Henwood Maree, Shaw Amie, Cavanagh Jillian, Bartram Timothy, Marjoribanks Timothy, Kendrick Madeleine
Department of Management, La Trobe University , Bundoora, Australia.
Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources, Griffith University , Southport, Australia.
J Health Organ Manag. 2017 Apr 10;31(2):207-222. doi: 10.1108/JHOM-12-2016-0234.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the social opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men created through Men's Groups/Sheds across urban, regional and remote areas of Australia. Men's Sheds are a safe space, resembling a work-shop setting or backyard shed, where men are encouraged to socialise and participate in health promotion, informal learning and engage in meaningful tasks both individually and at the community level. Design/methodology/approach Explore five case study sites through Wenger's (1998) active communities of practice (CoP). Qualitative methods are presented and analysed; methods comprise semi-structured interviews and yarning circles (focus groups). Five Indigenous leaders/coordinators participated in semi-structured interviews, as well as five yarning circles with a total of 61 Indigenous men. Findings In a societal context in which Indigenous men in Australia experience a number of social and health issues, impeding their quality of life and future opportunities, the central finding of the paper is that the effective development of social relations and socially designed programs through Men's Groups, operating as CoP, may contribute to overcoming many social and health well-being concerns. Originality/value Contributions will provide a better understanding of how Indigenous men are engaging with Men's Sheds, and through those interactions, are learning new skills and contributing to social change.
目的 本文旨在研究澳大利亚城市、地区和偏远地区通过男性团体/工棚为原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民男性创造的社会机会。男性工棚是一个安全的空间，类似车间环境或后院工棚，鼓励男性社交，并参与健康促进、非正式学习，以及在个人和社区层面参与有意义的活动。设计/方法/途径 通过温格（1998）的实践共同体（CoP）来探索五个案例研究地点。展示并分析定性方法；方法包括半结构化访谈和交流圈（焦点小组）。五位原住民领袖/协调员参与了半结构化访谈，以及五个交流圈，共有61名原住民男性参与。研究结果 在澳大利亚原住民男性面临诸多社会和健康问题、影响其生活质量和未来机会的社会背景下，本文的核心发现是，作为实践共同体运作的男性团体有效发展社会关系和社会设计项目，可能有助于克服许多社会和健康福祉问题。原创性/价值 研究贡献将有助于更好地理解原住民男性如何参与男性工棚活动，并通过这些互动学习新技能，为社会变革做出贡献。
