Youth Studies Australia articles from March 2005

Youth Studies Australia archives from March 2005

Abuse link with female criminals.(Abuse)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In an Australian Institute of Criminology survey, 87% of 470 female prisoners interviewed said they had suffered sexual, physical or emotional abuse. Two thirds were abused as children. Prisoner and child abuse support groups say the findings...

Reforms in Queensland foster care.(Abuse)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... * An audit of the abuse notifications about foster carers who had children placed with them between 1997 and 30 June 2003 examined nearly 130 abuse notifications, involving 139 carets and 199 children. The audit by the Child Safety (formerly...

Tasmania reports on abuse of state wards.(Abuse)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A 16-month investigation by Tasmanian Ombudsman Jan O'Grady into the abuse of state wards heard claims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse from 247 former wards of the state. Releasing the report on 24 November 2004, Ms O'Grady attacked...

Call for police summit as number of cases rises.(child abuse)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Following reports from all states in November and December of a rise in the number of child abuse cases, NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney called for a national summit on the issue. The call received support from Western Australia, Victoria,...

Twixters, tweeners and quarter-life crisis.(Development)
March 1, 2005... 'Meet the twixters, young adults who live with their parents, bounce from job to job and hop from mate to mate. They're not lazy... they just won't grow up' that's the cover header for Time magazine's (24/1/05) 10-page feature by Lev Grossman...

Why are boys risk-takers?(brain research)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... This question, addressed in a 10-page feature by Kate Legge in the Weekend Australian Magazine (11/12/04, p.35), is again answered with reference to brain development. Research (also referred to in past issues of YSA) shows that frontal lobe...

Expressing emotions harder for boys.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A survey for the Kids Help Line of 422 boys aged five to 18 found that 47% of the boys interviewed never or very rarely talked about their feelings or concerns. More than 40% of these boys, however, said they would like to talk about such...

SA diversion program a success.(South Australia)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A South Australian drug diversion scheme that offers health assessment and treatment as an alternative to prosecution for those caught with small quantities of drugs is being hailed as a success by police and health authorities. More than 92%...

National strategy to stamp out smoking.(Development)
March 1, 2005... A draft strategy prepared by state and federal health officials recommends that the 'costs of addressing tobacco-related harm are borne by those who manufacture or sell tobacco, rather than by other Australian taxpayers'. The strategy also...

New evidence links cannabis and psychosis.(Development)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A four-year study of 2400 young Germans found 'exposure to cannabis during adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of psychotic symptoms later in life'. The study by Maastricht University in the Netherlands was published in the...

WA survey on attitudes to drugs use.(Development)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The West Australian-HBF iGeneration survey of 500 people aged 18-30 found that nine in 10 are opposed to the legalisation of hard drugs such as heroin and more than half think recreational drug use is unacceptable; 36% of males, and 25% of...

Party drug use becoming 'normalised'.(ecstasy, cannabis)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The use of ecstasy, speed and cannabis at parties and clubs is becoming increasingly common and health practitioners and researchers are concerned that current public health messages about the drugs are ineffective. Dr David Caldicott, research...

National drug surveys.(Development)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... * The report of the 2002 National Drug Strategy survey of 23,000 students aged 12-17 was released in November. The survey shows that tobacco and cannabis smoking among that age group has dropped since 1999 and drinking has levelled out....

Oz education goes the distance.(reports)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A UNESCO report measuring educational progress in 121 developed and developing countries shows Australians spend an average of 20.1 years in formal education--more than any other country except the UK (21.8 years). The report, based on 2001...

Swipe cards monitor attendance.(Education)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... With computerised swipe cards, students at Airds High School in Sydney's southwest are able to provide information on their comings and goings--40% of the senior students are involved in training at TAFE and other venues. School attendance,...

National literacy review.(research in literacy education)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Dr Brendan Nelson, federal Minister for Education, announced that a National Inquiry into Teaching of Literacy would focus on three main issues: how reading was taught in schools, how it was tested and how our teachers are trained. Chair of the...

