prevalence of war and disaster-affected populations makes qualitative research into the lived experience of hope a vital subject of academic interest. Parse observed among health care professionals a growing attention to “the lived experience of hope”, a phenomenon which has significant consequences for health and the quality of one’s life (vvi). Hope is an integral aspect of resilience as it can act as a mechanism for coping and defense in relation to adversity. Interestingly, it is during times of hardship and adversity that the phenomenological experience of hope seems to “kick in” or “switch on”. With similarities to the “taken-for-grantedness” of resilience in everyday life, Anderson observed that hope and hoping are taken-for-granted aspects of the affective fabric of everyday life in contemporary Western culture. Although the lived experience of hope, namely, hopefulness, is commonly conceptualised as a “future-oriented” state of mind, the affectivity of hope, in the present moment of hoping, has important implications in terms of resilience formation. The phrase, the “lived deferral of hope” is an idea that Wilson has developed elsewhere which hopefully brings together and holds in creative tension the two dominant perspectives on hope as a lived experience in the present and a deferred, future-oriented practice of hoping and hopefulness. Zournazi defined hope as a “basic human condition that involves belief and trust in the world” (12). She argued that the meaning of hope is “located in the act of living, the ordinary elements of everyday life” and not in “some future or ideal sense” (18). Furthermore, she proposed a more “everyday” hope which “is not based on threat or deferral of gratification”, but is related to joy “as another kind of contentment – the affirmation of life as it emerges and in the transitions and movements of our everyday lives and relationships” (150). While qualitative studies focusing on the everyday experience of hope have reinvigorated academic research on the concept of hope, our concept of “the lived deferral of hope” brings together Zournazi’s “everyday hope” and the future-oriented dimensions of hope and hoping practices, so important to the formation of resilience. Along similar lines to Ahmed’s (Happy Objects) suggestion that happiness “involves a specific kind of intentionality” that is “end-orientated”, practices of hope are also intentional and “end-orientated” (33). If objects of hope are a means to happiness, as Ahmed wrote, “in directing ourselves towards this or that [hope] object we are aiming somewhere else: toward a happiness that is presumed to follow” (Happy Objects 34), in other words, to a hope that is “not yet present”. It is the capacity to imagine alternative possibilities in the future that can help individuals and communities endure adverse experiences in the present and inspire confidence in the ongoingness of their existence. Although well-intentioned, Zournazi’s concept of an “everyday hope” seemingly ignores the fact that in contexts of daily threat, loss and death there is often a distinct lack of affirmative or affirmable things. In these contexts, the deferral of joy and gratification, located in the future acquisition of objects, outcomes or ideals, can be the only means of getting through particularly difficult events or circumstances. One might argue that hope in hopeless situations can be disabling; however, we contend that hope is always enabling to some degree, as it can facilitate alternative imaginings and temporary affective relief in even in the most hopeless situations. Hope bears similarity to resilience in terms of its facilities for coping and endurance. Likewise the formation and maintenance of hope can help individuals and communities endure and cope with adverse events or circumstances. The symbolic dimension of hope capacitates individuals and communities to endure the present without the hoped-for outcomes and to live with the uncertainty of their attainment. In the lives of refugees, for example, the imaginative dimension of hope is directly related to resilience in that it provides them with the ability to respond to adversity in productive and life-affirming ways. For Oliver, hope “provides continuity between the past and the present…giving power to find meaning in the worst adversity” (in Parse 16). In terms of making sense of the migration and resettlement experiences of refugees and other migrants, Lynch proposed a useful definition of hope as “the fundamental knowledge and feeling that there is a way out of difficulty, that things can work out” (32). As it pertains to everyday mobility and life routes, Parse considered hope to be “essential to one’s becoming” (32). She maintained that hope is a lived experience and “a way of propelling self toward envisioned possibilities in everyday encounters with the world” (p. 12). Expanding on her definition of the lived experience of hope, Parse stated, “Hope is anticipating possibilities through envisioning the not-yet in harmoniously living the comfort-discomfort of everydayness while unfolding a different perspective of an expanding view” (15). From Nietzsche’s “classically dark version of hope” (in Hage 11), Parse’s “positive” definition of hope as a propulsion to envisaged possibilities would in all likelihood be defined as “the worst of all evils, for it protracts the torment of man”. Hage correctly pointed out that both the positive and negative perspectives perceive hope “as a force that keeps us going in life” (11). Parse’s more optimistic vision of hope as propulsion to envisaged possibilities links nicely to what Arvanitakis described as an ‘active hope’. According to him, the idea of ‘active hope’ is not only a vision that a better world is possible, but also a sense of agency that our actions can make this happen. Conclusion As we move further into the 21st century, humankind will be faced with a series of traumas, many of which are as yet unimagined. To meet these challenges, we, as a global collective, will need to develop specific capacities and resources for coping, endurance, innovation, and hope, all of which are involved the formation of resilience (Wilson 269). Although the accumulation of resilience at an individual level is important, our continued existence, survival, and prosperity lie in the strength and collective will of many. As Wittgenstein wrote, the strength of a thread “resides not in the fact that some one fibre runs through its whole length, but in the overlapping of many fibres” (xcv). If resilience can be accumulated at the level of the individual, it follows that it can be accumulated as a form of capital at the local, national, and international levels in very real and meaningful ways. 