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People from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds resettling in Australia often experience intersecting risks for poor mental and physical health. Physical activity can promote better health outcomes, however there are limited programs tailored for this population. Therefore, understanding how to support refugees and asylum seekers to engage in physical activity is crucial. This paper aims to describe how the experience-based co-design (EBCD) process was used to identify priorities for a new physical activity service for refugees and asylum seekers. Using an EBCD framework we conducted qualitative interviews and co-design workshops with service users (refugees and asylum seekers living in the community) and service providers at a community Centre in Sydney, Australia. Sixteen participants, including eight service users and eight service providers engaged in the EBCD process over 12-months. The interviews revealed common themes or 'touchpoints' including barriers and enablers to physical activity participation such as access, safety and competing stressors. Subsequent co-design focus groups resulted in the establishment of five fundamental priorities and actionable strategies; ensuring cultural and psychological safety, promoting accessibility, facilitating support to access basic needs, enhancing physical activity literacy and fostering social connection. Using EBCD methodology, this study used the insights and lived experiences of both service users and providers to co-design a physical activity service for refugees and asylum seekers which is safe, supportive, social and accessible. The results of the implementation and evaluation of the program are ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High population growth rate and the limited non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels have made different challenges for the energy supply in the building sector, especially for the residential buildings. Nearly zero energy buildings are viable solutions for reducing the dependency of the building sector on non-renewable energy sources and reducing the destructive environmental impacts of building sector during their operational period. Besides, nearly zero energy buildings are climate-specific. That means their development needs to be addressed in various economic, technical, and climatic conditions of different countries. Consequently, the present study tries to identify the cost-optimal options for designing a residential nearly zero energy building in Kabul city, the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. In this regard, the optimal options are identified using energy simulation and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. The results showed that due to some economic limitations such as high interest rates and low energy prices, improving the performance of the building envelope has played a crucial role in determining the cost-optimal options for a nearly zero energy building design in Kabul city. For the optimal options, the payback period is two years, and the total energy consumption is reduced by 83%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relentless environmental concerns, steep hike in fossil fuel price, and increasing demand of non-renewable fossil fuels consumption have dramatically increased global search for alternative energies. The world requests ever growing energy supplies to sustain economic development and improvement. Renewable and sustainable energy ever more becoming accepted and established a decisive place in energy system of the word due to ecologicallyresponsiveinsight and a decrease in equipment expenses. Consistent with its endowment of energy resources, each country tried to figure out its own energy portfolio and employing technologies, which are economically viable and socially equitable, and have minimal adverse impacts. This article attempts to review all possible renewable energy sources as a substitute of the current energy profile (coal, natural gas, and petroleum) in Afghanistan. The study found Afghanistan power sector as one of the least development sector which its inadequate status is preventing the development of the country as well. Eventhough, the energy is not the only panacea, but cost effective energies in abundant quantity and quality on sustainable foundation will help to reach to demand socio-economic development. The results indicate that Afghanistan due to its natural and geographical situations enjoys important prospective for renewable energy bases such as solar, wind, geothermal and micro hydro power. Renewable energies could offer the ultimate solution for Afghanistan in general, and rural areas in actual. But, switch to altered forms of energy is grounded in multifaceted interations. The study indicates number of issues such as great upfront charges, absence of providers, insufficient funding appliances, and feebleindorsed and methodologicalcapability overwhelm and affected the use of renewable energies and technologies in Afghanistan. However, with sufficient investment and practical stages by government, andnongovernment agencies and the public encourage, these unbound sources could play a vital role not only in Afghanistan's energy supply, but also in poverty reduction, social and political stability, and improving living standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the divergent positioning of Afghan women in diaspora in Iran, Pakistan, the U.K., and the U.S. and in their return to Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban. Afghans comprise a diverse group in terms of ethnicity, age, class, and religion, and their experiences in diaspora vary accordingly. Afghan women in Iran and Pakistan may have relatively less access to resources, including citizenship rights, in comparison with Afghan women in the U.K. and the U.S. who may be transnational and of a higher social class. However, Afghan women in Iran and Pakistan are able to break down masculine domains more effectively than Afghan women in the U.K. and the U.S. This is because Afghan women in the West are constantly engaged in mediating between 'Western' values and their Afghan/Muslim cultural identities. Finally, women in Afghanistan face imported Western notions of market liberalization, governance, and gender mainstreaming, which have failed to bring about desired state building, peace, and security. For the majority of Afghan women, advancing women's rights is not just about challenging male domination; it is also about challenging imperialist domination, militaristically and economically as well as culturally. Although the main focus is on the transitions in women's lives, due to displacement and - in some cases - reintegration, I will also address how these changes have affected Afghan men. One critical theme runs through the paper: the issue of gender, agency, and identity and the ways in which women, through their positioning in diaspora and under invading forces, are also social actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will discuss how Afghan women, as diverse groups, exercised autonomy and agency in diaspora (Iran and Pakistan) and in Afghanistan under US-led invasion. Negotiations between social, political, economic, ethnic, cultural and gender spheres are a constant battle for Afghan women. They have invented different ways of coping with life, under the most extreme forms of coercion, fear and high levels of uncertainties. In diaspora, despite marginalisation, they established women's voices and agency. Exile became an important factor to reshape their identity according to their diverse positions. Under NATO and US-led invasion they are challenging imperialist representation of Afghan women. They are seeking freedom from hierarchical and patriarchal domination. They hope that their active agency will enable them to establish their own identity free from male, ethnic, religious and imperial domination. The paper will draw the attention of the reader to the enormous influence of state policies (Afghanistan/US, Iran, Pakistan), as well as the impact of women's movement in Iran and the NGOs in Pakistan, on the lives of Afghan women and men in Afghanistan and diasporic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, based on field research in Kabul in February 2002, begins by discussing how women experience war and violent conflict differently from men, in particular by defining different types of violence against women in Afghanistan. Second, by identifying individual Afghan women, as well as women's networks and organisations, I analyse their different coping strategies and the ways in which networking and different forms of group solidarity became mechanisms for women's empowerment. Third, I demonstrate how, throughout Taliban rule, many women risked their lives by turning their homes into underground networks of schools for girls and young women. I argue that, as social actors, they created cohesion and solidarity in their communities. Their secret organisations have already laid the foundation for the building of social capital, which is crucial for the process of reconstruction in Afghanistan. In the final section, I propose that women in Afghanistan, as social actors, are optimistic and willing to participate in the process of reconstruction. As a researcher, I intend to articulate their voice, views, and demands, which I hope will be taken into consideration by policy makers and aid workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]