Validating home schooling.(Education)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A Queensland government consultation paper, Education Laws for the Future, proposes a series of actions that ensures home schooling is a legitimate education choice in addition to mainstream state and nonstate education. It proposes that...

Calls for a plain English report card.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority is expected to recommend to the state's Department of Education that they change from the current expository, generalised statements form of school report to a scale of results that show how a...

Redefining homework.(Homework and the Homework Grid)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Homework and the Homework Grid, a new book by WA high school principal, Ian Lillico, offers a new approach to homework that recognises the need for homework to relate to practical, real-life situations. The approach is based around a 12-square...

Coeducation? Not a problem ...(Education)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A study of three coeducational private schools in Melbourne's eastern suburbs found that romantic liaisons were rare and the presence of the opposite sex did not distract students from their schoolwork. The study's author, Sue Bennett...

... And class size doesn't matter.(Education)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... New UK research found that smaller classes made little or no difference to the maths, English and science results of primary school students. The study by the University of London's Institute of Education defined a small class as under 25, and...

Students losing interest in science while other subjects go up.
March 1, 2005... The ACT Education Department reported a decline in the number of students choosing to study science--fewer than half the 2003 Year 12 students studied science compared to 62.6% ten years ago. This is part of a national trend, with very...

Uni enrolments down, students on the move.(university)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... All of the major dailies in the month of January carried reports on the decline in university enrolment numbers. The number of students attending university dipped from 659,800 in 2003 to 658,048 in 2004. The previous decline was in 2000....

New parental responsibility legislation in WA.(Family)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Western Australia is the first Australian state to introduce laws modelled on the British system imposing court orders on parents to help them control 'wayward' children. Under legislation to be introduced to state parliament in 2005, parents,...

Grandparents' difficult role in family splits.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A study of the legal needs of older people by the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW found that grandparents who become involved in custody battles risk losing contact with their grandchildren and can spend up to $10,000 to win visiting rights....

Sun-safe message not getting through.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A NSW Department of Health study found more than 80% of teenage girls thought having a tan was attractive, and 77% of high school students reported being sunburnt in the previous summer--a 5% increase on 1996 figures. Cancer Institute NSW head...

New study favours early diagnosis for BPD.(Health)(borderline personality disorder)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Borderline personality disorder affects about 2% of the adult population and is characterised by impulsive, often self-destructive, behaviour and mood swings. A two-year study by the Orygen Research Centre in Melbourne comparing earlier...

Seeds of poor health sown in childhood.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Research at the University of Western Australia shows findings similar to that of NSW research reported in the previous 'Youth Monitor' (YSA, v.23, n.4 2004, p.8), relating childhood obesity to early onset of health problems. The WA research,...

Kraft Foods changing advertising to children.(Health)
March 1, 2005... The Kraft Foods company in the United States announced in January that it is going to curb its advertising of several of its popular snack food items to children under 12. TV, radio and print ads for its less nutritious products aimed at...

New Victorian figures on abortion rates.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Figures obtained by The Age under freedom of information show the number of teenage terminations in public hospitals rose from 760 in 1992-93 to 1107 in 2002-03. The number of teenage terminations in private clinics in 2002-03 was 1669. The...

Students turning to prescription drugs.
March 1, 2005... * A Wall Street Journal report in the Australian Financial Review (6/12/04, p.32) says US high school and university students are increasingly using a range of stimulants normally prescribed for ADHD in order to improve their performance....

Aborigines urged to speak up about assaults.(NSW Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The NSW Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce (ACSAT) is calling for confidential submissions from anyone concerned about child sexual assault in their communities. A report by the NSW Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council, Speak Out, Speak...

Mentor plan to address unemployment.(Indigenous youth)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews announced a mentoring plan to help Aboriginal teenagers into jobs. 'The Government is determined to reduce the rate of unemployment among Indigenous people, which is currently 20%,...

Pentecostal movement attracting young people.(Religion & spirituality)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Australia's Religious Communities, released in January by the Christian Research Association, confirms the success of the Pentecostal youth movement in Australia. The association, which is supported by the major Christian denominations and...