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Lane, Philip., and Gian M. Milesi-Ferretti. “The Cross-Country Incidence of the Global Crisis.” IMF Working Paper 10.171 (2010). Luthar, Suniya S., Dante Cicchetti, and Bronwyn Becker. “The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work.” Child Development 71.3 (2000): 543—62. Lynch, William F. Images of Hope: Imagination as Healer of the Hopeless. Baltimore: Helicon Press, 1995. Marcel, Gabriel. Homo Viator. Trans E. Craufurd. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery, 1951. Masten, Ann S. “Ordinary Magic: Resilience Processes in Development.” American Psychologist 56.3 (2001): 227-309. Parse, Rosemarie R., ed. An International Human Becoming Perspective. London, UK: Jones & Bartlett, 1999. Ruggireo, Karen M., and Donald M. Taylor. “Why Minority Group Members Perceive or Do Not Perceive the Discrimination That Confronts Them: The Role of Self-Esteem and Perceived Control.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73 (1997): 373-389. Rutter, Michael. “Psychosocial Resilience and Protective Mechanisms.” Risk and Protective Factors in the Development of Psychopathology. Eds J. Rolf, A. Masten, D. Cicchetti, K. Neuchterlein and S. Weintraub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1990. Sengupta, Somini. Thirsty Giants: India Digs Deeper, But Wells Are Drying Up. The New York Times, 2006. Shiva, Vandana. The Violence of the Green Revolution. New York: Zed Books, 1991. ———. “Apples and Oranges.” The Asian Age 17 Aug. 2013. 17 Aug. 2013 ‹http://www.asianage.com/columnists/apples-and-oranges-744>. Te Riele, Kitty. “Youth 'at Risk': Further Marginalising the Marginalised?” Journal of Education Policy 21.2 (2006): 129-145. Tsenkova, Vera K., Gayle D. Love, Burton H. Singer, and Carol D Ryff. “Coping and Positive Affect Predict Longitudinal Change in Glycosylated Hemoglobin.” Health Psychology 27.2 (2008): 163-171. 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IntroductionIn July 1997, the Mackay campus of Central Queensland University hosted a conference with the theme Regional Australia: Visions of Mackay. It was the first academic conference to be held at the young campus, and its aim was to provide an opportunity for academics, business people, government officials, and other interested parties to discuss their visions for the development of Mackay, a regional community of 75,000 people situated on the Central Queensland coast (Danaher). I delivered a presentation at that conference and authored a chapter in the book that emerged from its proceedings. The chapter entitled “Mackay Online” explored the potential impact that the Internet could have on the Mackay region, particularly in the areas of regional business, education, health, and entertainment (Pace). Two decades later, how does the reality compare with that vision?Broadband BluesAt the time of the Visions of Mackay conference, public commercial use of the Internet was in its infancy. Many Internet services and technologies that users take for granted today were uncommon or non-existent then. Examples include online video, video-conferencing, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), blogs, social media, peer-to-peer file sharing, payment gateways, content management systems, wireless data communications, smartphones, mobile applications, and tablet computers. In 1997, most users connected to the Internet using slow dial-up modems with speeds ranging from 28.8 Kbps to 33.6 Kbps. 56 Kbps modems had just become available. Lamenting these slow data transmission speeds, I looked forward to a time when widespread availability of high-bandwidth networks would allow the Internet’s services to “expand to include electronic commerce, home entertainment and desktop video-conferencing” (Pace 103). Although that future eventually arrived, I incorrectly anticipated how it would arrive.In 1997, Optus and Telstra were engaged in the rollout of hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) networks in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane for the Optus Vision and Foxtel pay TV services (Meredith). These HFC networks had a large amount of unused bandwidth, which both Telstra and Optus planned to use to provide broadband Internet services. Telstra's Big Pond Cable broadband service was already available to approximately one million households in Sydney and Melbourne (Taylor), and Optus was considering extending its cable network into regional Australia through partnerships with smaller regional telecommunications companies (Lewis). These promising developments seemed to point the way forward to a future high-bandwidth network, but that was not the case. A short time after the Visions of Mackay conference, Telstra and Optus ceased the rollout of their HFC networks in response to the invention of Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), a technology that increases the bandwidth of copper wire and enables Internet connections of up to 6 Mbps over the existing phone network. ADSL was significantly faster than a dial-up service, it was broadly available to homes and businesses across the country, and it did not require enormous investment in infrastructure. However, ADSL could not offer speeds anywhere near the 27 Mbps of the HFC networks. When it came to broadband provision, Australia seemed destined to continue playing catch-up with the rest of the world. