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Papers by Christina A David
International journal of care and caring, Jul 8, 2024
Qualitative Social Work, Jun 12, 2015
The need for all people with disability to have access to reliable information before they can ma... more The need for all people with disability to have access to reliable information before they can make informed choices in individualised funding programmes is well documented. However, little guidance exists on how information can be provided to ensure it reaches its target audience. While information provision is important everywhere, there is a pressing need in the Australian context to ensure all people have access to information as the National Disability Insurance Scheme is designed and introduced. The authors identified key principles of information provision documented in the literature and used these to analyse their data from Australian studies of individualised funding programmes. The data came from 143 transcripts and records of interview in five studies conducted from 2011 to 2013. The analysis confirmed the importance of the principles previously documented and identified two additional principles, these being related to gender and ‘hard to reach’ groups. This analysis informs a new framework to increase equity and improve people’s access to information in individualised funding programmes. Information needs to be: (i) accessible and diverse in format, mode, source and location; (ii) personalised and targeted; (iii) accurate, consistent and timely; (iv) from a trusted source; (v) independent; (vi) culturally appropriate; (vii) actively promoted to ‘hard to reach’ groups and (viii) gender appropriate. This paper provides a new framework to guide information in individualised funding programmes for professionals in roles ranging from policy makers to service delivery.
Qualitative Social Work, May 1, 2020
The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they... more The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they live are being challenged in Australia with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This paper reports on the experiences of a place-based and participatory action research project in regional Tasmania which sought to co-create citizenship opportunities with co-researchers living with disability. We report on our experience of negotiating this ambitious and emergent project through the uncertain and shifting terrain of the contemporary neoliberal policy and service context. We highlight the rich gains as well as the significant relational, contextual and procedural challenges of operationalising and staying true to bottom up and strengths-based community development principles. Key learnings relate to risks of creating liminal spaces for community action, about power and authority, and about
Advances in human services and public health (AHSPH) book series, 2019
This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitabil... more This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitability for people with mental illness. This is a contested area with some writers concerned that mental illness is different from other types of disability and unsuitable for individual funding. The recovery model and the episodic nature of mental illness are seen as conflicting with individual funding eligibility criteria for consistent and permanent disability. The counter view is that flexible individual funding is ideally suited to meeting the fluctuating needs of people with mental illness: its key principles of empowerment and self-direction being consistent with the recovery paradigm. Evidence from Australian and international studies is reviewed, suggesting that successful outcomes can be achieved if the necessary supports and resources are available to meet people's needs.
Australian Journal of Social Issues, Oct 13, 2020
We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality stan... more We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality standards as key technologies in the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia. The emergence of performance outcome measurement and increased consumer access to these through diverse consumer facing and interactive platforms enables the state to "govern at a distance" through the management and shaping of outcome indicators rather than delivery of services. The state does this by creating market competition and establishing outcomes which reflect the construction people using services as informed and rational consumers rather than citizens. This construction and operationalisation frame marketisation as a rational solution to broken systems, assume choice is unproblematic and ignore diverse capacities to access and use information, resource differentials and contextual variables such as market maturity and service availability. The benign marketisation of human services thus discriminates against those who are already marginalised and disadvantaged unless equity strategies are clearly in place.
Australian Journal of Social Issues, Dec 1, 2017
This article examines the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by self-management opti... more This article examines the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by self-management options in Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We examine the three different ways in which NDIS participants can opt to self-manage their funding and services, including direct employment and emerging Uber-style online platforms, and explore the potential implications of these options for NDIS participants, service providers and the disability support workforce. In particular, we focus on these options in relation to the transition to a marketised services landscape being developed alongside the NDIS, and examine both the risks and opportunities for each stakeholder group. Through this analysis, we identify implications for policy and practice, in particular around regulatory mechanisms and the role of government within this emerging market economy and transforming service landscape.
Higher education research and development, Aug 1, 2012
Australian Social Work, May 5, 2021
People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are se... more People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are seeking asylum, face enormous challenges. In addition to the difficult histories they bring with them, the shifting political and policy landscapes have resulted in a fractured and disintegrated service response, with changes to immigration policy and the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme set to exacerbate existing issues in the system. This paper outlines the shifting policy contexts and presents findings of a consultation process undertaken by the Refugee Council of Australia that highlights the barriers that people from refugee backgrounds living with disability face. The three main themes identified are the shifting sectors in practice, reflecting changes at the policy level, the barriers to service and the consequences of poor service provision. These themes give rise to a number of implications for social work which are explored.
Over the last 15 years, the profile of students enrolled in Australian accounting programs has ch... more Over the last 15 years, the profile of students enrolled in Australian accounting programs has changed dramatically. While professional bodies based their accreditation guidelines on the requirement of equivalency of content and assessment, it is less clear how assessment ...
