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Researchers have found that many post-secondary music students suffer from physical and mental health issues. However, researchers have mainly studied these problems at the individual level, with little investigation of how music students' work is shaped by the coordinating effects of policies, texts, and discourses at and beyond their local site. This paper describes a protocol for an international project that will explore the health of music students in the context of their daily work. Using an institutional ethnography approach, we will examine the social organization of music students' work at three universities: two in Canada and one in Australia. This will be the first set of studies that use institutional ethnography specifically for the purpose of understanding how the social organization of music students' work shapes their health. Data will be collected using several methods common to institutional ethnography: interviews, focus groups, observations, and collecting texts. Data analysis will begin during the data collection process and proceed in two fluid stages. The first stage will involve a detailed investigation of the pertinent work activities at each music school. The second will involve linking that work to specific social relations within and beyond the institution. After data analysis has been completed at all three sites, findings will be compared to one another to identify commonalities and differences in how students' work is organized. Findings of the entire project may inform policy-making and lead to positive change at the institutions studied, as well as others where similar social organization may occur. The novel approach described here will provide opportunities to expand current knowledge about music students' work and health beyond what has been learned through approaches that focus on students' individual behaviours and attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Midlife, beginning at 40 years and extending to 65 years, a range that encompasses the late reproductive to late menopausal stages, is a unique time in women's lives, when hormonal and physical changes are often accompanied by psychological and social evolution. Access to sexual health and sexual well-being (SHSW) services, which include the prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and the support of sexual function, pleasure and safety, is important for the health of midlife women, their relationships and community cohesion. The objective was to use the socio-ecological model to synthesise the barriers and enablers to SHSW services for midlife women in high-income countries. A systematic review of the enablers and barriers to women (including trans-gender and non-binary people) aged 40–65 years accessing SHSW services in high-income countries was undertaken. Four databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar) were searched for peer-reviewed publications. Findings were thematically extracted and reported in a narrative synthesis. Eighty-one studies were included; a minority specifically set out to study SHSW care for midlife women. The key barriers that emerged were the intersecting disadvantage of under-served groups, poor knowledge, about SHSW, and SHSW services, among women and their healthcare professionals (HCPs), and the over-arching effect of stigma, social connections and psychological factors on access to care. Enablers included intergenerational learning, interdisciplinary and one-stop women-only services, integration of SHSW into other services, peer support programmes, representation of minoritised midlife women working in SHSW, local and free facilities and financial incentives to access services for under-served groups. Efforts are needed to enhance education about SHSW and related services among midlife women and their healthcare providers. This increased education should be leveraged to improve research, public health messaging, interventions, policy development and access to comprehensive services, especially for midlife women from underserved groups. Plain language summary: Sexual health and sexual wellbeing services for midlife women in high income countries Midlife, beginning at 40 years and extending to 65 years, a range that encompasses the late reproductive to late menopausal stages, is a unique time in women's lives. Access to Sexual Health and Sexual Wellbeing (SHSW) services, which include the prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and the support of sexual function, pleasure and safety, is important for the health of midlife women, their relationships and community cohesion. The objective of this systematic review was to use the socio-ecological model to synthesise the barriers and enablers to SHSW services for midlife women in high income countries. Eighty-one studies were included; a minority specifically set out to study SHSW care for midlife women. The key barriers that emerged were the intersecting disadvantage of under-served groups, poor knowledge, about SHSW, and SHSW services, among women and their HealthCare Professionals (HCPs), and the over-arching effect of stigma, social connections, and psychological factors on access to care. Enablers included intergenerational learning, interdisciplinary and one-stop women-only services, integration of SHSW into other services, peer support programmes, representation of minoritised midlife women working in SHSW, local and free facilities, and financial incentives for under-served groups to access services. The appetite for education about SHSW and SHSW services among midlife women and their HCPs should be capitalised upon, and utilised to improve research, public health messaging, interventions and access to holistic services, particularly for midlife women from under-served groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the design of intergovernmental transfers in two mature federations, Australia and Canada, in an effort to determine empirically how well transfers in these countries mitigate shocks to regional government revenues. Two general results emerge. First, the average impact of federal transfers in Australia and Canada is not generally stabilizing for regional government revenues. Second, using the methodology of von Hagen and Hepp, we found little evidence of a marginal stabilizing impact of federal transfers on Australian state revenues. For Canada, we found evidence of somewhat larger impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-friendly cities are crucial to achieve the WHO goal of healthy aging. Such cities promote opportunities for health, participation, and security, thus enhancing quality of life as people age. Older people commonly experience psychosocial challenges such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, loss of autonomy, grief, fear, and loneliness. Australian and Canadian cities continue to seek innovation to improve healthy urban aging and create more age-friendly environments for older adults. There is increasing evidence on the effectiveness and feasibility of mobile technology in