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in 2009 Australia ranked 18th in the world for broadband penetration, with 24.1 percent of Australians having a fixed-line broadband subscription. Statistics like these eventually prompted the federal government to commit to the deployment of a National Broadband Network (NBN). In 2009, the Kevin Rudd Government announced that the NBN would combine fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), fixed wireless, and satellite technologies to deliver Internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps to 90 percent of Australian homes, schools, and workplaces (Rudd).The rollout of the NBN in Mackay commenced in 2013 and continued, suburb by suburb, until its completion in 2017 (Frost, “Mackay”; Garvey). The rollout was anything but smooth. After a change of government in 2013, the NBN was redesigned to reduce costs. A mixed copper/optical technology known as fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) replaced FTTP as the preferred approach for providing most NBN connections. The resulting connection speeds were significantly slower than the 100 Mbps that was originally proposed. Many Mackay premises could only achieve a maximum speed of 40 Mbps, which led to some overcharging by Internet service providers, and subsequent compensation for failing to deliver services they had promised (“Optus”). Some Mackay residents even complained that their new NBN connections were slower than their former ADSL connections. NBN Co representatives claimed that the problems were due to “service providers not buying enough space in the network to provide the service they had promised to customers” (“Telcos”). Unsurprisingly, the number of complaints about the NBN that were lodged with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman skyrocketed during the last six months of 2017. Queensland complaints increased by approximately 40 percent when compared with the same period during the previous year (“Qld”).Despite the challenges presented by infrastructure limitations, the rollout of the NBN was a boost for the Mackay region. For some rural residents, it meant having reliable Internet access for the first time. Frost, for example, reports on the experiences of a Mackay couple who could not get an ADSL service at their rural home because it was too far away from the nearest telephone exchange. Unreliable 3G mobile broadband was the only option for operating their air-conditioning business. All of that changed with the arrival of the NBN. “It’s so fast we can run a number of things at the same time”, the couple reported (“NBN”).Networking the NationOne factor that contributed to the uptake of Internet services in the Mackay region after the Visions of Mackay conference was the Australian Government’s Networking the Nation (NTN) program. When the national telecommunications carrier Telstra was partially privatised in 1997, and further sold in 1999, proceeds from the sale were used to fund an ambitious communications infrastructure program named Networking the Nation (Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts). The program funded projects that improved the availability, accessibility, affordability, and use of communications facilities and services throughout regional Australia. Eligibility for funding was limited to not-for-profit organisations, including local councils, regional development organisations, community groups, local government associations, and state and territory governments.In 1998, the Mackay region received $930,000 in Networking the Nation funding for Mackay Regionlink, a project that aimed to provide equitable community access to online services, skills development for local residents, an affordable online presence for local business and community organisations, and increased external awareness of the Mackay region (Jewell et al.). One element of the project was a training program that provided basic Internet skills to 2,168 people across the region over a period of two years. A second element of the project involved the establishment of 20 public Internet access centres in locations throughout the region, such as libraries, community centres, and tourist information centres. The centres provided free Internet access to users and encouraged local participation and skill development. More than 9,200 users were recorded in these centres during the first year of the project, and the facilities remained active until 2006. A third element of the project was a regional web portal that provided a free easily-updated online presence for community organisations. The project aimed to have every business and community group in the Mackay region represented on the website, with hosting fees for the business web pages funding its ongoing operation and development. More than 6,000 organisations were listed on the site, and the project remained financially viable until 2005.The availability, affordability and use of communications facilities and services in Mackay increased significantly during the period of the Regionlink project. Changes in technology, services, markets, competition, and many other factors contributed to this increase, so it is difficult to ascertain the extent to which Mackay Regionlink fostered those outcomes. However, the large number of people who participated in the Regionlink training program and made use of the public Internet access centres, suggests that the project had a positive influence on digital literacy in the Mackay region.The Impact on BusinessThe Internet has transformed regional business for both consumers and business owners alike since the Visions of Mackay conference. When Mackay residents made a purchase in 1997, their choice of suppliers was limited to a few local businesses. Today they can shop online in a global market. Security concerns were initially a major obstacle to the growth of electronic commerce. Consumers were slow to adopt the Internet as a place for doing business, fearing that their credit card details would be vulnerable to hackers once they were placed online. After observing the efforts that finance and software companies were making to eliminate those obstacles, I anticipated that it would only be a matter of time before online transactions became commonplace:Consumers seeking a particular product will be able to quickly find the names of suitable suppliers around the world, compare their prices, and place an order with the one that can deliver the product at the cheapest price. (Pace 106)This expectation was soon fulfilled by the arrival of online payment systems such as PayPal in 1998, and online shopping services such as eBay in 1997. eBay is a global online auction and shopping website where