Urban Australians Research Articles

Representing rural Australia: political representation and rural discontent

ABSTRACT There is a distinct rural flavour to contemporary political discontent. Studies in the United States have found that rural populations feel politically neglected and resentful of city dwellers, resulting in significant partisan cleavages. Rural discontent and difference are enduring features of Australian federal politics, with rural populations often frustrated by their treatment from policy-makers in Canberra. To understand better contemporary rural discontent this article considers the views of those elected to represent rural people, rural MPs. It presents findings of an empirical study into how Australian federal rural MPs understand their role, their constituents, and the issues they face. Interviews reveal that the role of a rural MP is shaped by distance, by diverse people and localities, and by a sense that their constituents are misunderstood by urban Australians and policy-makers. The article considers how these interpretations of rural MPs intersect with sentiments of rural discontent.

Prevalence Rates of Depression and Anxiety among Young Rural and Urban Australians: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Globally, depression and anxiety are major public health concerns with onset during adolescence. While rural Australia experiences overall lower health outcomes, variation in mental health prevalence rates between rural and urban Australia is unclear. The aim of this paper was to estimate the pooled prevalence rates for depression and anxiety among young Australians aged between 10 and 24 years. Selected studies from a systematic literature search were assessed for risk of bias. Random effects model using DerSimonian and Laird method with Freeman-Tukey Double Arcsine Transformation was fitted. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Prevalence estimates were stratified by region and disorder. The overall pooled prevalence of depression and anxiety was 25.3% (95% CI, 19.9-31.0%). In subgroup analysis, anxiety prevalence was 29.9% (95% CI, 21.6-39.0%); depression: 21.3% (95% CI, 14.9-28.5%); and depression or anxiety: 27.2% (95% CI, 20.3-34.6%). Depression and anxiety prevalence were higher in urban 26.1% (95% CI, 17.3-35.9%) compared to rural areas 24.9% (95% CI, 17.5-33%), although the difference was not statistically significant. The heterogeneity was high with an I2 score of 95.8%. There is need for further research on healthcare access, mental health literacy and help-seeking attitude in Australia.

Constructions of Mexicanidad in Australia: Mexico as an Exoticized, Postcolonial Other

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines the constructions of the so-called authentic Mexico, mexicanidad, in Australia. The limited contact between Australia and Mexico means that this phenomenon is still in its infancy, and as such, there is a gap in the literature. The aim of this article is to begin to fill this by examining the presence of mexicanidad in urban Australia, and the impact of this on young, urban Australians’ imaginings of Mexico. This study, conducted among Australian university students, examines how imaginings of Mexico, both positive and negative, are constructed by young Australians. The interviewees (re)produced a stylized pastiche of Mexico. Made in urban Australia, this imaginary comprises Frida-Kahlo-themed restaurants, Day-of-the-Dead exotica, and a fascination with the drug cartels. There are few Mexicans in Australia who might contest the misty-eyed Disneyfication of their cultures, and thus, mexicanidad in Australia operates as a vacant conceptual category into which cool yearnings can be inscribed. This article theorizes the construction of the social imaginary of Mexico in Australia, proposing that there is a presence in Australia of a pastiche version of mexicanidad, made up of both positive and negative imaginings. In the absence of a significant local expatriate population, Australian constructions of Mexico draw upon discourses of an exoticized, postcolonial Other. These imaginings operate as a largely empty conceptual box that serves as a holding space for Australians’ myriad desires, expectations and interpretations.

The Vanishing Suburban Dream in Australia

Australia is the most suburbanised country on earth. The ‘Australian Dream’ of a house in the suburbs has long reflected the sense of entitlement that urban Australians have to the financial security, private space and amenity that the Dream promises. Since around the turn of the century, governments at every level have been attempting to arrest suburban sprawl for its negative social, environmental and economic impacts. However, neoliberal economic and planning environments have exacerbated regulatory failure, so attempts to create compact cities have done little to provide genuine alternatives to suburban life or address low-quality sprawl in newly built outer suburbs. Unrestrained house price inflation, assisted by an investor-friendly taxation regime, has led to a situation where the housing outcome, the Dream, enjoyed by previous generations is becoming impossible. Overlaying this is an ideological environment that pits the suburbs against the inner city as a battle in the ‘culture wars’ and serves to obliterate any nuance, diversity or possibility for progressive change into the public debate.