health promotion and closing psychological treatment gaps. Older adults have been demonstrated to engage frequently with mobile devices, particularly text messaging. In this article, we conceptualize the Text4HealthyAging, an evidence-based text messaging innovation to support healthy urban aging in Canadian and Australian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes and analyzes the little-known, but extensive, defense cooperative relationship that exists among the armed forces of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. While perhaps arguably a relatively esoteric subject prior to 1989, given the recent changes that have taken place in the Soviet Union, U.S. alliance strategy is now on the threshold of a new era--an era in which the Soviet threat is seen by many allies as diminishing. As U.S. officials ponder the implications of a decreased Soviet threat on its many alliances, of which almost all have been threat-based, it will be important to recall the one series of collective security arrangements with allies that has been founded on similarities, vice solely threats. This intimate Anglo-Saxon connection appears to have the needed bases for enduring well into the post-cold-war era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the outset of the Thatcher/Reagan era, the employment and labor law systems across six Anglo- American countries could be divided into three pairings: the Wagner Act model of the United States and Canada; the Voluntarist system of collective bargaining and strong unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and the highly centralized, legalistic Award systems of Australia and New Zealand. The authors argue that there has been growing convergence in two major areas: First, of labor law toward a private ordering of employment relations in which terms and conditions of work and employment are primarily determined at the level of the enterprise; and second, of individual employment rights, toward a basket of minimum standards that can then be improved upon by the parties. The greatest similarity is found in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Ireland retains a greater degree of public ordering, while the United States diverges in favoring the interests of employers over those of employees and organized labor. The authors explore reasons for the convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Provincial and territorial governments are considering how best to improve access to psychotherapy from the current patchwork of programmes. To achieve the best value for money, new funding needs to reach a wider population rather than simply replacing services funded through insurance benefits. We considered lessons for Canada from the relative uptake of private insurance and public funding for allied health psychotherapy in Australia.Method: We analysed published administrative claims data from 2003-2004 to 2014-2015 on Australian privately insured psychologist services, publicly insured psychotherapy under the 'Better Access' initiative, and public grant funding for psychotherapy through the 'Access to Allied Psychological Services' programme. Utilisation was compared to the prevalence of mental disorders and treatment rates in the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.Results: The introduction of public funding for psychotherapy led to a 52.1% reduction in private insurance claims. Costs per session were more than double under private insurance and likely contributed to individuals with private coverage choosing to instead access public programmes. However, despite substantial community unmet need, we estimate just 0.4% of the population made private insurance claims in the 2006-2007 period. By contrast, from its introduction, growth in the utilisation of Better Access quickly dwarfed other programmes and led to significantly increased community access to treatment.Conclusions: Although insurance in Canada is sponsored by employers, psychology claims also appear surprisingly low, and unmet need similarly high. Careful consideration will be needed in designing publicly funded psychotherapy programmes to prepare for the high demand while minimizing reductions in private insurance claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 1989 Canadian Labour Market Activity Survey and, for Australia, the 1989-90 Income Distribution Survey, the authors investigate the reasons for the significantly lower gender wage gap in Australia than in Canada. Key similarities and differences between these two countries, the authors argue, make them a good basis for a "natural experiment" to investigate the effects of different labor market institutions. In particular, Australia has a' stronger union movement and a greater degree of centralization in wage determination than Canada, and most of its workers are covered by legally binding minimum working conditions. The authors conclude that several differences between the countries in labor market structure-notably, a lower rate of return to education, a lower rate of return to labor market experience, and a lower level of wage inequality in Australia than in Canada - are largely responsible for the smaller gender wage gap in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine gender differences in the relative poverty of men and women in eight industrialized countries. The analyses are based on data from the Luxembourg Income Study, which includes data from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands. We examine the importance of the gender-specific demographic compositions of marriage, parenthood, and employment in accounting for differences in men's and women's poverty rates, both within and across countries. The cross-national comparisons suggest that the relative importance of demographic characteristics differs by country and that factors such as religion, culture, and government policies also help determine the gap between women's and men's poverty rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, using the case of Australian and Canadian autoworkers, the author traces how the tendencies towards social division amongst workers are re-articulated through the introduction of new managerial strategies, particularly lean production and Human Resource Management. But it also emphasises that these tendencies can be countered by a trade union strategy which stresses the importance of an agenda which recognises the importance of women and the potential for alliances with other groups. It has long been the role of working class organizations whether unions, political parties or fraternal societies to build some form of unity out of the diversity amongst workers, on the assumption that political and economic power for workers rests in collective action; divided workers fall prey to attacks by employers and governments. Present conditions of increased market competition, greater labour market instability and changes to the nature of work associated with lean production have added momentum to fragmentary tendencies amongst workers.

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