individuals and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. The eBay service is free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged modest fees when they make a sale. It exemplifies the notion of “friction-free capitalism” articulated by Gates (157).In 1997, regional Australian business owners were largely sceptical about the potential benefits the Internet could bring to their businesses. Only 11 percent of Australian businesses had some form of web presence, and less than 35 percent of those early adopters felt that their website was significant to their business (Department of Industry, Science and Tourism). Anticipating the significant opportunities that the Internet offered Mackay businesses to compete in new markets, I recommended that they work “towards the goal of providing products and services that meet the needs of international consumers as well as local ones” (107). In the two decades that have passed since that time, many Mackay businesses have been doing just that. One prime example is Big on Shoes (bigonshoes.com.au), a retailer of ladies’ shoes from sizes five to fifteen (Plane). Big on Shoes has physical shopfronts in Mackay and Moranbah, an online store that has been operating since 2009, and more than 12,000 followers on Facebook. This speciality store caters for women who have traditionally been unable to find shoes in their size. As the store’s customer base has grown within Australia and internationally, an unexpected transgender market has also emerged. In 2018 Big on Shoes was one of 30 regional businesses featured in the first Facebook and Instagram Annual Gift Guide, and it continues to build on its strengths (Cureton).The Impact on HealthThe growth of the Internet has improved the availability of specialist health services for people in the Mackay region. Traditionally, access to surgical services in Mackay has been much more limited than in metropolitan areas because of the shortage of specialists willing to practise in regional areas (Green). In 2003, a senior informant from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons bluntly described the Central Queensland region from Mackay to Gladstone as “a black hole in terms of surgery” (Birrell et al. 15). In 1997 I anticipated that, although the Internet would never completely replace a visit to a local doctor or hospital, it would provide tools that improve the availability of specialist medical services for people living in regional areas. Using these tools, doctors would be able to “analyse medical images captured from patients living in remote locations” and “diagnose patients at a distance” (Pace 108).These expectations have been realised in the form of Queensland Health’s Telehealth initiative, which permits medical specialists in Brisbane and Townsville to conduct consultations with patients at the Mackay Base Hospital using video-conference technology. Telehealth reduces the need for patients to travel for specialist advice, and it provides health professionals with access to peer support. Averill (7), for example, reports on the experience of a breast cancer patient at the Mackay Base Hospital who was able to participate in a drug trial with a Townsville oncologist through the Telehealth network. Mackay health professionals organised the patient’s scans, administered blood tests, and checked her lymph nodes, blood pressure and weight. Townsville health professionals then used this information to advise the Mackay team about her ongoing treatment. The patient expressed appreciation that the service allowed her to avoid the lengthy round-trip to Townsville. Prior to being offered the Telehealth option, she had refused to participate in the trial because “the trip was just too much of a stumbling block” (Averill 7).The Impact on Media and EntertainmentThe field of media and entertainment is another aspect of regional life that has been reshaped by the Internet since the Visions of Mackay conference. Most of these changes have been equally apparent in both regional and metropolitan areas. Over the past decade, the way individuals consume media has been transformed by new online services offering user-generated video, video-on-demand, and catch-up TV. These developments were among the changes I anticipated in 1997:The convergence of television and the Internet will stimulate the creation of new services such as video-on-demand. Today television is a synchronous media—programs are usually viewed while they are being broadcast. When high-quality video can be transmitted over the information superhighway, users will be able to watch what they want, when and where they like. […] Newly released movies will continue to be rented, but probably not from stores. Instead, consumers will shop on the information superhighway for movies that can be delivered on demand.In the mid-2000s, free online video-sharing services such as YouTube and Vimeo began to emerge. These websites allow users to freely upload, view, share, comment on, and curate online videos. Subscription-based streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have also become increasingly popular since that time. These services offer online streaming of a library of films and television programs for a fee of less than 20 dollars per month. Computers, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, mobile phones, tablets, and other devices provide a multitude of ways of accessing streaming services. Some of these devices cost less than 100 dollars, while higher-end electronic devices include the capability as a bundled feature. Netflix became available in Mackay at the time of its Australian launch in 2015. The growth of streaming services greatly reduced the demand for video rental shops in the region, and all closed down as a result. The last remaining video rental store in Mackay closed its doors in 2018 after trading for 26 years (“Last”).Some of the most dramatic transformations that have occurred the field of media and entertainment were not anticipated in 1997. The rise of mobile technology, including wireless data communications, smartphones, mobile applications, and tablet computers, was largely unforeseen at that time. Some Internet luminaries such as Vinton Cerf expected that mobile access to the Internet via laptop computers would become