Aeromedical Retrieval for Stroke in Australia

Introduction: Rural, remote, and Indigenous stroke patients have worse stroke outcomes than urban Australians. This may be due to lack of timely access to expert facilities. Objectives: We aimed to describe the characteristics of patients who underwent aeromedical retrieval for stroke, estimate transfer times, and investigate if flight paths corresponded with the locations of stroke units (SUs) throughout Australia. Methods: Prospective review of routinely collected Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) data. Patients who underwent an RFDS aeromedical retrieval for stroke, July 2014–June 2018 (ICD-10 codes: I60–I69), were included. To define the locations of SUs throughout Australia, we accessed data from the 2017 National Stroke Audit. The main outcome measures included determining the characteristics of patients with an in-flight diagnosis of stroke, their subsequent pickup and transfer locations, and corresponding SU and imaging capacity. Results: The RFDS conducted 1,773 stroke aeromedical retrievals, consisting of 1,028 (58%) male and 1,481 (83.5%) non-Indigenous and 292 (16.5%) Indigenous patients. Indigenous patients were a decade younger, 56.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 45.0–64.0), than non-Indigenous patients, 66.0 (IQR 54.0–76.0). The most common diagnosis was “stroke not specified,” reflecting retrieval locations without imaging capability. The estimated median time for aeromedical retrieval was 238 min (95% confidence interval: 231–244). Patients were more likely to be transferred to an area with SU and imaging capability (both p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Stroke patients living in rural areas were younger than those living in major cities (75 years, Stroke Audit Data), with aeromedically retrieved Indigenous patients being a decade younger than non-Indigenous patients. The current transfer times are largely outside the time windows for reperfusion methods. Future research should aim to facilitate more timely diagnosis and treatment of stroke.

Ibis and the city: bogan kitsch and the avian revisualization of Sydney

The Australian White Ibis (Ibis) ( Threskiornis molucca) is one of three endemic Ibis species in Australia. In a short time frame beginning in the 1970s, this species has moved from inland waterways to urban centres along the eastern and southeastern seaboards, Darwin and the Western Australian southwest. Today Ibis are at home in cities across the country, where they thrive on the food waste, water resources and nesting sites supplied by humans. In this article, the authors focus on Sydney to argue that the physical and cultural inroads of Ibis, and the birds’ urban homeliness, are resignifying urban surfaces and the multispecies ecologies in which contemporary Australians operate. They explore how the very physical and sensory presence of Ibis disrupts the assumptions of many urban Australians, and visitors from overseas, that cities are human-centric or human-dominant, non-hybrid assemblages. They also introduce to this discussion of disrupted human expectations a cultural parallel, namely, the recent rise of Ibis in popular culture as an icon-in-the-making of the nation and as a totem of the modern Australian city itself. This trend exemplifies an avian-led revisualization of urban spaces, and is notable for its visual appeals to Ibis kitsch, and to working class or ‘bogan’ sensibilities that assert their place alongside cosmopolitan visions of being Australian. Sometimes kitsch Ibis imagery erupts across the urban landscape, as occurs with many Ibis murals. At other times it infiltrates daily life on clothing, on football club, university and business logos, as tattoos on people’s skin, and as words in daily idiom, confirmed by terms such as ‘picnic pirates’, ‘tip turkeys’ and ‘bin chickens’. The article uses a visual vignette methodology to chart Ibis moves into Sydney and the realms of representation alike, and thus to reveal how new zoöpolitical entanglements are being made in the 21st century.