People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are se... more People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are seeking asylum, face enormous challenges. In addition to the traumatic histories they bring with them, the shifting political and policy landscapes have resulted in a fractured and disintegrated service response, with changes to immigration policy and the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme set to exacerbate existing issues in the system. This paper outlines the shifting policy contexts and presents findings of a consultation process undertaken by the Refugee Council of Australia.
Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment
This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitabil... more This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitability for people with mental illness. This is a contested area with some writers concerned that mental illness is different from other types of disability and unsuitable for individual funding. The recovery model and the episodic nature of mental illness are seen as conflicting with individual funding eligibility criteria for consistent and permanent disability. The counter view is that flexible individual funding is ideally suited to meeting the fluctuating needs of people with mental illness: its key principles of empowerment and self-direction being consistent with the recovery paradigm. Evidence from Australian and international studies is reviewed, suggesting that successful outcomes can be achieved if the necessary supports and resources are available to meet people's needs.
Australian Journal of Social Issues
Australian Journal of Social Issues
Qualitative Social Work
The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they... more The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they live are being challenged in Australia with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This paper reports on the experiences of a place-based and participatory action research project in regional Tasmania which sought to co-create citizenship opportunities with co-researchers living with disability. We report on our experience of negotiating this ambitious and emergent project through the uncertain and shifting terrain of the contemporary neoliberal policy and service context. We highlight the rich gains as well as the significant relational, contextual and procedural challenges of operationalising and staying true to bottom up and strengths-based community development principles. Key learnings relate to risks of creating liminal spaces for community action, about power and authority, and about the skills, resources and labour needed to unearth and mobilise individual a...
Higher Education Research & Development, 2012
Efforts to systematically integrate graduate attributes across university curricula have relied o... more Efforts to systematically integrate graduate attributes across university curricula have relied on academic staff acceptance and ability to translate top-down policy into teaching practice. The literature and anecdotal reports over the past two decades show limited success in the area using this approach. Why is this so? Teaching staff across 16 Australian universities were surveyed, as part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded grant, regarding their beliefs about graduate attributes and their willingness and confidence to teach and assess them. The study found that although 73% of academic staff surveyed believed graduate attributes were important, there was a substantial difference between beliefs and actual emphasis reported in practice. We consider the major influences on the teaching and assessment of graduate attributes, the implications for policy development and implementation, and propose a rethink in relation to how to work towards improved graduate attribute outcomes in universities.
International journal of care and caring, Jul 8, 2024
Qualitative Social Work, Jun 12, 2015
The need for all people with disability to have access to reliable information before they can ma... more The need for all people with disability to have access to reliable information before they can make informed choices in individualised funding programmes is well documented. However, little guidance exists on how information can be provided to ensure it reaches its target audience. While information provision is important everywhere, there is a pressing need in the Australian context to ensure all people have access to information as the National Disability Insurance Scheme is designed and introduced. The authors identified key principles of information provision documented in the literature and used these to analyse their data from Australian studies of individualised funding programmes. The data came from 143 transcripts and records of interview in five studies conducted from 2011 to 2013. The analysis confirmed the importance of the principles previously documented and identified two additional principles, these being related to gender and ‘hard to reach’ groups. This analysis informs a new framework to increase equity and improve people’s access to information in individualised funding programmes. Information needs to be: (i) accessible and diverse in format, mode, source and location; (ii) personalised and targeted; (iii) accurate, consistent and timely; (iv) from a trusted source; (v) independent; (vi) culturally appropriate; (vii) actively promoted to ‘hard to reach’ groups and (viii) gender appropriate. This paper provides a new framework to guide information in individualised funding programmes for professionals in roles ranging from policy makers to service delivery.
Qualitative Social Work, May 1, 2020
The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they... more The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they live are being challenged in Australia with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This paper reports on the experiences of a place-based and participatory action research project in regional Tasmania which sought to co-create citizenship opportunities with co-researchers living with disability. We report on our experience of negotiating this ambitious and emergent project through the uncertain and shifting terrain of the contemporary neoliberal policy and service context. We highlight the rich gains as well as the significant relational, contextual and procedural challenges of operationalising and staying true to bottom up and strengths-based community development principles. Key learnings relate to risks of creating liminal spaces for community action, about power and authority, and about
Advances in human services and public health (AHSPH) book series, 2019
This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitabil... more This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitability for people with mental illness. This is a contested area with some writers concerned that mental illness is different from other types of disability and unsuitable for individual funding. The recovery model and the episodic nature of mental illness are seen as conflicting with individual funding eligibility criteria for consistent and permanent disability. The counter view is that flexible individual funding is ideally suited to meeting the fluctuating needs of people with mental illness: its key principles of empowerment and self-direction being consistent with the recovery paradigm. Evidence from Australian and international studies is reviewed, suggesting that successful outcomes can be achieved if the necessary supports and resources are available to meet people's needs.