commonplace (Lange), but this view did not encompass the evolution of smartphones, and it was not widely held. Similarly, the rise of social media services and the impact they have had on the way people share content and communicate was generally unexpected. In some respects, these phenomena resemble the Black Swan events described by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (xvii)—surprising events with a major effect that are often inappropriately rationalised after the fact. They remind us of how difficult it is to predict the future media landscape by extrapolating from things we know, while failing to take into consideration what we do not know.The Challenge for MackayIn 1997, when exploring the potential impact that the Internet could have on the Mackay region, I identified a special challenge that the community faced if it wanted to be competitive in this new environment:The region has traditionally prospered from industries that control physical resources such as coal, sugar and tourism, but over the last two decades there has been a global ‘shift away from physical assets and towards information as the principal driver of wealth creation’ (Petre and Harrington 1996). The risk for Mackay is that its residents may be inclined to believe that wealth can only be created by means of industries that control physical assets. The community must realise that its value-added information is at least as precious as its abundant natural resources. (110)The Mackay region has not responded well to this challenge, as evidenced by measures such as the Knowledge City Index (KCI), a collection of six indicators that assess how well a city is positioned to grow and advance in today’s technology-driven, knowledge-based economy. A 2017 study used the KCI to conduct a comparative analysis of 25 Australian cities (Pratchett, Hu, Walsh, and Tuli). Mackay rated reasonably well in the areas of Income and Digital Access. But the city’s ratings were “very limited across all the other measures of the KCI”: Knowledge Capacity, Knowledge Mobility, Knowledge Industries and Smart Work (44).The need to be competitive in a technology-driven, knowledge-based economy is likely to become even more pressing in the years ahead. The 2017 World Energy Outlook Report estimated that China’s coal use is likely to have peaked in 2013 amid a rapid shift toward renewable energy, which means that demand for Mackay’s coal will continue to decline (International Energy Agency). The sugar industry is in crisis, finding itself unable to diversify its revenue base or increase production enough to offset falling global sugar prices (Rynne). The region’s biggest tourism drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef, continues to be degraded by mass coral bleaching events and ongoing threats posed by climate change and poor water quality (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority). All of these developments have disturbing implications for Mackay’s regional economy and its reliance on coal, sugar, and tourism. Diversifying the local economy through the introduction of new knowledge industries would be one way of preparing the Mackay region for the impact of new technologies and the economic challenges that lie ahead.ReferencesAverill, Zizi. “Webcam Consultations.” Daily Mercury 22 Nov. 2018: 7.Birrell, Bob, Lesleyanne Hawthorne, and Virginia Rapson. The Outlook for Surgical Services in Australasia. Melbourne: Monash University Centre for Population and Urban Research, 2003.Cureton, Aidan. “Big Shoes, Big Ideas.” Daily Mercury 8 Dec. 2018: 12.Danaher, Geoff. Ed. Visions of Mackay: Conference Papers. Rockhampton: Central Queensland UP, 1998.Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Networking the Nation: Evaluation of Outcomes and Impacts. Canberra: Australian Government, 2005.Department of Industry, Science and Tourism. Electronic Commerce in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government, 1998.Frost, Pamela. “Mackay Is Up with Switch to Speed to NBN.” Daily Mercury 15 Aug. 2013: 8.———. “NBN Boost to Business.” Daily Mercury 29 Oct. 2013: 3.Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. New York: Viking Penguin, 1995.Garvey, Cas. “NBN Rollout Hit, Miss in Mackay.” Daily Mercury 11 Jul. 2017: 6.Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Reef Blueprint: Great Barrier Reef Blueprint for Resilience. Townsville: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2017.Green, Anthony. “Surgical Services and Referrals in Rural and Remote Australia.” Medical Journal of Australia 177.2 (2002): 110–11.International Energy Agency. World Energy Outlook 2017. France: IEA Publications, 2017.Jewell, Roderick, Mary O’Flynn, Fiorella De Cindio, and Margaret Cameron. “RCM and MRL—A Reflection on Two Approaches to Constructing Communication Memory.” Constructing and Sharing Memory: Community Informatics, Identity and Empowerment. Eds. Larry Stillman and Graeme Johanson. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007. 73–86.Lange, Larry. “The Internet: Where’s It All Going?” Information Week 17 Jul. 1995: 30.“Last Man Standing Shuts Doors after 26 Years of Trade.” Daily Mercury 28 Aug. 2018: 7.Lewis, Steve. “Optus Plans to Share Cost Burden.” Australian Financial Review 22 May 1997: 26.Meredith, Helen. “Time Short for Cable Modem.” Australian Financial Review 10 Apr. 1997: 42Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. New York: Random House, 2007.“Optus Offers Comp for Slow NBN.” Daily Mercury 10 Nov. 2017: 15.Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. “Fixed Broadband Subscriptions.” OECD Data, n.d. <https://data.oecd.org/broadband/fixed-broadband-subscriptions.htm>.Pace, Steven. “Mackay Online.” Visions of Mackay: Conference Papers. Ed. Geoff Danaher. Rockhampton: Central Queensland University Press, 1998. 111–19.Petre, Daniel and David Harrington. The Clever Country? Australia’s Digital Future. Sydney: Lansdown Publishing, 1996.Plane, Melanie. “A Shoe-In for Big Success.” Daily Mercury 9 Sep. 2017: 6.Pratchett, Lawrence, Richard Hu, Michael Walsh, and Sajeda Tuli. The Knowledge City Index: A Tale of 25 Cities in Australia. Canberra: University of Canberra neXus Research Centre, 2017.“Qld Customers NB-uN Happy Complaints about NBN Service Double in 12 Months.” Daily Mercury 17 Apr. 2018: 1.Rudd, Kevin. “Media Release: New National Broadband Network.” Parliament of Australia Press Release, 7 Apr. 2009 <https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:"media/pressrel/PS8T6">.Rynne, David. “Revitalising the Sugar Industry.” Sugar Policy Insights Feb. 2019: 2–3.Taylor, Emma. “A Dip in the Pond.” Sydney Morning Herald 16 Aug. 1997: 12.“Telcos and NBN Co in a Crisis.” Daily Mercury 27 Jul. 2017: 6.