New evidence on mental health and housing affordability in cities: A quantile regression approach

Unaffordable housing costs are one of the most pressing issues facing our cities, affecting people's health in difficult to measure ways. People's health varies over time and dynamically interacts with experiences of housing. Longitudinal analyses rarely explicitly model these variations. Quantile regression is an underutilised tool for testing associations across the distribution of an outcome. In this paper we apply panel quantile regression to test whether cumulative exposure to unaffordable housing over time has differential impact on mental health, dependent on initial health status. Using an annual longitudinal sample of 20,906 urban Australians (2001–2016), we model mental health outcomes using quantile regression (accounting for being in 10th, 50th, 90th mental health percentile initially). Although traditional fixed-effects models find weak evidence of cumulative effect, quantile regression reveals that individuals with low-median initial mental health were more affected by unaffordable housing, and individuals with high initial mental health appeared to be protected. Our findings suggest quantile regression as a promising method for understanding complex human effects of urban problems, and that policies targeted toward people with the poorest mental health may mitigate the consequences of exposure to unaffordable housing.

The social disorganization of eating: a neglected determinant of the Australian epidemic of overweight/obesity

BackgroundOver the last 150 years, advanced economies have seen the burden of disease shift to non-communicable diseases. The risk factors for these diseases are often co-morbidities associated with unhealthy weight. The prevalence of overweight/obesity among adults in the advanced countries of the English-speaking world is currently more than two-thirds of the adult population. However, while much attention has concentrated on changes in diet that might have provoked this rapid increase in unhealthy weight, changes in patterns of eating have received little attention.MethodsThis article examines a sequence of large-scale, time use surveys in urban Australia stretching from 1974 to 2006. The earliest survey in 1974 (conducted by the Cities Commission) was limited to respondents aged between 18 and 69 years, while the later surveys (by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) included all adult (15 years of age or over) living private dwellings. Since time use surveys capture every activity in a day, they contain much information about mealtimes and the patterns of eating. This includes duration of eating, number of eating occasions and the timing of eating. Inferential statistics were used to test the statistical significance of these changes and the size of the effects.ResultsThe eating patterns of urban Australian adults have changed significantly over a 32-year period and the magnitude of this change is non-trivial. Total average eating time as main activity has diminished by about a third, as have eating occasions, affecting particularly luncheon and evening meals. However, there is evidence that eating as secondary activity that accompanies another activity is now almost as frequent as eating at mealtimes. Moreover, participants seem not to report it.ConclusionsContemporary urban Australians are spending less time in organized shared meals. These changes have occurred the over same period during which there has been a public health concern about the prevalence of unhealthy weight. Preliminary indications are that societies that emphasize eating as a commensal, shared activity through maintaining definite, generous lunch breaks and prioritizing eating at mealtimes, achieve better public health outcomes. This has implications for a strategy of health promotion, but to be sure of this we need to study countries with these more socially organized eating patterns.

To Eat or Not to Eat Kangaroo: Bargaining over Food Choice in the Anthropocene

To Eat or Not to Eat Kangaroo: Bargaining over Food Choice in the Anthropocene

A Nation of Immigrants or a Nation of Immigrant Cities? The Urban Context of Australian Multiculturalism, 1947–2011

The article documents the urban dimension of Australia's immigration experience that, since the 1940s, has seen the country become one of the world's most multicultural societies. The article argues that the greatest impact of immigration has been in the major cities, especially Sydney and Melbourne, which in recent decades have emerged as internationally‐significant immigrant hubs that, like similar immigrant‐receiving destinations across the globe, are increasingly demographically and culturally distinct from their host nation. Drawing on census materials, oral history interviews, local newspapers and other sources, we chart the demographic transformation of urban Australia from the 1940s to the present day and suggest that these changes have implications for how urban Australians — especially those resident in the two biggest cities — will understand and represent themselves and the nation into the future.