Mobiles not the answer to safety.(Technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Mobile phones are convenient but parents should not rely upon them for security, according to a survey by the Australian Psychological Society. The survey found that 51% of parents gave their children a mobile phone for safety, but 77% of...

Active thinking.(Special focus: youth sport, physical activity and leisure in Australia and New Zealand)
March 1, 2005... In this special edition of Youth Studies Australia, leading Australian and New Zealand researchers on physical activity share their thoughts on youth sport, physical activity and leisure in Australia and New Zealand. Aaron Smith highlights...

Engaging students with school life.(research)
March 1, 2005... How can we engage more students with school? This paper examines research that points to a student's participation in extracurricular activities, such as sport, as having a strong effect on a range of educational outcomes. It also examines the...

Becoming somebody: changing priorities and physical activity.
March 1, 2005... The ways young people negotiate their participation in physical activity in relation to other priorities in their lives, during and beyond school, are explored here from a sociological approach to youth. The data from interviews for the...

Is it fun to be young on the Gold Coast? Perceptions of leisure opportunities and constraints among young people living on the Gold Coast.
March 1, 2005... Leisure has always been a space where young people have sought to experience different lifestyles, activities, identities and social groups. However, 'being young' is far more than an age-related process, and planning for young people's leisure...

World Leisure, founded in 1952, is a worldwide, non-governmental association 'dedicated to discovering and fostering those conditions best permitting leisure to serve as a force for human growth, development and well-being'.(World Leisure and Recreation Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... * World Leisure, founded in 1952, is a worldwide, non-governmental association 'dedicated to discovering and fostering those conditions best permitting leisure to serve as a force for human growth, development and well-being'. At their October...

The Leisure Studies Association, formed in 1975, provides 'a unique multidisciplinary meeting and communication forum for researchers, practitioners and students involved in all areas of leisure studies and its many directly and indirectly related areas of interest'.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Leisure Studies Association, formed in 1975, provides 'a unique multidisciplinary meeting and communication forum for researchers, practitioners and students involved in all areas of leisure studies and its many directly and indirectly...

The Academy of Leisure Sciences was created in 1980 by 30 founding members.(services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Academy of Leisure Sciences was created in 1980 by 30 founding members. Its main purpose is the intellectual advancement of leisure sciences. Its section of 'Academy Experts' lists the areas of expertise and recent publications of some of...

NYA's advice to youth on leisure: The UK's National Youth Agency web site offers pragmatic advice to youth in terms of their leisure activities.(National Youth Agency)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... NYA's advice to youth on leisure: The UK's National Youth Agency web site offers pragmatic advice to youth in terms of their leisure activities: 'If you are not working, leisure can take on a completely different meaning. Enforced leisure, with...

'Free leisure passes'.(activities programs)(Manchester City Council)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In March 2003, the Manchester City Council decided to offer its youth free leisure passes as part of a project to improve youth services in the city. Residents had identified crime, cleaner streets and more things for teenagers to do as the...

Sloth or gluttony: understanding obesity in New Zealand youth.(Overview)
March 1, 2005... While international trends show an increase of overweight and obesity in youth, accurate and representative New Zealand data are scarce. However, it is likely that young New Zealanders are following overseas trends. The importance of the...

Barriers to physical activity in young New Zealanders.
March 1, 2005... A range of social, behavioural and physical changes in young people's lives has resulted in barriers great enough to cause reduced activity levels. Major barriers include a reduction in active transport, altered community design, less physical...

A Save the Children report into poverty as a barrier to participation in leisure was conducted by Loughborough University's centre for research in social policy and titled Britain's poorest children.(Xtra)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A Save the Children report into poverty as a barrier to participation in leisure was conducted by Loughborough University's centre for research in social policy and titled Britain's poorest children. Published in 2003, it looked at how poverty...

For tips on how to run successful social and recreational programs for culturally and linguistically diverse young people.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... For tips on how to run successful social and recreational programs for culturally and linguistically diverse young people, contact the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, for their information sheet 'Involving migrant and refugee young...