IntroductionIn 2017, both the disability community and popular culture are using the term “inspiration porn” to describe one form of discrimination against people with disability. ABC’s Speechless, “a sitcom about a family with a son who has a disability, (has) tackled why it’s often offensive to call people with disabilities ‘inspirational’” (Wanshel). The reasons why inspiration porn is considered to be discriminatory have been widely articulated online by people with disability. Amongst them is Carly Findlay, a disabled writer, speaker, and appearance activist, who has written that:(inspiration porn) shows non-disabled people doing good deeds for disabled people—feeding them chips at McDonald’s—’serving us all lessons in kindness’: or taking them to the high school dance. These stories usually always go viral. The person with disability probably never gave their permission for the photo or story to be used in a meme or told to the media (Findlay).The definition and dynamics of inspiration porn as illustrated in this quote will be expanded upon in this paper’s critical analysis of captions. Here, the term captions is used to describe both writing found on memes and on Facebook posts (created by a “poster”), and the comments written below these posts (created by “commenters”). Facebook threads underneath posts about people with disability both “reflect and create” (Barnes, Mercer and Shakespeare 202) current societal attitudes towards disability. That is, such threads not only illustrate negative societal attitudes towards disability, but can also perpetuate these attitudes by increasing people’s exposure to them. This paper will focus on a specific case study of inspiration porn on Facebook—the crowning of a student with autism as prom king—and consider both the conflict of whether people’s kind words are patronising use of language, as well as the concerns of over-disclosure used in this thread.What Is Inspiration Porn?The genesis of the term inspiration porn is commonly attributed to the late Stella Young, a disabled woman who was an advocate for people with disability. However, the term has been traced to a blog post written in February 2012 (bear). Anecdotal evidence from Lisa Harris, a disability consultant and advocate with over 20 years’ disability education experience, suggests that the term was blogged about as far back as 2006 on Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg’s Webpage Disability and Representation (Harris). However, it was Young who popularised the term with her 2012 article We’re Not Here for Your Inspiration and 2014 TED Talk I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much. Young defined inspiration porn as “an image of a person with a disability, often a kid, doing something completely ordinary—like playing, or talking, or running, or drawing a picture, or hitting a tennis ball—carrying a caption like ‘your excuse is invalid’ or ‘before you quit, try’”.It is worth noting that the use of the word porn has been considered controversial in this context. Yet it can be argued that the perception of the person with disability having achieved something great gives the person without disability a hit of positive “inspired” emotion. In this way, such inspiration could be termed as porn as it serves the purpose of fulfilling the “pornographic” self-gratification of people without disability.The term inspiration porn has historically been used in disability studies in two ways. Firstly, it has been used to describe the “ableist gaze” (Davis), which is when a person with disability is ‘seen’ through the eyes of someone without disability. Indeed, just as the “male gaze” (Mulvey) is implicit in sexualised porn, so too the “ableist gaze” is implicit in inspiration porn. Secondly, it has been used to highlight the lack of power experienced by people with disability in cultural representation (Barnes, Mercer, and Shakespeare 201). This study is a good example of the latter—it is not uncommon for people with disability to be refuted when they speak out against the inherent discrimination found within captions of (intended) kindness on Facebook threads.Inspiration porn is also a form of “objectification” (Perry) of people with disability, and is based on stereotypes (Haller and Zhang 22) about disability held by people without disability. According to Dr. Paul Sinclair, a disability scholar with 15 years’ experience in disability education, objectification and stereotyping are essential factors to understanding inspiration porn as discrimination:when a person with disability engages in their daily life, it is possible that a person without disability sees them as inspirational by superimposing his/her stereotypical perception of, or understanding about, people with disability onto the identity of the person, as a human being.Such objectification and stereotyping of people with disability is evident across various media captioning. This is particularly so in social media which often includes memes of images with “inspiring” captions—such as the ones Young highlighted as clear examples of inspiration porn, which “feature the Hamilton quote (‘The only disability in life is a bad attitude’)”. Another example of this kind of captioning is found in news items such as the 2015 article Disabled Teen Crowned Homecoming Queen in Awesome Way as featured in the article USA Today (Saggio). This article described how a student not identified as having a disability gave her homecoming queen crown to a student with a disability and captioned the YouTube clip of these students with, “High school senior [Name] was hoping she’d be crowned homecoming queen. She has cerebral palsy and has never felt like she fit in at school. What happened during the crowning ceremony will warm your heart” (Saggio). The fact that the young woman was pleased with getting the crown