Energy consumption in an ageing population: exploring energy use and behaviour of low-income older Australians

Abstract: This paper explores energy use and behaviour of older urban Australians by identifying the key factors that shape their energy demand. As Australia is facing an aging population, understanding what structural and behavioural factors can help improve residential energy efficiency is key for developing effective policy initiatives to support the successful management of household energy costs, wellbeing and carbon emissions within this population. This paper reports on survey and electricity meter data collected for an energy efficiency program involving 1,647 older householders (aged 60 and above) living within the Brisbane City Council Local Government Area. The program was funded by the Australian Government Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program (LIEEP) and ran from November 2013 to February 2015. Brisbane is Australia’s third largest city and has a subtropical climate, with warm or hot weather for most of the year. The findings show that electricity consumption within the study’s sample population was influenced by both structural and demographic factors. These factors include range of energy sources used, number of bedrooms and number of people living in the household, as well as type of appliances used in the home. In terms of appliance use, high-energy consuming appliances such as water heating and space cooling systems, clothes-dryers and refrigerators were important predictors of energy consumption. Over two-thirds of the study participants were relying on cooling systems for thermal comfort, and such systems were typically not being used in an energy efficient way. The use of high-energy demand heating and cooling systems can account for around 40% of energy consumption in Australian households, and has a large impact on electricity peak demand. With the penetration of air-conditioning in seniors’ home expected to increase over time, it is important to better understand the range of low and high-energy demand practices that are currently employed by older Australians to achieve thermal comfort at home. Designing strategies that minimise the need for high-energy demand cooling practices will be key for managing household energy costs and wellbeing within this target audience.

When the country comes to town: Encounters at a metropolitan agricultural show

Metropolitan agricultural shows offer an appealing starting point to explore the shared and distinctive histories of urban and rural Australia. This paper analyses how and to what extent the Brisbane Exhibition affected its host city and how and to what extent a changing urban context affected the Exhibition, providing the foundation for developing a richer and more nuanced understanding of the history of metropolitan agricultural shows and the complex relationships between urban and rural Australians. This article has been peer-reviewed.

Validity of self-reported sedentary time differs between Australian rural men engaged in office and farming occupations

ABSTRACTRural Australians have a higher likelihood of chronic disease than urban Australians, particularly male farmers. Chronic disease has been associated with occupational sedentary time. The aim was to validate the self-report of sedentary time in men in contrasting rural occupations. Farmers (n = 29) and office workers (n = 28), age 30–65 years, were recruited from the Riverland region of South Australia. Daily sedentary time and number of breaks in sedentary time were self-reported and measured objectively using body-worn inclinometers. Correlational analyses were conducted between self-reported and objectively measured variables, separately by occupation. There was a significant correlation between self-reported and objectively measured sedentary time in the whole sample (r = 0.44, P = 0.001). The correlation among office workers was significant (r = 0.57, P = 0.003) but not among farmers (r = 0.08, P = 0.68). There were no significant correlations between self-reported and measured number of breaks in sedentary time, for the whole sample (rho = −0.03, P = 0.83), office workers (rho = 0.17, P = 0.39) and farmers (rho = −0.22, P = 0.25). In conclusion, the validity of self-report of sedentary behaviours by farmers was poor. Further research is needed to develop better performing self-report instruments or more accessible objective measures of sedentary behaviour in this population.

On and off the field: a Bourdieuian perspective on the significance of sport to urban Aboriginal Australians

Sport is highly valued in Australian society and is one of few environments where Aboriginal Australians have opportunities to excel and engage with non-Aboriginal people; however, there is little evidence to suggest that sport has led to social improvements in Aboriginal communities or any transfer of engagement into non-Aboriginal dominated activities. While much has been written about elite Aboriginal sportspeople, less is known about how other Aboriginal people feel about sport and its place in their lives, including how it is linked to social capital (the benefits that accrue to individuals and groups through their network membership). Drawing on in-depth interviews and applying Bourdieu's theory of practice, this paper examines the role of sport in social capital creation for Aboriginal people living in urban settings. While sport facilitated important social and cultural resources, there were limitations to its ability to reduce disadvantage for Australian Aboriginal people.