Young people, risk and leisure: Constructing identities in everyday life, 2004.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2005... Young people, risk and leisure: Constructing identities in everyday life, 2004, Palgrave Macmillan, eds Wendy Mitchell, Robin Bunton & Eileen Green (ISBN 1 4039 0116 3) was reviewed by Howard Williamson, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff...

Physical activity levels of first-year New Zealand university students: a pilot study.
March 1, 2005... A questionnaire administered to 60 first-year university students revealed significant declines in vigorous and moderate physical activity participation of students since beginning university. Physical activity participation was negatively...

Active transportation: an important part of adolescent physical activity.
March 1, 2005... For adolescents, 'after school' is an important time to accumulate health-related physical activity. Active commuting (walking or cycling) during this period may be an important factor in achieving daily activity goals. The results of a...

The publication Promoting active transport:An intervention portfolio to increase physical activity as a means of transport: Planning framework--case study.(Xtra)
March 1, 2005... The publication Promoting active transport:An intervention portfolio to increase physical activity as a means of transport: Planning framework--case study is available in pdf format from the National Public Health Partnership web site at .

The Bicycle Federation of Australia.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Bicycle Federation of Australia has a flyer calling for action to be taken to increase active transportation, including: 1 Creating a shift towards sustainable transport and land-use planning 2 Reviewing institutional arrangements...

In New Zealand, a 'Physical Activity' web site was recently launched by the Ministry of Health to provide an overview of physical activity.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In New Zealand, a 'Physical Activity' web site was recently launched by the Ministry of Health to provide an overview of physical activity from a health perspective that clarifies definitions of physical activity and summarises a number of...

SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) was formed in 2002 following the merger of the Hillary Commission.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... SPARC (Sport and Recreation New Zealand) was formed in 2002 following the merger of the Hillary Commission, the New Zealand Sports Foundation and the policy arm of the Office of Tourism and Sport. The SPARC web site has statistical information...

One of the key functions of SPARC, as outlined by the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002.(Sport and Recreation New Zealand)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... One of the key functions of SPARC, as outlined by the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002, is to develop and implement national policies and strategies for physical activity and sport.The Policy and Research Unit within SPARC undertakes...

And see: Towards an active New Zealand: Developing a national policy framework for physical activity and sport.(Xtra)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... And see: Towards an active New Zealand: Developing a national policy framework for physical activity and sport: A discussion document by SPARC, described on the Local Government New Zealand site at .

The New Zealand Health Strategy identified physical activity as one of its 13 health priority areas.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The New Zealand Health Strategy identified physical activity as one of its 13 health priority areas. This led to the development of a Physical Activity Toolkit for District Health Boards, which provides information on many aspects of physical...

Influences on sportspersonship orientations: contextual and motivational.
March 1, 2005... Listening to the commentary of any football or cricket match provides many examples of interpretations of the type of influence sport has on those participating in it--interpretations that fall generously on both sides of the fence separating...

Play by the rules: promoting fair and safe behaviour in sport' is a new web site and also the title of free half-day workshops that aim to help sporting organisations.(Xtra)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Play by the rules: Promoting fair and safe behaviour in sport' is a new web site and also the title of free half-day workshops that aim to help sporting organisations, clubs and schools recognise, prevent and deal with issues of discrimination...

Junior sport participation programs in Australia.
March 1, 2005... In a climate where youth physical activity is just one of many competing sedentary leisure alternatives, the success of junior sport participation programs is more important than ever before. This paper considers the composition of junior sport...

Backing Australia's sporting ability.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Backing Australia's sporting ability--a more active Australia is a Federal Government policy statement outlined at:

Australia's physical activity recommendations for children and young people are outlined.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... * Australia's physical activity recommendations for children and young people are outlined at * The Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing has a web page on physical activity and health, where you'll find information...

