Role In Australia Research Articles

Role of Australia in Rohingya Issue in Bangladesh: Humanitarian Perspective

Role of Australia in Rohingya Issue in Bangladesh: Humanitarian Perspective

Tête-á-tête: Popular representations of the romantic dinner in post-war Australia

Abstract This article examines the notions of the romantic dinner in post-war Australia, using material culture in the form of Australian food writing and advertisements in cookbooks and popular magazines from the post-war period (in this case, 1945–68). It investigates three closely related aspects of the ‘romantic’ dinner for two: the similarities and contrasts between the courtship restaurant ‘date’ and a specially prepared dinner at home; the way in which gendered roles are performed, confirmed and contested in these events; and the influence of American advertising, and its promotion of American cuisine and lifestyle, on the way the domestic meal was conceptualized and presented to housewives at this time. Bearing in mind that the social importance of food is reinforced because its preparation occurs on a daily basis and that the informative power of food and the material culture around food production is as yet only partially tapped, this analysis attempts to answer the question: was the romantic dinner for two an opportunity for romance, or was it a creation that reinforced post-war gender roles in Australia?

‘The most important event in IWY’: Freda Brown and the World Congress for International Women’s Year

In a book for young adults on women who made Australian history, Australian political activist Freda Brown’s entry includes the passing note that ‘in 1975 Brown played a key role in Australia’s celebration of the United Nations International Women’s Year’. Until recently, there has been little acknowledgement of Brown’s work in the making and marking of 1975 as International Women’s Year, through her leadership of national and international women’s organisations. The decision taken by the United Nations to mark 1975 as International Women’s Year originated from the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), a 200-million-member organisation that Brown was to lead for many years. This article examines the 1975 Berlin Congress of Women, the event that Brown and WIDF organised to mark International Women’s Year, from an Australian perspective.

From Sheep to Chic: Reframing the Australian Wool Story

ABSTRACTBetween 1946 and 1974, the Australian Wool Board (AWB) increased its wool promotion in an attempt to maintain its leading role in Australia's economic development. Promotional activities of the AWB, and the screening of commercially produced newsreels and documentaries in cinemas, used fashion to foster a new value and understanding of wool. These marketing activities, mainly independent from each other, presented a unified image of wool and fashion. This article proposes that the recasting of Australian wool's cultural heritage in images of fashion parades of wool garments contributed to the continuity of its cultural tradition while integrating fashion as a modern value within national culture and identity. The article examines 14 newsreels screened in Australian cinemas between 1946 and 1974 to establish the connection between Australian national identity and wool via the reinvention of the wool narrative.

The Chronic Liver Disease Nurse Role in Australia: Describing 10 Years of a New Role in Cirrhosis Management.

Cirrhosis of the liver is increasing, with growing patient numbers in hospital outpatient departments, as well as increasing admissions due to decompensated liver disease. Decompensated cirrhosis of the liver is a common and debilitating illness causing disability, readmissions to hospital, and decreased quality of life, and can lead to liver cancer. The advent of the chronic liver disease nurse (CLDN) position in our hospital in 2009 was the first role in Australia dedicated to providing care to patients with cirrhosis. The role incorporates the care of patients with stable compensated disease, case management of patients with complications of decompensated disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma coordination. After a pilot randomized controlled trial and almost 10 years of service, this article describes the role of the CLDN and presents key performance indicators that will assist other centers considering introducing the role or elements of it into their service.

Asylum Seekers’ and Refugees’ Decision-Making in Transit in Indonesia

Abstract Asylum seekers and refugees currently living in Indonesia tend to see Indonesia as a transit rather than a destination country, despite the fact that their stays are increasing in length. Based on contact with Muhamad (not his real name), a young refugee from Iran currently residing in Indonesia whose adjustment and development I observed over four years, I illustrate the changing priorities in his decision-making, the constant flux of circumstances and context, and the extreme complexity of primary and secondary factors that come into play in planning for the future. Combining a macro perspective with a case study, in which I present excerpts from several life-story interviews, helps to exemplify these generic migratory challenges and distil a range of relevant parameters that influence the decision-making of asylum seekers and refugees in transit. A (self-)critical reflection on ethical and methodological challenges underpins my analysis and argument, not least because politicians and policymakers are increasingly interested in influencing migratory decision-making processes to gain political advantage. Of particular interest in my analysis is the role of Australia’s deterrence policies in asylum seekers’ decision-making. Despite the ethical challenges associated with studying migratory decision-making—as public knowledge of migration strategies can also suppress aspirations of mobility—I argue for more in-depth and longitudinal research. At the very least, this is because more intensive, yet considerate studies of decision-making will help us to take seriously the migratory aspirations of people with limited choices.

Thriving in an expanding service landscape: Experiences of occupational therapists working in generic mental health roles within non-government organisations in Australia.

