Examining links between cocaine use and street-based sex work in New South Wales, Australia

We examined potential links between cocaine use and street-based sex work in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, following reports of increased cocaine use among injection drug users (IDU). Police data on prostitution and possession/use of cocaine was analysed using time series analysis. Interviews with key informants and IDU were also conducted, and data on cocaine use from ongoing monitoring systems targeted at IDU were analysed. There was a clear increase in cocaine use among IDU which occurred in 2001. This occurred at the same time as an increase in prostitution offenses. Qualitative data suggested that a greater number of primary heroin users were engaging in street-based sex work, which was driven in part by the increases in cocaine use among this group. Subsequent reductions in cocaine availability led to decreased cocaine use and possession offenses, along with reductions in prostitution offenses.     

Community Resources and School Performance: The Northern Cheyenne Case

This research investigates the school performance of Indian students on the Northern Cheyenne reservation using both quantitative and qualitative data. Understanding influences on school performance is important since previous research established its impact on dropout behavior. Statistical analyses assess the relative effects of students' residence in reservation communities, the type of schools students attend (public. Catholic, or tribal), gender, family characteristics, and school experience variables. Findings reveal the importance of students' community residence for explaining performance levels at the two Indian schools, the tribally controlled and Catholic schools, and school experiences for understanding performance of the non-Indian public school students. Qualitative data on contextual factors for communities and schools help to explain how community characteristics such as population size, community access to the school, support for education, and traditional culture interact with the specific schools serving the community. This research suggests that contrary to conventional analyses of American Indian assimilation, the traditional culture, social resources, and interaction patterns of students' communities can have positive effects on students' schooling outcomes.     

University Tenure and the Legal System: Procedures,Conflicts, and Resolutions

Abstract

To better understand the increasing legal presence in cases and disputes involving tenure, the authors analyzed materials from court cases, employment law, and higher education. This analysis yielded knowledge about ways in which tenure as a contract, credentials as evidence, and due process contribute to orderly tenure procedures, thereby averting some legal conflicts. Academic, legal, and ethical perspectives were used to explore these concepts and to consider their implications for social work faculty confronted by the dual demands of academia and tenure review. Guidelines are provided to assist faculty in dealing with tenure review and dispute resolution in appeal and dismissal.     

Book reviews

Producing Power: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class in a Caribbean Workplace. Kevin A. Yelvington. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995. 286 pp., 31 tables, 4 figures. $49.95 cloth, $22.95 paper in U.S.

Tourism, Ethnicity, and the State in Asian and Pacific Societies. Michel Picard and Robert E. Wood, eds. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.259 pp., index, photos, tables. $47 hardcover, $23 paperback in U.S.     

Resistance,Space and Political Identities: The Making of Counter-Global Networks

Activists in seven US cities were interviewed about why they thought people in their communities mobilized against alcohol-related problems. The data were analyzed in light of the focus on resource mobilization theory in the social movement literature. In contrast with claims that resources are the primary catalyst for change, informants emphasized the role of grievances, and to a lesser extent, bridging factors that caused residents to be more aware of or frustrated by problems, and thus ready for change. Resources seemed to provide necessary but insufficient conditions for explaining movement participation, suggesting that, to be effective, resources must be channeled to address and be linked to the grievous social conditions of inner city communities.     

Subsequent child protection contact for a cohort of children reported to child protection prenatally in one Australian jurisdiction

Repeated reporting to child protection is common. One approach to early intervention is for jurisdictions to receive and respond to child protection concerns raised before children are born. Despite this, little research has comprehensively examined subsequent child protection contact for those first reported prenatally. This study aimed to examine the subsequent child protection contact for up to a two-year period for a cohort of children who were reported about prebirth. Child protection administrative data were extracted for 640 children reported for a concern about an unborn child in a single jurisdiction during 2014. Data about child protection contacts included reports, investigations, substantiations and out-of-home placements for children reported prenatally. Of the 640 children, 79% reported about prenatally also had contact with child protection between birth and age two. From birth and up to age two, children reported prenatally had between zero and 21 reports. Twenty-two per cent of the children reported prenatally were removed from their birth parents and placed in out-of-home care prior to age two. These findings highlight the importance of intervening and supporting families prior to and during pregnancy to reduce harm to children and reduce the need for contact with child protection.     

Roadmap to recovery: Reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID‐19 in Australia

In April 2020 a Group of Eight Taskforce was convened, consisting of over 100 researchers, to provide independent, research‐based recommendations to the Commonwealth Government on a “Roadmap to Recovery” from COVID‐19. The report covered issues ranging from pandemic control and relaxation of social distancing measures, to well‐being and special considerations for vulnerable populations. Our work focused on the critical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; this paper presents an overview of our recommendations to the Roadmap report. In addressing the global challenges posed by pandemics for citizens around the world, Indigenous people are recognised as highly vulnerable. At the time of writing Australia's First Nations Peoples have been largely spared from COVID‐19 in comparison to other Indigenous populations globally. Our recommendations emphasise self‐determination and equitable needs‐based funding to support Indigenous communities to recover from COVID‐19, addressing persistent overcrowded housing, and a focus on workforce, especially for regional and remote communities. These latter two issues have been highlighted as major issues of risk for Indigenous communities in Australia It remains to be seen how governments across Australia take up these recommendations to support Indigenous peoples' health and healing journey through yet another, potentially catastrophic, health crisis.