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In an era of internationalism, higher education and vocational training have been core to Australia’s nation-building, regional co-operation and public diplomacy. This essay examines what has become of the people-to-people aspect of Australia’s engagements in the Indo-Pacific region, as discussed in the Australian government’s influential White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century (2012). More recently, established patterns of international educational exchange, and their economic, social and cultural benefits, have been disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, shifting international relations and domestic politics, with consequences for international education and public diplomacy.

This essay introduces the scholarly context for a reappraisal of Australian histories of international education within the Indo-Pacific region since the mid-20th century, and the role of NGOs, academia and government in educational schemes and scholarships. It draws on an approach informed by international history, the history of education and diplomatic studies, to provide an overview of key themes and the past and present case studies discussed in the seven articles of this special journal issue.

The little-known histories of international education in Australia, and associated scholarship schemes, are important aspects of soft power or public diplomacy and the nation’s relations with the Indo-Pacific region. We argue that there needs to be greater acknowledgement of the vital role of these interpersonal interactions and the international organisations that facilitated such exchanges in histories of Australia’s internationalism and diplomacy. While Australian governments have initiated scholarship programmes, what is becoming clear is that understanding their significance for Australian–regional relationships demands a research focus on student expectations and experiences that often lay beyond government control.

This essay and the articles in this special issue offer new historic and current insights on international education policy and programmes and Australia’s diplomatic relations. Many of the highlighted case studies have not previously been analysed within this context, and fresh analysis makes an intervention into the field, revealing the complexities and limitations of international education and people-to-people relationships for Australia’s past and present connections with the Indo-Pacific region.

The purpose of this study is therefore to detail an additive manufacturing process for printing TiD parts for implant applications. Titanium–diamond (TiD) is a new composite that provides biocompatible three-dimensional multimaterial structures. Thus, the authors report a powder-deposition and print optimization strategy to overcome the dual-functionality gap by printing bulk TiD parts. However, despite favorable customization outcomes, relatively few additive manufacturing (AM) feedstock powders offer the biocompatibility required for medical implant and device technologies.

AM offers a platform to fabricate customized patient-specific parts. Developing feedstock that can be 3D printed into specific 3D structures while providing a favorable interface with the human tissue remains a challenge. Using laser metal deposition, feedstock powder comprising diamond and titanium was co-printed into TiD parts for mechanical testing to determine optimal manufacturing parameters.

TiD parts were fabricated comprising 30% and 50% diamond. The composite powder had a Hausner ratio of 1.13 and 1.21 for 30% and 50% TiD, respectively. The flow analysis (Carney flow) for TiD 30% and 50% was 7.53 and 5.15 g/s. The authors report that the printing-specific conditions significantly affect the integrity of the printed part and thus provide the optimal manufacturing parameters for structural integrity as determined by micro-computed tomography, nanoindentation and biocompatibility of TiD parts. The hardness, ultimate tensile strength and yield strength for TiD are 4–6 GPa (depending on build position), 426 MPa and 375 MPa, respectively. Furthermore, the authors show that increasing diamond composition to 30% results in higher osteoblast viability and lower bacteria count than titanium.

In this study, the authors provide a clear strategy to manufacture TiD parts with high integrity, performance and biocompatibility, expanding the material feedstock library and paving the way to customized diamond implants. Diamond is showing strong potential as a biomedical material; however, upscale is limited by conventional techniques. By optimizing AM as the avenue to make complex shapes, the authors open up the possibility of patient-specific diamond implant solutions.

This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on the literature.

A narrative review of a range of literature focussing on the importance and characteristics of effective mentor practice and preparation.

Many mentors working in educational contexts lack adequate preparation, and a shift in mentoring practice from a mentor as expert approach, which mentors are likely revert to without training, to a more collaborative relationship in line with educative mentoring is recommended. Relationship building, working collaboratively and encouraging critical reflection are essential mentoring capabilities, and can be supported by participation in effective mentoring preparation programmes. Characteristics of these programmes include: providing time for mentors to reflect on their personal capabilities and attitudes; strengthening their knowledge about mentoring and learning a range of approaches and tools.

Implications for mentor preparation include consideration of curricula that focus on the nature of effective mentoring relationships, provision of effective observation-based feedback and the facilitation of critical reflection. Blended learning models appear to have potential and organisational leaders need to recognise and value mentoring to ensure that it is prioritised.

This article makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the nature of effective mentor preparation programmes.

