Migration-related Factors and Settlement Service Literacy: Findings from the Multi-site Migrants' Settlement Study.

Migrants' access and effective utilisation of settlement services depend on their level of settlement service literacy (SSL). However, SSL is multi-dimensional in nature and has many facets that are influenced by demographic and migration-related factors. Identifying factors that drive various components of SSL, and thus allowing for more focused development of specific dimensions, is critical. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between components of SSL and migration-related and migrants' demographic factors. Using a snowball sampling approach, trained multilingual research assistants collected data on 653 participants. Data were collected using face-to-face or online (phone and via video platforms such as Zoom and Skype) surveys. Our findings suggest that demographic and migration-related factors explained 32% of the variance in overall SSL; and 17%, 23%, 44%, 8%, 10% of the variance in knowledge, empowerment, competence, community influence, and political components of SSL respectively. SSL was positively associated with pre-migration and post-migration educational attainment, being employed in Australia, being a refugee, coming from the sub-Saharan region but negatively associated with age and coming from the East Asia and Pacific region. Across SSL dimensions, post-migration education was the only factor positively associated with the overall SSL and all SSL dimensions (except the political dimension). Employment status in Australia was also positively associated with competency and empowerment, but not other dimensions. Affiliating with a religion other than Christianity or Islam was negatively associated with knowledge and empowerment whilst being a refugee was positively associated with knowledge. Age was negatively associated with the empowerment and competency dimensions. The study provides evidence of the importance of some pre- and post-migration factors that can assist in developing targeted initiatives to enhance migrants' SSL. Identifying factors that drive various components of SSL will allow for more focused development of specific dimensions and therefore is critical.

Integrative Resource Model of Workplace Inclusion for Reduced Inequality: Conservation of Resources Perspective.

This study provides much-needed empirical study of workplace inclusion of underresourced employees of low socioeconomic status. Based upon a conservation of resources perspective, we have examined the centrality of resources as a key inclusion process for well-being outcomes for employees with insufficient resources. In the context of misuse of institutional power over operative workers within highly segmented and hierarchical work settings, this study validates the importance of economic inclusion for fostering workers' well-being via fair employment practices. This study also offers new knowledge of the integrative resource model of workplace inclusion research by validating workers' personal resources of learning orientation as an internal condition for strengthening the positive effect of economic inclusion on well-being.

Establishing the psychometric properties of constructs from the conceptual 'Settlement Services Literacy' framework and their relationship with migrants' acculturative stress in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Effective migration often requires supports for new arrivals, referred to as settlement services. Settlement services literacy (SSL) is key to ensuring new migrants have the capability to access and utilise the information and services designed to support the resettlement process and achieve positive settlement outcomes. To date, however, no research has sought to empirically validate measures of SSL or to assess individual migrants' levels of SSL. The aim of this study was to establish the psychometric properties of constructs from the conceptual SSL framework. DESIGN: Using a snowball sampling approach, trained multilingual research assistants collected data on 653 participants. The total sample was randomly divided into two split-half samples: one for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA; N = 324) and the other for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 329) and scale validation. The final SSL scale included 30 questions. The full data set was used to test the nomological validity of the scale regarding whether the components of SSL impact on migrants' level of acculturative stress. RESULTS: The EFA yielded five factors: knowledge (eight items, α = 0.88), empowerment (five items, α = 0.89), competence (four items, α = 0.86), community influence (four items, α = 0.82), and political (two items, α = 0.81). In the CFA, the initial model demonstrated a poor to marginal fit model. Its re-specification by examining modification indices resulted in a good model fit: CMIN/DF = 3.07, comparative fit index = 0.92, root mean square error of approximation = 0.08 and standardised root mean square residual = 0.07, which are consistent with recommendations. All the path coefficients between the second-order construct (SSL) and its five dimensions (knowledge, empowerment, competence, community influence and political) were significant at an α = .05 level, giving evidence for the validity of different SSL dimensions. We found that SSL is significantly related to migrants' acculturative stress (ß = - 0.39, p < 0.05) in the nomological model. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of the construct validity and reliability of the SSL tool. It provides the basis for integrating the measures of SSL into evaluation of settlement services. This will allow for more effective decision-making in designing and implementing settlement services as well as funding and service agreements to address any deficiencies.