does not mitigate the objectifying dynamics of inspiration porn present within this example. Captioning such as this both creates and reflects some of the existing attitudes—including charity and its appeal to emotionality—that perpetuate inspiration porn.Measuring Inspiration Porn with Sentiment AnalysisThe challenge for the researcher analysing Facebook threads is how to meaningfully interpret the captions’ numerous contexts. The methodology of this research used a quantitative approach to gather numerical data about selected Facebook captions. This paper discusses data gained from a sentiment analysis (Pang and Lee; Thelwall et al.; Driscoll) of these captions within the contexts of my own and other researchers’ analyses of inspiration porn, as well as the perspectives of people with disability.The sentiment analysis was conducted using SentiStrength, a software tool that extracts both positive and negative sentiment strengths “from short informal electronic text” (Thelwall et al., 2545), and ranks it “on a numerical scale” (Driscoll 3). Sentiment analysis and SentiStrength are useful, but not perfect, tools with which to analyse Facebook captions. For example, SentiStrength determines two scales: a positive emotion measurement scale ranging from +1 (neutral) to +5 (most positive), and a negative emotion measurement scale ranging from –1 (neutral) to –5 (most negative). It calculates the positive and negative scores concurrently rather than averaging them out in order to acknowledge that captions can and do express mixed emotion (Driscoll 5).News articles about people with disability attending proms and comparable events, such as the homecoming queen example described above, are often criticised by disability activists for perpetuating inspiration porn (Mort; Findlay; Brown). Based on this criticism, sentiment analysis was used in this research to measure the emotional strength of captions—particularly their possible use of patronising language—using the Autism Speaks Facebook post as a case study. The post featured an image of a high school student with autism who had been crowned prom king.The Autism Speaks Facebook page was set up to fund “research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increas(e) awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocat(e) for the needs of individuals with autism and their families” (Autism Speaks). The location of the prom was not specified; however, Autism Speaks is based in New York. This particular Facebook page was selected for this study based on criticism that Autism Speaks receives from disability advocates. One of the major critiques is that “(its) advertising depends on offensive and outdated rhetoric of fear and pity, presenting the lives of autistic people as tragic burdens on our families and society” (Boycott Autism Speaks). Autism Speaks has also been described as a problematic example of an organisation that “dictate(s) how disability should be perceived and dealt with. Often without input of disabled people either in the design or implementation of these organizations” (crippledscholar). This article goes on to state that “charities always frame what they do as positive and helpful even when the people who are the intended recipients disagree.”The prom king post included a photo of a young man with autism after he was crowned. He was standing beside a woman who wasn’t identified. The photo, posted by the young man’s aunt on the Autism Speaks Facebook page, included a status update that read:My autistic nephew won PROM KING today! Just so you all know, having a disability doesn’t hold you back if you don’t let it! GO [NAME]. #AutismAwareness (Autism Speaks)The following caption from the comment thread of the same Facebook post is useful as an example of how SentiStrength works. The caption read:Tears of Joy! Thank you for posting!!! Wow this gives me hope for his and my son’s and everyone’s special wonderful child nephew and niece! Way cool!However, because SentiStrength does not always accurately detect and measure sarcasm or idiomatic language usage, ”Tears” (the only negatively interpreted word in this caption) has been scored as –4, while the overall positive sentiment was scored as 3. Therefore, the final SentiStrength score of this caption was 3, –4, thereby demonstrating both the utility and limitations of SentiStrength as a sentiment analysis tool. This is useful to understand when analysing the data it produces.When analysing the entire thread, the sentiment analysis results across 238 captions, showed that 2 was the average strength of positive emotion, and that –1.16 was the average strength of negative emotion. The following section will analyse how a specific caption chosen from the most positively-scored captions from these data indicates that inspiration porn is possibly evident within.Use of Language: Kind, or Patronising?This discussion analyses the use of language in one caption from this thread, focusing on the way it likely demonstrated the ableist gaze. The caption was the most positive one from these data as scored by SentiStrength (5, –1) and read, ”CONGRATULATIONS SWEETIE!!!”. While it is noted that basing this analysis primarily on one caption provides limited insight into the dynamics of inspiration porn, this analysis forms a basis from which to consider other “inspirational” Facebook posts about people with disability. As well as this caption, this discussion will also draw upon other examples mentioned in this paper—from the homecoming queen article in USA Today to another caption on the Autism Speaks thread—to illustrate the dynamics of inspiration porn.On the surface, this congratulatory caption seems like a kind thing to post. However, inspiration porn has been identified in this analysis based on the caption’s effusive use of punctuation coupled with use of capital letters and the word “sweetie”. The excitement depicted through use of multiple exclamation marks and capital letters implies that the commenter has a personal connection with the prom king, which is a possibility. However, this possibility becomes less feasible when the caption is considered within the context of other captions that display not dissimilar use of language, as well as some that also display intimate emojis, such as grin faces and love