Occupational therapists are an integral part of Australian mental health services. Recent changes in the mental health sector mean that increasing numbers of occupational therapists now work in generic, non-profession-specific roles in non-government organisations. Previous research has identified a range of challenges faced by occupational therapists in generic roles, including reduced satisfaction and loss of professional identity. An exploration of potentially positive aspects and strategies that assist occupational therapists to succeed and flourish within generic roles is lacking. The aim of this study was to explore what assists occupational therapists to thrive within generic roles in Australia's non-government mental health sector. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 occupational therapists working in generic mental health roles across three non-government organisations spanning three Australian states. Data were analysed thematically using constant comparative analysis. Thriving was supported in three domains. First, occupational therapists facilitated their own thriving by keeping their occupational therapy lens, and managing ambiguity. Second, workplaces were supportive when their values aligned with occupational therapy core values, they recognised and valued the occupational therapy contribution, and their roles allowed opportunities for therapists to use their profession-specific skills. Third, the broader occupational therapy profession assisted thriving through preparation, validation and ongoing inclusion. Despite some challenges, occupational therapists can and do thrive in generic non-government mental health roles. The preliminary framework of thriving provides valuable insights for those developing university curricula, those providing continuing professional development opportunities and for individual occupational therapists entering this expanding area of practice. Findings also provide insights into how individuals, academic curricula and the profession can respond and adapt to systemic transformations occurring in mental health service delivery.

Migration Histories, National Memory, and Regional Collections

Migration Histories, National Memory, and Regional Collections

Evaluation competencies and functions in advertised evaluation roles in Australia

This study explores the functions of professional evaluators outlined in online job advertisements. A total of 97 job advertisements were reviewed in the study. A content analysis using a Coding Analysis Toolkit developed by Shulman was conducted to identify six main evaluation functions based on the collected data. These functions are (1) evaluation and reporting, (2) providing evaluation advice, (3) evaluation capacity building, (4) communication and engagement, (5) forming partnerships and (6) leading, managing and influencing. These functions were then compared to the Australian Evaluation Society’s (AES) Core Competency Domains. Overall, there is a broad alignment between these functions and the AES Core Competency Domains. However, the analysis shows that the delivery of culturally competent evaluations and evaluation utilisation received no mention in advertised evaluation roles. The delivery of culturally competent evaluation is essential from the perspective of ethics, validity and theory, while the utilisation of evaluation findings is important for the benefit of society.

Making space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community health workers in health promotion.

Despite a clear need, ‘closing the gap’ in health disparities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (hereafter, respectfully referred to as Aboriginal) continues to be challenging for western health care systems. Globally, community health workers (CHWs) have proven effective in empowering communities and improving culturally appropriate health services. The global literature on CHWs reflects a lack of differentiation between the types of roles these workers carry out. This in turn impedes evidence syntheses informing how different roles contribute to improving health outcomes. Indigenous CHW roles in Australia are largely operationalized by Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs)—a role situated primarily within the clinical health system. In this commentary, we consider whether the focus on creating professional AHW roles, although important, has taken attention away from the benefits of other types of CHW roles particularly in community-based health promotion. We draw on the global literature to illustrate the need for an Aboriginal CHW role in health promotion; one that is distinct from, but complementary to, that of AHWs in clinical settings. We provide examples of barriers encountered in developing such a role based on our experiences of employing Aboriginal health promoters to deliver evidence-based programmes in rural and remote communities. We aim to draw attention to the systemic and institutional barriers that persist in denying innovative employment and engagement opportunities for Aboriginal people in health.

Mandated superannuation contributions and the structure of the financial sector in Australia

Australian workers must contribute a proportion of their wage to superannuation. The mandated contribution rate has risen from 3% in 1992, to 9.5% today, and is scheduled to reach 12% by 2025. We use a financial computable general equilibrium (FCGE) model to simulate an increase in the contribution rate. We find that raising the contribution rate has consequences for traditional financial intermediaries, and for financial structure more generally. This is of interest to Australian policy makers currently concerned with the size and role of Australia’s banks, and the leverage of the household sector.

The Importance of Wildlife Disease Monitoring as Part of Global Surveillance for Zoonotic Diseases: The Role of Australia.

Australia has a comprehensive system of capabilities and functions to prepare, detect and respond to health security threats. Strong cooperative links and coordination mechanisms exist between the human (public health) and animal arms of the health system in Australia. Wildlife is included in this system. Recent reviews of both the animal and human health sectors have highlighted Australia’s relative strengths in the detection and management of emerging zoonotic diseases. However, the risks to Australia posed by diseases with wildlife as part of their epidemiology will almost certainly become greater with changing land use and climate change and as societal attitudes bring wildlife, livestock and people into closer contact. These risks are not isolated to Australia but are global. A greater emphasis on wildlife disease surveillance to assist in the detection of emerging infectious diseases and integration of wildlife health into One Health policy will be critical in better preparing Australia and other countries in their efforts to recognize and manage the adverse impacts of zoonotic diseases on human health. Animal and human health practitioners are encouraged to consider wildlife in their day to day activities and to learn more about Australia’s system and how they can become more involved by visiting www.wildlifeheathaustralia.com.au.