The Australian Government's Department of Education, Science and Training has information on nutrition and physical activity as part of its National education framework for schools initiative.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Australian Government's Department of Education, Science and Training has information on nutrition and physical activity as part of its National education framework for schools initiative. See:

An ABS survey of children's activities conducted in April 2003 found almost all children aged 5-14 years (99.8% or 2,641,500) were involved in at least one of six selected leisure activities outside of school hours in the two school weeks prior to interview.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... An ABS survey of children's activities conducted in April 2003 found almost all children aged 5-14 years (99.8% or 2,641,500) were involved in at least one of six selected leisure activities outside of school hours in the two school weeks prior...

Information published on the internet by the Medical Journal of Australia.(Xtra)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Information published on the internet by the Medical Journal of Australia (n. 173, suppl 7, August 2000) on nutrition and physical activity for Australian children addresses several questions such as 'What proportion of Australian children are...

Schools to help students say 'no' to domestic violence.
March 1, 2005... The confronting real-life story of teenage domestic violence victim Angela Barker is the centrepiece of the Australian Government's innovative new education pack being delivered to every Australian secondary school. Angela's tragic story...

Physical activity and young people: beyond participation.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In order to understand the place and significance of physical activity in the lives of young people, 28 female and 34 male students from three Australian high schools were interviewed. This qualitative study identified cultural, social and...

Walk and talk: an intervention for behaviorally challenged youths.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Interventions for behaviourally challenged youth have traditionally focused on external control and containment of behaviour; however, the author believes that 'many behaviourally challenged youths have experienced interactions with key adults...

A controlled evaluation of a school-based intervention to promote physical activity among sedentary adolescent females: project FAB.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A school-based intervention designed to increase physical activity among sedentary adolescent females was evaluated in a study that assigned 22 sedentary female adolescents to a control group and 25 to an intervention group. The students, from...

Modern adolescents' leisure activities: a new field for education?(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Informal learning has been an area of increasing interest in recent decades. Through interviews with 32 adolescents from a city and a rural school in Iceland about their experiences of learning through their leisure activities and the social...

A longitudinal study of pubertal timing and extreme body change behaviors among adolescent boys and girls.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Extreme body change behaviours is a term that includes behaviours such as exercise dependence, disordered eating and the use of food supplements and steroids. According to the authors, adolescents engage in these behaviours to 'change their...

After school activities, overweight, and obesity among inner city youth.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The obesity epidemic in Western countries has been attributed to changes in the social and physical environment. Most of adolescents' physical activity is associated with school; for example, cycling or walking to school and physical education...

'Keeping it real': subcultural media and the discourses of authenticity in alternative sport.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In the tradition of 'post' CCCS subcultural research, this research was concerned with the meanings that niche magazines held for windsurfers in the UK and skateboarders in the USA. Subjects in the UK and the USA were interviewed about magazine...

The role of schools in constructing self-perceptions of sport and physical education in relation to people with disabilities.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The self-confidence of young people with disabilities towards sport is affected by the attitudes of school staff. To ascertain the strength and direction of that effect, this study looks at the schooling experience of 12 English paralympians....

Football culture in an Australian school setting: the construction of masculine identity.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Sport, unlike play, is not a natural part of human life. It originated in response to social changes, which were feared to be 'feminising' white, ruling-class males. Sport teaches unruly males social control and deference to authority, it...

The good life: New Zealand children's perspectives on health and self.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In 1998, 2,880 Year 4 and Year 8 students were monitored for a new curriculum combining health education, physical education and aspects of home economics, which was introduced in New Zealand in 1999. The children were encouraged to consider...

Throwing like a girl: self-objectification predicts adolescent girls' motor performance.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Objectification theory holds 'a cultural milieu of sexual objectification functions to socialize girls and women to treat themselves as objects to be evaluated based on appearance'. The researchers posited that 'higher self objectification...

Healthy mind in a healthy body: engaging young people in physical activity through school health and physical education.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Studies have shown that students performed better academically when time on academic areas was decreased and used for increased physical education (PE). In addition, students who are involved in conceptual PE or health and physical education...

Youth affairs peak organisations.(Directory)
March 1, 2005... Government Australian Government Youth Bureau Department of Family & Community Services Box 7788, Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610 Ph: (02) 6212 9117 Fax: (02) 6212 9517 Email: renata.rustowski@facs.gov.au Youth...