heart eyes. Further, when this use of language is used with any consistency across a thread and is not coupled with textual information that implies a personal connection between the commenter/s and the prom king, it could be interpreted as patronising, condescending and/or infantilising. In addition, “sweetie” is a term of endearment commonly used in conversation with a romantic partner, child, or someone the speaker/writer knows intimately. While, again, it is possible that these commenters knew the prom king intimately, a more likely possibility is that he was being written to by strangers, yet using language that implied he was close to them—which would then have the same patronising connotations as above. It can therefore be argued that there is a strong possibility that this heightened use of intimate and emotional language was chosen based on his autism diagnosis.The conclusion drawn above is based in part on contextual similarities between the Autism Speaks post and its associated thread, and the aforementioned homecoming queen news article. In the former, it is likely that the young prom king was congratulated effusively because of his autism diagnosis. Similarly, in the latter article, the young woman was crowned not because she was named homecoming queen, but because the crown was given to her because of her diagnosis of cerebral palsy. As both gestures appear to have been based on others’ perceptions of these individuals’ disabilities rather than on their achievements, they are both likely to be patronising gestures.Over-DisclosureIn addition to use of language, another noteworthy issue in the captions thread on the Autism Speaks Facebook page was that many of them were from parents disclosing the diagnosis of their child. One example of this was a post from a mother that read (in part):I’ll be over here worried & concerned with the other 9,999 & ½ things to deal with, keeping up with new therapies, current therapy, we came in progress from any past therapies, meltdowns, dietary restrictions, educational requirements, The joy and difficulties of not just learning a new word but actually retaining that word, sleep, being hit, keeping him from hitting himself, tags on clothes etc. etc. [sic] (Autism Speaks)The above commenter listed a number of disability-specific issues that she experienced while raising her son who has autism. The context for her caption was a discussion, unrelated to the original post, that had sparked underneath a sub-thread regarding whether the use of person-first language (“person with autism”) or identity-first language (“Autistic person”) was best when referring to someone with autism. The relationship between inspiration porn and this intimately negative post about someone with disability is that both types of post are examples of the “ableist gaze”: inspiration porn demonstrates an exaggerated sense of positivity based on someone’s disability, and this post demonstrates disregard for the privacy of the person being posted about—perhaps due to his disability. The ease with which this negative comparison (over-disclosure) can be made between ‘inspirational’ and ‘negative’ posts illustrates in part why inspiration porn is a form of discrimination—intentional or otherwise.Furthermore, some of the children who were disclosed about on the main thread were too young to be asked consent, and it is unclear whether those who were old enough had the capacity to provide informed consent. Research has found that online over-disclosure in general is a matter of concern.The specific practice of online over-disclosure from parents about their children—with or without disability—has been raised by Leaver (151), “what happens before young people have the agency, literacy or skills to take the reins of their own selves online? Parents, guardians, loved ones and others inevitably set the initial identity parameters for young people online.” Over-disclosure is therefore also an issue that concerns people with disability, and the people closest to them.There exists both anecdotal evidence and academic research regarding online over-disclosure about people with disability. The research states that when people with physical disability disclose online, they employ strategic approaches that involve the degree to which they disclose (Furr, Carreiro, and McArthur). This suggests that there are complex factors to consider around such disclosure. Also relevant is that the practice of over-disclosure about another person’s disability, regardless of whether that disclosure is made by a close family member, has been critiqued by people (Findlay; Stoltz) within the disability community: “would you publicly share this information about your other children, an aging parent, or yourself?” (Stoltz). Finally, the practice of disability over-disclosure by anyone other than the person themselves supports the understanding that inspiration porn is not about the “object” of inspiration; rather, it serves to give pleasure (and/or pain) to the objectifier.ConclusionInspiration porn via the ableist gaze is discriminatory because it focuses on a (societally) undesirable trait in a way that serves the “gazer” at the expense of the “gazed-at”. That is, people with disability are objectified and exploited in various ways that can initially appear to be positive to people without disability. For example, when someone with disability posts or is posted about on Facebook, a person without disability might then add a caption—possibly with good intentions—that serves as their “inspired” response to what it “must” be like to have a disability. It can be argued that such captions, whether on news articles or when framing social media images, therefore either reflect or create existing social inequalities—and possibly do both.In continuing to use the term inspiration porn to describe one form of discrimination against people with disability, both the disability community and popular culture are contributing to an important narrative that scholarship needs to continue to address. Indeed, the power imbalance that is celebrated within inspiration porn is in some ways more insidious than malicious discrimination against people with disability, because it is easier to mistake as kindness. 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