This chapter discusses the role of school leadership in the face of climate disasters and environmental injustices. These disruptions to schooling are emblematic of an increasing global uncertainty. School leaders play a pivotal role mitigating uncertainty following an environmental crisis or disaster through leadership activities that support their communities. However, preparing school leaders for unexpected disruptions to schooling has often been overlooked by preparation programs and professional development. The goal of this chapter is to equip school leaders with an essential understanding of both the influence of environmental injustice on schools and the tools to respond effectively to these events. First, the chapter contextualizes environmental injustice and inequality as a factor that influences school and student performance, especially for students living below the poverty line and students of color. Next, it synthesizes how school leaders have responded to prior instances of climate disasters and environmental injustices. Finally, it presents key considerations for school leaders confronting future occurrences.

Tourism and hospitality employment have long faced widely recognised challenges with regard to employment, its workforce and the workplace environment, issues that have been addressed by generations of policymakers and practitioners without evident success or solution. These wicked problems are frequently characterised by inherent paradoxes and, therefore, accepting the tenets of paradox theory provides the basis for recognising the need to accept contradictions as a reality which a search for solutions will not resolve. This chapter presents six examples of wicked problems in tourism and hospitality employment, which are underpinned by paradoxes as proxies for the much wider range of intractable problems that beset policy-making and practice in this vital area of tourism and hospitality. The chapter concludes by suggesting ways in which wicked problems can be accommodated, and stakeholders can learn to understand and live with paradoxes.

English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on the current international and UK evidence that informs the understanding and use of critical reflection and associated terms – reflection, reflective practice and reflective supervision – in one-to-one practitioner supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.

A review of the evidence was undertaken using documentary policy analysis and a scholastic literature review to examine the history and current knowledge available as of December 2022.

The historical policy and professional context of critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in England is discussed. The current evidence review identified three themes – the role of critical reflection in models of supervision, the influences of national, organisational and professional cultures and the supervisor practitioner relationship. The nuanced nature of the presence of critical reflection in supervision and a lack of clarity when theorising and describing critical reflection has implications for policy, supervisory practice and research design.

Critical reflection in one-to-one social work supervision is under researched. This review draws on the evidence from international research and local policy to offer an understanding of the complexity of theorising, practicing and researching critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.

The purpose of the study is to investigate female prisoners’ perspectives on why they gain weight while in prison.

A qualitative design was used with semi-structured interviews with six females currently residing in a prison in the south of England.

Analysis of the data generated three themes relating to the reasons why women gain weight in prison. These were labelled as “The only thing you haven’t got to ask permission for is your food, it’s just handed to you”, “If you’ve been stripped of the things that make you happy, or that you are addicted to, eating can soothe you” and “prison can make you take better care of your health”.

The results identify perceived reasons why women gain weight in prison uniquely from the female prisoner perspective. The implications of the research identify the need for systemic change throughout different prison departments to enable women to maintain a healthy weight during their custodial sentence.

Due to the projected increase in the older adult population, occupational therapy providers will have an increasing role in supporting health outcomes for older adults in the coming years. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of occupational interventions to promote home safety in older adults.

This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic reviews (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles were double screened by separate researchers, then exported and managed in EndNote. The Risk of Bias Table determined certainty of evidence for themes.

Three main preliminary themes were identified from the 17 included articles. Themes include multimodal interventions (n= 6), exercise interventions (n= 9) and home modifications (n = 2). None of the articles explicitly defined home safety, but distal outcomes related to safety included: increased strength, balance improvement and functional mobility.

Importantly, an absent consensus for a definition of home safety limits the results of this systematic review while at the same time providing opportunity for future research.

Exercise combined with nutrition provided the strongest intervention evidence for physical functionality. Additionally, home modifications alone may be insufficient to result in improved home safety.

An occupational therapy’s (OT) holistic approach benefits older adults through evidenced-based interventions improving home safety, independence in functional tasks and overall quality of life.

Findings provide clinicians with information on the effectiveness of interventions within the scope of OT that can be implemented within the home to promote home safety.

Using elements of Bourdieu’s (1986) capitals framework as an underpinning conceptual architecture, this paper theorises the role of symbolic capital in resourcing a specific example of socially entrepreneurial behaviour.

This paper relies on data collected via a qualitative variant of the critical incident technique.

The analysis resulted in three focal themes: power (a dynamic of cooperation rather than domination), age (youth as a means of legitimation) and temporality (as both lever and conduit).

These themes further current understanding of socially entrepreneurial behaviour and potentially catalyse additional questioning and investigation specific to the construct of symbolic capital in this context.

The insights offered in the paper may assist those tasked with supporting success (policymakers and practitioners) in the social entrepreneurship domain.

Relatively little is known about the operationalisation of capitals in the context of social entrepreneurship, and even less about symbolic capital specifically. Particular emphasis is given to moving beyond a focus on the simple mechanics of capital exchange and conversion.