Barriers to performing onsite COVID-19 testing during the second wave in Victoria: Experiences of general practices.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The approach to performing COVID-19 testing in general practice has been going through an evolution and is variable. The aim of this study was to determine what underlying factors, if any, impeded onsite COVID-19 testing in general practices for patients during the second wave of the pandemic in Victoria. METHOD: This study was conducted during August 2020 and October 2020. Fourteen semi-structured interviews with general practitioners, practice nurses and practice managers were conducted. RESULTS: Barriers to performing onsite testing for COVID-19 were identified as: 1) individual, 2) practitioner perception of fear, 3) lack of personal protective equipment, 4) inappropriate clinic design/location, 5) risk of patient avoidance, 6) financial risk, 7) a lack of knowledge and 8) lack of guidelines. DISCUSSION: This study's findings relate to a unique period in Victoria, which at the time accounted for 70% of the nation's total cases and 90% of deaths. Therefore, the barriers identified in this study may help inform policymakers in regard to planning for future responses to similar situations.

Genetic structure of Tibeto-Burman populations of Bangladesh: evaluating the gene flow along the sides of Bay-of-Bengal.

Human settlement and migrations along sides of Bay-of-Bengal have played a vital role in shaping the genetic landscape of Bangladesh, Eastern India and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh and Northeast India form the vital land bridge between the South and Southeast Asia. To reconstruct the population history of this region and to see whether this diverse region geographically acted as a corridor or barrier for human interaction between South Asia and Southeast Asia, we, for the first time analyzed high resolution uniparental (mtDNA and Y chromosome) and biparental autosomal genetic markers among aboriginal Bangladesh tribes currently speaking Tibeto-Burman language. All the three studied populations; Chakma, Marma and Tripura from Bangladesh showed strikingly high homogeneity among themselves and strong affinities to Northeast Indian Tibeto-Burman groups. However, they show substantially higher molecular diversity than Northeast Indian populations. Unlike Austroasiatic (Munda) speakers of India, we observed equal role of both males and females in shaping the Tibeto-Burman expansion in Southern Asia. Moreover, it is noteworthy that in admixture proportion, TB populations of Bangladesh carry substantially higher mainland Indian ancestry component than Northeast Indian Tibeto-Burmans. Largely similar expansion ages of two major paternal haplogroups (O2a and O3a3c), suggested that they arose before the differentiation of any language group and approximately at the same time. Contrary to the scenario proposed for colonization of Northeast India as male founder effect that occurred within the past 4,000 years, we suggest a significantly deep colonization of this region. Overall, our extensive analysis revealed that the population history of South Asian Tibeto-Burman speakers is more complex than it was suggested before.

African culturally and linguistically diverse communities' blood donation intentions in Australia: integrating knowledge into the theory of planned behavior.

BACKGROUND: The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been extensively used to examine donation intentions in the general community. This research seeks to examine whether TPB applies to one culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community in Australia and also incorporates blood donation knowledge as an antecedent in the model, given that the TPB assumes people make informed decisions regarding blood donation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-section of 425 members of African CALD communities was surveyed face to face using bilingual workers, ensuring inclusion across literacy levels within the CALD community. Constructs used within the survey were drawn from the TPB blood donation literature (i.e., attitudes, social norms, and self-efficacy). A new measure of blood donation knowledge was included. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling found that the Basic TPB model did not hold for African CALD communities in Australia. The Basic TPB model was modified and within this Adapted TPB model attitudes were found not to impact intentions directly, but had a mediating effect through self-efficacy. An Extended TPB model including overall knowledge was then tested and improved the model fit statistics, explaining 59.8% variation in intentions. Overall knowledge was found to indirectly impact intentions, through self-efficacy, social norms, and attitudes. CONCLUSION: The TPB applies differently when examining African CALD communities' blood donation intentions in Australia. Knowledge is an important mediating component of the Extended TPB model rather than directly affecting intentions. Addressing CALD communities' psychographic characteristics may assist blood services in developing targeted strategies to increase donations within these communities.