The following conference includes scope for critical reflections of the relationship between alcohol and other drugs, crime, and the politics and efficacy of criminal justice responses. The call for abstracts is now open, see below.
THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY CONFERENCE 2012
‘Changing the Way We Think about Change: Shifting Boundaries, Changing Lives’
Thursday 12 – Friday 13 July 2012
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
A two day conference for academics, practitioners, activists and students. The 2012 theme focuses on changing contexts, dynamic relations, innovative approaches and emerging challenges in criminology and beyond. The event page and preliminary conference details are available at the following link:
http://www.events.utas.edu.au/2012/july/the-australian-and-new-zealand-critical-criminology-conference-2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS NOW OPEN
Abstracts are invited for papers exploring the following themes:
* Contradictions, paradoxes and controversies
* Global inequalities: people, places, politics
* Green criminology in a climate of change
* Institutions and culture: police, courts, probation, prisons
* Ending offending: desistance and the process of change
* Gaps, silences and forgotten minorities
* What matters? What’s important – and according to whom?
* Advocacy, activism and resisting apathy
* Over the horizon issues and emerging challenges
* Thinking differently, innovation and research frontiers
For details on abstract submission, please download the ‘Call for Abstracts’ flyer by going to the events page (see link above).
Conference programme and registration details to come.
For more information, please contact the CONFERENCE CONVENOR
Rob White, Professor of Criminology, School of Sociology & Social Work, University of Tasmania, Hobart
Email: R.D.White@utas.edu.au
Author Archives: James
Fully Funded Qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health
Exciting news from Odyssey House for those interested:
Qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health
Odyssey House Victoria is pleased to offer funded qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health see below for details.
Courses include:
· Diploma in Community Services (Alcohol and Other Drugs) CHC50208 ( www.workskillsweb.net/dip_info.html )
· Diploma in Community Services (Alcohol, other Drugs and Mental Health) CHC50408 ( http://www.workskillsweb.net/dip_aodmh_info.html )
· Certificate IV in Community Services (Alcohol and Other Drugs) CHC40408 ( http://www.workskillsweb.net/certiv_info.html )Recognition of Prior Learning
Would you like to gain your Diploma in Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), and feel your current skills should be recognised? Then you could qualify for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is a process where you gain your qualification based on your work experience, prior training and job description. We can visit you to conduct the necessary assessment and this usually takes just one or two visits.Examples of assessment:
· Work related documentation
· Third party reports (e.g. from supervisors or managers)
· Evidence of completed tasks at work
· Prior vocational experiences and training
Benefits of RPL:
· Reduces the time involved in gaining your qualification
· Removes ‘exam stress’
· Helps lower your related study costs
Full fee options are also available, however Odyssey House Victoria is able to offer eligible Victorian candidates funded qualifications courses listed above for only $550*. Funded training is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth Government funding and eligibility depends on your personal circumstances for details visit www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au.Enquiries and registration www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au or contact Sariah on 03 9420 7644, email studentadmin@odyssey.org.au
Michael Ried
Education & Workforce Development Manager
Odyssey Institute
660 Bridge Rd. Richmond Victoria 3121
www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au
New Workplace AOD resources
Via NCETA:
As you may be aware, the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) at Flinders University has a strong interest in the area of workplace health and safety. Our interest particularly focuses on issues that involve alcohol and or other drugs. NCETA has undertaken an extensive program of research in this area and developed many practical resources for use by researchers, policy makers and coal face practitioners.
We are pleased to provide you with details of a range of new NCETA workplace products that you may be interested in; they are:
1. Workplace Drug Testing: Evidence and Issues. Pidd, K., & Roche, AM. (2011) – a comprehensive review.
2. Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing. Pidd, K., Roche, AM., & White, M. (2011) – 4 page flier.
3. Young workers and workplace safety: Guidelines for managing alcohol and other drug risk. Pidd, K., Roche, AM., & Wilson, P. (2011) – a 20 page document.
These resources stem from projects undertaken by NCETA with funding provided by the South Australian Government through SafeWork SA.
If you would like hard copies of these resources or further information regarding our work in this area please contact the NCETA reception desk on 08 8201 7535 or email nceta@flinders.edu.au.
Electronic copies of these resources can be downloaded from the NCETA website www.nceta.flinders.edu.au.
Jobs: Specialist Pharmacotherapy Clinician, Melbourne
Specialist Pharmacotherapy Clinician (ref:10314)
Full Time Temporary until 31 August, 2012
Western Health’s Drug Health Services (DASWest) is the largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment programs in Melbourne’s West. Drug Health Services has recently undergone an intensive period of review and redesign.
An opportunity is currently available for a Registered Nurse Grade 3 to work in the multidisciplinary Specialist Pharmacotherapy Program, and play a key role in these exciting changes.
Enthusiastic Registered Nurses with Drug and Alcohol experience; including potential Nurse Practitioner Candidates are encouraged to apply.
Initially, the position is offered on a six month fixed term contract; with the possibility of extension.
Please see the position description for key selection criteria.
The successful applicant may be required to undergo a Police Records Check and / or hold a Victorian Working With Children Card.
To apply follow the link below:
http://westernhealth.mercury.com.au/ViewPosition.aspx?id=10314
Tobacco Smuggling Prospers in Spain
Spanish smokers, squeezed by higher taxes and a deepening recession, are increasingly relying on smugglers to feed their habit.
Illegal imports now account for 7 percent to 8 percent of Spanish cigarette sales, compared with almost nothing a year ago, according to the country’s tobacconists association. In southern provinces such as Cadiz, Seville and Malaga, the proportion is 20 percent.
