Monthly Archives: December 2007

Year in review from one perspective

“DrugSense FOCUS Alert #357 – Monday, 31 December 2007

2007 saw almost fifteen thousand new news clippings added to the www.mapinc.org archives.

Over a half million different readers from about 125 countries accessed the clippings during the year. Based on a formula which recognizes that older clippings may have been accessed more than the more recent ones, selections of the 600 most read clippings by areas of the world are provided at the following links:

http://mapinc.org/find?369 2007 in Review – Australasia

http://mapinc.org/find?370 2007 in Review – Asia

http://mapinc.org/find?366 2007 in Review – Canada

http://mapinc.org/find?368 2007 in Review – South America

http://mapinc.org/find?367 2007 in Review – United Kingdom

http://mapinc.org/find?365 2007 in Review – United States

The year 2007 was good for our Letter to The Editor writing activists, with about 2,230 letters printed that we know of as shown at http://mapinc.org/lte/

The year also saw a nice upgrade in the online look of the DrugSense Weekly http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm

Among the best kept secrets in the reform community is the 30,000 plus record Media Contact On Demand database, which received a facelift during 2007 for ease of use and for which the data is continuously crawled – computer programs are checking the web for changes – and updated http://www.mapinc.org/mcod/

During the year DrugSense switched from using Paltalk to TeamSpeak for on line voice chats because the server software resides on our own server and because the program works as well on MAC and Linux computers as on Windows PCs. Besides MAP/DrugSense meeting rooms, both Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and the Ohio Patient Network have meeting rooms. Details about the software are at http://www.mapinc.org/resource/teamspeak/

It has also been a busy year for the DrugSense webmastering/website hosting team supporting 125 reform websites and over 200 email lists and forums. Among the major projects of the year were these:

– Major upgrades of The Drug Truth Network http://www.drugtruth.net and the LEAP websites http://www.leap.cc

– Adding new websites http://thepotlawhasfallen.ca/, http://compassionatecanadians.com/, http://www.illinoisnorml.org/, and http://chemicalbigotry.org/, with others in the works.

Oh, we have probably left out something we did during the past year that is important to you, but it is hard to keep on top of all that happens at DrugSense.

On behalf of the MAP/DrugSense family of activists we wish you all the best for the New Year!

**********************************************************************

Prepared by: The MAP/DrugSense Family of Activists”

Comorbidity Professional Development Scholarships

I came across this new scholarship opportunity I thought worth passing on:

“COMORBIDITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIPS:
FOR ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG AND MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS
?

The Australian Government has allocated $17.9 million over seven years from 2003-04 to 2009-10 for the National Comorbidity Initiative (NCI).

The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) has $1.9 million in funding to be awarded for Comorbidity Professional Development Scholarships as part of this initiative.

The Comorbidity Professional Development Scholarships are open to Alcohol and Other Drug and Mental Health workers employed in non-government organisations. The initiative aims to enhance workers professional skills and knowledge across the comorbidities of AOD and Mental Health by providing funding to support eligible workers to undertake relevant professional development and/or training.

Round 2 scholarships for 2008 are scheduled as follows:

Round Opens Application Closing Date Announcement of Awards
Monday 5 February 2008
Monday 3 March 2008
Monday 5 May 2008

Please refer to the enclosed Flyer.

Application forms and further information can be obtained from
http://www.nceta.flinders.edu.au/projects/comorbidity.html

Please feel free to distribute this email to your NGO networks.

Thank you!

Paula Wilson
Project Officer
National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA)
======================
Phone: (08) 8201 7565
Fax: (08) 8201 7550
WWW: www.nceta.flinders.edu.au

Manager, Alcohol Projects (Western Australia)

“INJURY CONTROL COUNCIL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Manager, Alcohol Projects

Fulltime (37.5 hours/week)

Salary Range: $60,638 – 67,017 depending on experience
_____________________________________________
ICCWA is the peak not for profit organisation involved in injury prevention and community safety promotion in Western Australia. ICCWA is an Equal Employment Opportunity organisation.

We are looking for a highly motivated, multi-skilled person to join our dynamic injury prevention team. Your key responsibilities will include:

Developing, implementing, managing and evaluating alcohol-related campaigns, programs and projects in the alcohol area;
Preparing funding submissions and reports;
Advocating on behalf of the community with regard to alcohol issues; and
Liaising with other community, non-government and government organisations about alcohol issues.

For further information or an application kit please contact Deborah Costello on (08) 9420 7212 or email dcostello@iccwa.org.au

Please send your applications to:

The President, Injury Control Council of Western Australia, City West Lotteries House, 2 Delhi Street, West Perth 6005.

Applications should include a current Resume and a brief statement addressing the selection criteria (no longer than 4-5 pages).

Applications close 5pm Friday 18th January 2008.”

Psychologist / Senior Psychologist (Wollongong, NSW)

“Wollongong Crisis Centre Drug & Alcohol Services Inc

Provides 24hr Residential Detoxification and Rehabilitation Services.

We currently have a 3 year position available (min 24hrs per wk) for a psychologist/senior psychologist to help with staff training and the further improvement of our evidence based treatment programs.

Interested in helping the people who work with people who have Drug & Alcohol problems?

Want experience in an Accredited Organisation that has achieved Leading Practice in the field?

If you would like to work with a very professional & progressive team, then this may be for you. In a cover letter all applicants need to explain how they meet the following criteria:

Essential:

Registration with NSW Psychologist Registration Board. Minimum 4 years.
Demonstrated knowledge of the skills needed within the Mental Health and Drug & Alcohol Fields.
Experience in providing supervision & training to a work group
Demonstrated skills and experience working with psychological assessment and report writing
Excellent written & oral communication skills
Current drivers license

Desirable:

Experience working in a residential AOD service
Experience in workplace training & assessment
Reliable work history
Self-motivated

Thank you for your interest. Please send your cover letter and CV to:

Manager

Wollongong Crisis Centre

P.O Box 25

Berkeley NSW 2506

Ph 42729785

or e-mail manager@wccaod.com

Applications close 17th Dec 2007.”

Health Promotion Officer (Wollongong, NSW)

“The Health Promotion Officer is instrumental in the coordination of health promotion programs in HIV/AIDS, sexual health and hepatitis C. This will include planning, developing, implementation and evaluation of health promotion programs.

This position will concentrate on health promotion for the priority groups, including youth, PLWHA, gay men and sex workers. The aim of these programs is to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV, sexually transmissible infections and hepatitis C.

Budget No./Position No.: 2516300A04
Position Title: Health Promotion Officer
Facility: Population Health & Planning – Area
Location: Wollongong
Classification: Health Education Officer – Graduate
Award: 25 – Health Education Officers Determination
Employment Status: Permanent Full Time
Hours: 38 hours per week

Essential Criteria:

1. Relevant tertiary qualifications in social/behavioural sciences or public health/community health or education or equivalent.
2. Demonstrated experience in Health Promotion planning, implementation and evaluation.
3. Demonstrated experience in developing partnerships with HIV and sexual health services, other government departments, and/or non government organisations.
4. Understanding and sensitivity to the issues affecting priority target groups.
5. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
6. Experience working in the fields of HIV/AIDS, sexual health or hepatitis C.
7. Current driver’s licence.

Contact person:
Douglas Knox
A/Team Leader,HARP Unit, Southern Network
Ph: 9382 8128”