Predicting the probability of failure of timber bridges using fault tree analysis

The resilience of a community in an extreme event depends mainly on the robustness of the critical infrastructures. Road bridges are a critical link of the road network, which plays a focal role in Australia’s economy, prosperity, social well-being and quality of life. Timber bridges are a weaker link of the Australian road network and they often provide critical access to the rural communities. This research uses a number of bridge inspection reports to develop a method to predict the probability of failure of a timber bridge. The inspected condition states of the elements in the timber bridge are used to develop a Markov chain based model and Gamma process model to predict the deterioration of each element. The probability of condition state movement for each element thus calculated were used in fault tree analysis to estimate likelihood of failure of a bridge in a given time period. Although the developed method is based on limited data and it has several limitations, model can be further refined with the availability of more inspection reports. The method developed is demonstrated using an inspection report for a timber bridge, which was not used in the development of the models.

Nagy Britannia és Ausztrália közös atomprogramja 1945-1960

Australia was determined to obtain a nuclear weapon after the Second World War. The most obvious solution seemed to collaborate with Britain doing nuclear research in the so-called “joint project”. The British defence planners had been aware of the fact that Great Britain would not survive a forthcoming nuclear attack at the dawn of the cold war and thus, they were in need of their own nuclear weapon. When the MacMahon Act came into force the Government of United States of America rejected the British to continue the joint research in the Manhattan Project and they wanted to retain their sole atom monopoly. They provided the British neither with raw material nor with nuclear technology, furthermore, they were not allowed to participate in the test blasts. Hence, the role of Australia was revalued by the British Government. Several productive intitiatives such as the establishment of the Australian National University, launching the Snowy Mountains project, deployment of the Royal Australian Air Force in Southeast Asia coincided with the joint project. The culmination of the Australian–British cooperation was the atomic blast in 1952 and the decision of the British to contribute to the construction of an Australian nuclear reactor. Nevertheless, the nuclear achievements of the Soviet Union put an end to the so far successful joint project.

A paradox of plenty: the Australian domestic gas supply regulatory dilemma

Energy security is a multi-faceted policy conception heralding from traditional principles focused on security of supply. Onshore conventional and unconventional gas has played an integral role in Australia’s energy security since its commercial production commenced in the Cooper Basin Region in 1969. However, since 2015, the staggering increase in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports, earning Australia its title as the second-largest global LNG exporter, has heightened competition for gas supply in the Australian East Coast Gas Market (ECGM). This article examines whether the Australian Domestic Supply Mechanism (ADGSM), in imposing controls on LNG exports, marks a shift in regulation and policy by fostering gas security for the ECGM. This article advances the argument that the ADGSM enacted in 2017 is an initial temporary and short-term step in seeking to avert a domestic gas shortfall. Further, it is argued a market-based approach to gas regulation will not achieve domestic gas security for Australia without additional regulatory measures and infrastructure investment.

The enactment of literacy curriculum policy by early childhood teachers in two Australian schools

AbstractSince the early 2000s, literacy education has become an area of intense focus in Australian education policy, positioned to have a role in Australia's pursuit of enhanced international competitiveness in the “global knowledge economy”. Policy called for improvements in literacy outcomes, monitored by mandated annual assessments, and policy statements recognised the need to establish solid literacy foundations in early childhood to facilitate learning, and desired improvements, in later years. This article is derived from a larger study that investigated the production and enactment of literacy curriculum policy by early childhood teachers in Australian schools. It focuses on the school level within the State of Western Australia, presenting findings derived from thematic and critical discourse analysis of participant interview and documentary data collected in two case‐study schools. Comparative analysis revealed that literacy curriculum policy processes in both case‐study schools were focused on achieving improved test results in mandated testing regimes. This was impacting upon literacy curriculum in the early childhood years of schooling, in Australia deemed to involve children up to 8 years of age, in many, possibly adverse, ways. These findings may offer insights in other contexts about literacy curriculum policy processes that are focused on enhancing competitive positioning.