“Smuggling and fake tobacco, which had been eradicated since 1993, came back strongly last year,” said Jaime Gil- Robles, corporate affairs director at Altadis, the Spanish unit of Imperial Tobacco Group Plc.
Smuggling, encouraged by a December 2010 increase in tobacco taxes and a ban on smoking in public places, has eroded both government coffers and company revenues. Spain, which has the European Union’s highest jobless rate, collected 14 percent less tobacco taxes in 2011 than a forecast of 9.05 billion euros ($12 billion), excluding value-added tax, according to Altadis.
Via www.bloomberg.com
Bikies recruit drug mules on social media sites
OUTLAW motorcycle gangs are using social media to recruit drug mules, Australia’s top crime body has revealed.The Australian Crime Commission, investigating “high-risk” crime groups in South Australia, is monitoring a number of drug recruits groomed through websites such as Facebook and has alerted South Australian Police.Commission chief executive John Lawler told The Advertiser outlaw motorcycle gangs had used social networks to recruit associates and people to help with criminal activity, especially in illicit drug distribution.Recruiting people on social media to traffic drugs has been a problem across Asia for three years, particularly in the Philippines and Malaysia.In SA last year a man with no known history of drug crime was recruited online and later charged by police for possessing illegal chemicals.
Via www.heraldsun.com.au
Funds Available for Drug, Alcohol Prevention Activities
Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems announced that the Committee on Prevention Education (COPE), an alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention support program, has extra funds available for drug and alcohol prevention activities.The funding is available for grassroots community groups (Act 211 groups, PTO’s, civic associations, community tasks forces, etc.), post-prom committees, and/or non-profit organizations to implement activities, educational programming, and school or community events that are specific to preventing youth substance use, and/or increasing community awareness of substance abuse issues.This community-based prevention program has supported a variety of activities including: family game nights, drug-free concerts and dances, high school after prom parties, town hall meetings, and evidence-based and parenting programs.
Via media.patch.com
Still Crazy: Some Dabble In Hard Drugs After 50
The specter of a burned-out Baby Boomer using hard drugs way into middle age may conjure images of addiction, destruction and death.That certainly can be true, but it’s not the complete picture, at least according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who found that people who occasionally use drugs like cocaine, amphetamines and opiates over the course of their lives are more common than anyone might suspect.“When you think of a drug user, you often think of someone strung-out, using every day, and in deep trouble, but national data shows that that’s not the most common thing you see,” says Dr. Stefan Kertesz, an associate professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. “The most common pattern is illicit drug use at lower levels.”In other words, these sporadic drug users are “dabblers,” says Kertesz, lead author of the study that followed more than 4,300 people from four cities recruited between the ages of 18 to 30 in 1985 and 1986 — and then tracked them for almost 20 years.He confirmed what he suspected from his experience in clinical care: that some perfectly functional middle-agers still turn to the drugs of their youth.
Via www.witn.com
Nominations Open – 2012 National Drug and Alcohol Awards
Get your nominations in!
Outstanding drug and alcohol workers and organisations will be recognised for their tireless work preventing or minimising harm in our community.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said: “Every day, thousands of dedicated professionals offer their experience, expertise and compassion to those struggling with the consequences of drug use. Their interventions help protect public health, reduce crime, and enable users to come to terms with their condition and regain control of their future. If these are difficult endeavours, they are never thankless. Rather our hardworking drug and alcohol workers have the nation’s gratitude and admiration.”
Nominations for the National Drug & Alcohol Awards are now open at www.drugawards.org.au
The Awards recognise the many people and organisations doing exceptional work to reduce the harm and impact of alcohol and other drugs in Australia.
Awards will be presented at the National Drug & Alcohol Awards Presentation Dinner at the Plaza Ballroom in Melbourne on Friday 22 June 2012.
Categories for nomination are:
v Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution to Drug and Alcohol Endeavours
v Excellence in Prevention and Community Education
v Excellence in Treatment and Support
v Excellence in Research
v Excellence in Services to Young People
v Excellence in Law Enforcement
v Excellence in Alcohol and other Drugs Media Reporting
v Excellence in School Drug Education
v Excellence in Creating Healthy Sporting CommunitiesThe 2012 inductees for the National Drug and Alcohol Honour Roll will also be announced – for which nominations can also be made.
If someone you know deserves recognition for their valuable contribution make sure you nominate them by Monday 30 April 2012.
Each category winner will receive $2000 prize money.
To find out more about the selection criteria and access the nomination form visit
www.drugawards.org.auThe National Drug and Alcohol Awards are a collaborative initiative by the Ted Noffs Foundation (TNF), the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA), and the Australian Drug Foundation. This year’s Awards are coordinated by the Australian Drug Foundation.
Awards and Presentation Information: Vanessa Ferguson 0415 561 243 or info@drugawards.org.au
Media Enquiries: Jaki Colgan or Renee Lustman, Australian Drug Foundation, 03 9278 8100 or 0430 948 380.
Twitter is harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, study finds
Tweeting or checking emails may be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, according to researchers who tried to measure how well people could resist their desires.They even claim that while sleep and sex may be stronger urges, people are more likely to give in to longings or cravings to use social and other media.A team headed by Wilhelm Hofmann of Chicago University’s Booth Business School say their experiment, using BlackBerrys, to gauge the willpower of 205 people aged between 18 and 85 in and around the German city of Würtzburg is the first to monitor such responses “in the wild” outside a laboratory.
Via www.guardian.co.uk
