Suchergebnisse

This article outlines a framework for connecting design-oriented research on accommodating and encouraging social interaction in public space with investigation of broader questions regarding civic engagement, social justice and democratic governance. How can we define the "kind of problem a city is" (Jacobs, 1961), simultaneously attending to the social processes at stake in urban places, the spatial ordering of urban form and the construction of the forms of agency that enable us to make better places on purpose? How can empirical research be connected more systematically to theories of democratic governance, with clear implications for urban design, urban and regional planning as professional practice? This framework connects three distinct theoretical moves: (1) understanding the sociological implications of public space as an urban commons, (2) connecting the making of public space to research on social capital and collective efficacy, and (3) understanding recent tendencies in the discipline of urban design in terms of the social construction of a "program of action" (Latour, 1992) at the heart of the professional practices relevant to the built environment.

This article outlines a framework for connecting design-oriented research on accommodating and encouraging social interaction in public space with investigation of broader questions regarding civic engagement, social justice and democratic governance. How can we define the "kind of problem a city is" (Jacobs, 1961), simultaneously attending to the social processes at stake in urban places, the spatial ordering of urban form and the construction of the forms of agency that enable us to make better places on purpose? How can empirical research be connected more systematically to theories of democratic governance, with clear implications for urban design, urban and regional planning as professional practice? This framework connects three distinct theoretical moves: (1) understanding the sociological implications of public space as an urban commons, (2) connecting the making of public space to research on social capital and collective efficacy, and (3) understanding recent tendencies in the discipline of urban design in terms of the social construction of a "program of action" (Latour, 1992) at the heart of the professional practices relevant to the built environment.

A review essay on a book edited by Philip Kasinitz, Metropolis: Center and Symbol of Our Times (New York: New York U Press, 1995). This anthology investigates the ordering principles of modern urban life & explores its inherent dangers & possibilities. The selected essays are grouped under five topics: modernity & the urban ethos, polemics on modern urban life, the question of community, the problem of public space, & future prospects of the urban form. Collectively, the essays illuminate the complex question of whether the city is to be understood as an ecology or as a product of material & cultural conditions that has an essential political character. As such, it is telling that nowhere in these discussions is there talk of postmodernism; rather, the city is understood as an extension of modernity. However, the essays indicate two gaps that require future scholarly attention: the relationship between spatial form & political life, & the problem of theorizing the processes of production of the urban form that couple the cultural, the political, & the socioeconomic. 7 References. D. M. Smith

Despite increased awareness of the adverse impact of bullying on mental health, the prevalence of bullying in Australia is uncertain. The aim of the current study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of bullying (traditional and cyber) among Australian children and adolescents. This study synthesised bullying prevalence studies on victimisation experiences (being bullied) and perpetration experiences (bullying others). A systematic review of electronic databases (A+ Education, EMBASE, ERIC, PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus up to 27 May 2017) was conducted. In addition, reference lists of included studies, theses recorded at the National Library of Australia, and government websites were surveyed to identify local area data as well as state and nationally representative data. Overall, 898 studies were screened and out of the 126 studies assessed for eligibility, 46 satisfied the pre-determined inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses based on quality-effects models generated pooled prevalence estimates for each of the two types of bullying involvement (victimisation and perpetration), as well as distinct models for traditional bullying and cyberbullying experiences by the type of involvement. Overall, the 12-month prevalence of bullying victimisation was 15.17% (95% confidence interval = [9.17, 22.30]) and perpetration was 5.27% (95% confidence interval = [3.13, 7.92]). The lifetime prevalence for traditional bullying victimisation was 25.13% (95% confidence interval = [18.73, 32.11]) and perpetration was 11.61% (95% confidence interval = [7.41, 16.57]). Cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration were less common with lifetime prevalence of 7.02% (95% confidence interval = [2.41, 13.54]) and 3.45% (95% confidence interval = [1.13, 6.84]), respectively. Bullying is common among children and adolescents in Australia. There is a need to improve the measurement of bullying using a standardised instrument and for prevalence estimates to be collected on a regular basis to assess change over time. Wide implementation of anti-bullying programmes in Australian schools is a viable public health approach for the prevention of mental health problems.

Aims: This study described emergency department (ED) resource use patterns and associated costs among patients with heart disease in their last 3 years of life in a high-income country. Methods: This study used linked data from ED and death registry databases in Australia. A random sample of 1000 patients who died due to any cause in 2017, and who had been living with heart disease for at least the prior 10-years were included. The outcomes of interest were number of ED presentations over each of the last 3 years prior to death and relative cost contributions of ED-related items. Results: The number of patients needing ED care and number of ED presentations per patient increased as patients were closer to death, with 85% experiencing at least one ED presentation in their last year of life. Mean per patient ED presentation cost increased with each year closer to death. Costs related to labor, pathology, patient travel, and goods and services contributed more than 85% of the total cost in each of the 3 years. Conclusion: The increase in cost burden as patients neared death was attributable to more frequent ED presentations per person rather than more expensive ED presentations. The scope of this study was limited to ED presentations, and may not be representative of heart-disease-related end-of-life care more broadly.