Measuring Social Capital: An Adaptation and Translation into Arabic of the Onyx and Bullen Social Capital Scale for Iraqi-Canadians

ABSTRACTSocial capital has gained increasing attention from social workers as a way to understand the social networks and resources available to clients, especially new immigrants. Although researchers have developed helpful measures of social capital, a need remains to translate these tools into the native languages of immigrants, while addressing any specific cultural considerations. It would be beneficial for social workers to have access to an Arabic version of a social capital scale. This article describes the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the Onyx and Bullen social capital scale from English to Arabic. Using the responses from 326 Iraqi-Canadians, the instrument was factor analysed to verify the underlying conceptual structure. The translated instrument was found to be consistent with Onyx and Bullen’s original factorial structure and to have good internal reliability with a Cronbach coefficient alpha for the overall instrument, which was comparable to the original scale.IMPLICATIONSSocial workers’ roles in Australia and Canada need to enhance culturally competent social and mental health services to immigrants and refugees.Schools of Social Work in Australia and Canada can increase the preparation of students to work with immigrants and refugees, which can potentially help in energising the economy.Social workers could use this scale to assess the level of social support and integration of Arabic speaking individuals, especially newcomers to Australia and Canada.

Elucidating biogeographical patterns in Australian native canids using genome wide SNPs.

Dingoes play a strong role in Australia’s ecological framework as the apex predator but are under threat from hybridization and agricultural control programs. Government legislation lists the conservation of the dingo as an important aim, yet little is known about the biogeography of this enigmatic canine, making conservation difficult. Mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA studies show evidence of population structure within the dingo. Here, we present the data from Illumina HD canine chip genotyping for 23 dingoes from five regional populations, and five New Guinea Singing Dogs to further explore patterns of biogeography using genome-wide data. Whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data supported the presence of three distinct dingo populations (or ESUs) subject to geographical subdivision: southeastern (SE), Fraser Island (FI) and northwestern (NW). These ESUs should be managed discretely. The FI dingoes are a known reservoir of pure, genetically distinct dingoes. Elevated inbreeding coefficients identified here suggest this population may be genetically compromised and in need of rescue; current lethal management strategies that do not consider genetic information should be suspended until further data can be gathered. D statistics identify evidence of historical admixture or ancestry sharing between southeastern dingoes and South East Asian village dogs. Conservation efforts on mainland Australia should focus on the SE dingo population that is under pressure from domestic dog hybridization and high levels of lethal control. Further data concerning the genetic health, demographics and prevalence of hybridization in the SE and FI dingo populations is urgently needed to develop evidence based conservation and management strategies.

Advanced practice radiation therapists: an Australian context.

The purpose of this scoping review is to examine the literature regarding the development, implementation, scope and extent of Advanced Practice Radiation Therapist (APRT) roles in Australia in peer reviewed journals, government reports, conference proceedings and reports. A search was undertaken of PubMed, Web of Science and CINAHL, the ASMIRT website and, and Google Scholar to identify relevant documents. Combinations of keywords with Boolean operators ((advanced practice) OR (advanced practitioner) OR (specialist)) AND ((radiation therapist) OR (radiation therapy)) were used. Online and physical searches were conducted between July 16 and 23 2017. Results were not date limited. The searches retrieved 352 after duplicates were removed with 46 remaining after filtering for eligibility criteria. Items consisted of journal articles, conference abstracts, presentation slides, online presentations, State government and ASMIRT reports. A number of potential and existing APRT roles were found in the identified articles, including image review, stereotactic, treatment review, breast localisation, palliative radiotherapy, brachytherapy, radiation engineering and urology. Despite reports indicating that radiation therapists in Australia have been concerned with professional directions since 2001, there is little evidence of formal progress towards defined APRT roles. Several centres have implemented roles in a number of practice areas. The success of APRT roles lies in the ability to demonstrate that implementation goals have been achieved and that patient care has improved. The literature suggests that this is occurring, however, the presented evidence is not compelling.

The non-medical surgical assistant in Australia: who should contribute to governance?

Objective: This paper focuses on the role of the Non‑Medical Surgical Assistant (NMSA) in Australia. Registered Nurses predominately perform this role. This paper will articulate a position to: validate this role as an Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) role in Australia through regulation and governance by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) who sit under the umbrella of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA); lobby AHPRA to recognise, regulate and protect the title of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) roles other than the Nurse Practitioner (NP) in Australia; and as a result of sanctioned regulation, facilitate APN (including NP) to seek appropriate remuneration for undertaking this role in the private sector in Australia. Setting: The Australian Healthcare system. Subjects: Clinicians performing the role of the NMSA in Australia. Primary Argument: The NMSA is well established with clear mechanisms for governance internationally. This role has been practiced in Australia for more than 20 years, and while clinicians function under the guise of advanced practice, the role is not clearly defined, standardised or regulated. This is partially attributed to lack of sanctioned governance from AHPRA. Conclusion: While the AHPRA via the NMBA are reluctant to formally recognise and regulate this role, the overwhelming majority of clinicians in Australia are nurses. Without regulation, it is difficult to quantify the role as APN. Lack of governance excludes NMSA (including the NP) from access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule and private health funds for intraoperative reimbursement thereby rendering a potentially cost-effective role unsustainable to many clinicians.