Australian Journal of Social Issues, Oct 13, 2020
We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality stan... more We show how policy discourses construct consumer choice, performance measurement and quality standards as key technologies in the marketisation of disability services and aged care in Australia. The emergence of performance outcome measurement and increased consumer access to these through diverse consumer facing and interactive platforms enables the state to "govern at a distance" through the management and shaping of outcome indicators rather than delivery of services. The state does this by creating market competition and establishing outcomes which reflect the construction people using services as informed and rational consumers rather than citizens. This construction and operationalisation frame marketisation as a rational solution to broken systems, assume choice is unproblematic and ignore diverse capacities to access and use information, resource differentials and contextual variables such as market maturity and service availability. The benign marketisation of human services thus discriminates against those who are already marginalised and disadvantaged unless equity strategies are clearly in place.
Australian Journal of Social Issues, Dec 1, 2017
This article examines the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by self-management opti... more This article examines the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by self-management options in Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We examine the three different ways in which NDIS participants can opt to self-manage their funding and services, including direct employment and emerging Uber-style online platforms, and explore the potential implications of these options for NDIS participants, service providers and the disability support workforce. In particular, we focus on these options in relation to the transition to a marketised services landscape being developed alongside the NDIS, and examine both the risks and opportunities for each stakeholder group. Through this analysis, we identify implications for policy and practice, in particular around regulatory mechanisms and the role of government within this emerging market economy and transforming service landscape.
Higher education research and development, Aug 1, 2012
Australian Social Work, May 5, 2021
People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are se... more People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are seeking asylum, face enormous challenges. In addition to the difficult histories they bring with them, the shifting political and policy landscapes have resulted in a fractured and disintegrated service response, with changes to immigration policy and the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme set to exacerbate existing issues in the system. This paper outlines the shifting policy contexts and presents findings of a consultation process undertaken by the Refugee Council of Australia that highlights the barriers that people from refugee backgrounds living with disability face. The three main themes identified are the shifting sectors in practice, reflecting changes at the policy level, the barriers to service and the consequences of poor service provision. These themes give rise to a number of implications for social work which are explored.
Over the last 15 years, the profile of students enrolled in Australian accounting programs has ch... more Over the last 15 years, the profile of students enrolled in Australian accounting programs has changed dramatically. While professional bodies based their accreditation guidelines on the requirement of equivalency of content and assessment, it is less clear how assessment ...
People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are se... more People in Australia living with disabilities who are also from refugee backgrounds, or who are seeking asylum, face enormous challenges. In addition to the traumatic histories they bring with them, the shifting political and policy landscapes have resulted in a fractured and disintegrated service response, with changes to immigration policy and the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme set to exacerbate existing issues in the system. This paper outlines the shifting policy contexts and presents findings of a consultation process undertaken by the Refugee Council of Australia.
Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment
This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitabil... more This chapter outlines the key features of individual funding programs and examines their suitability for people with mental illness. This is a contested area with some writers concerned that mental illness is different from other types of disability and unsuitable for individual funding. The recovery model and the episodic nature of mental illness are seen as conflicting with individual funding eligibility criteria for consistent and permanent disability. The counter view is that flexible individual funding is ideally suited to meeting the fluctuating needs of people with mental illness: its key principles of empowerment and self-direction being consistent with the recovery paradigm. Evidence from Australian and international studies is reviewed, suggesting that successful outcomes can be achieved if the necessary supports and resources are available to meet people's needs.
Australian Journal of Social Issues
Australian Journal of Social Issues
Qualitative Social Work
The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they... more The dynamics of inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities and the places in which they live are being challenged in Australia with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This paper reports on the experiences of a place-based and participatory action research project in regional Tasmania which sought to co-create citizenship opportunities with co-researchers living with disability. We report on our experience of negotiating this ambitious and emergent project through the uncertain and shifting terrain of the contemporary neoliberal policy and service context. We highlight the rich gains as well as the significant relational, contextual and procedural challenges of operationalising and staying true to bottom up and strengths-based community development principles. Key learnings relate to risks of creating liminal spaces for community action, about power and authority, and about the skills, resources and labour needed to unearth and mobilise individual a...
Higher Education Research & Development, 2012
Efforts to systematically integrate graduate attributes across university curricula have relied o... more Efforts to systematically integrate graduate attributes across university curricula have relied on academic staff acceptance and ability to translate top-down policy into teaching practice. The literature and anecdotal reports over the past two decades show limited success in the area using this approach. Why is this so? Teaching staff across 16 Australian universities were surveyed, as part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded grant, regarding their beliefs about graduate attributes and their willingness and confidence to teach and assess them. The study found that although 73% of academic staff surveyed believed graduate attributes were important, there was a substantial difference between beliefs and actual emphasis reported in practice. We consider the major influences on the teaching and assessment of graduate attributes, the implications for policy development and implementation, and propose a rethink in relation to how to work towards improved graduate attribute outcomes in universities.