Where culture takes hold: "overimitation" and its flexible deployment in Western, Aboriginal, and Bushmen children.

Children often "overimitate," comprehensively copying others' actions despite manifest perceptual cues to their causal ineffectuality. The inflexibility of this behavior renders its adaptive significance difficult to apprehend. This study explored the boundaries of overimitation in 3- to 6-year-old children of three distinct cultures: Westernized, urban Australians (N=64 in Experiment 1; N=19 in Experiment 2) and remote communities of South African Bushmen (N=64) and Australian Aborigines (N=19). Children overimitated at high frequency in all communities and generalized what they had learned about techniques and object affordances from one object to another. Overimitation thus provides a powerful means of acquiring and flexibly deploying cultural knowledge. The potency of such social learning was also documented compared to opportunities for exploration and practice.

Sex-specific correlates of adult physical activity in an Australian rural community

Rural Australians have a higher likelihood of chronic disease and lower levels of physical activity than urban Australians. Little is known of the factors associated with physical activity among rural-dwelling Australians. This study sought to determine the correlates of physical activity among men and women of the South Australian Riverland region. Cross-sectional survey. Regional area. There are 299 randomly selected 18-65 year olds. Determinations of insufficient and sufficient physical activity levels based on public health recommendations. Using logistic regression: in men, sufficient physical activity was associated with reporting perceived sufficient physical activity for health (odds ratio 3.194 [1.703-5.989]), and having friends who encouraged physical activity (3.641 [1.450-9.141]). Men who reported insufficient time (0.350 [0.151-0.812]) and getting enough physical activity at their job (0.374 [0.199-0.702]) were less likely to be sufficiently active. In women, sufficient physical activity was associated with not being employed (2.929 [1.063-8.066]), higher self-efficacy (2.939 [1.118-7.726]) and having a regular physical activity routine (3.404 [1.829-6.337]). Older age (0.960 [0.929-0.995]), poorer self-rated health (0.233 [0.060-0.900]) and weekend sitting time (0.823 [0.692-0.980]) were negatively associated with sufficient physical activity for women. Factors associated with physical activity in this rural adult population differed by sex. Sex-specific approaches to promote physical activity might have utility for this population. Strategies to enhance social connectedness among men and encourage physical activity outside of work can be warranted. Women can require programs to help them develop a regular physical activity routine and improve self-efficacy.

Self-reported bowel screening rates in older Australians and the implications

This paper sought to determine the status of older Australians with regard to Bowel Cancer screening practices occurring outside of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. A random sample of N=25,511 urban Australians aged 50 to 74 years received a questionnaire via mail asking questions relating to bowel screening. N=8,762 (34.3%) returned a completed questionnaire. Approximately 33% (N=2863) of respondents indicated they had undergone colonoscopy in the preceding five years and 21% (N=1840) had used a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) in the preceding 12 months. Furthermore, 27% (N=497) of those who had completed an FOBT had also undergone colonoscopy. A significant proportion of older Australians might be participating in bowel screening practices outside of the national program (NBCSP). Moreover, the proportion of individuals reporting use of both FOBT and endoscopic services is much higher than the positivity rate of FOBT. Large population FOBT screening programs, such as the NBCSP, that do not consider participation in screening external to the program may underestimate true population screening rates.

The use of amenities in high density neighbourhoods by older urban Australians residents

Like other major cities, Brisbane (Australia) has adopted policies to increase residential densities to meet the liveability goal of decreasing car dependence. This objective hinges on urban neighbourhoods being amenity-rich spaces, reducing the need for residents to leave their neighbourhood for everyday living. While older people are attracted to urban settings, there has been little empirical evidence linking liveability satisfaction with older people's use of urban neighbourhoods. Using a case study approach employing qualitative (diaries, in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems and Geographical Information Systems mapping) methods, this paper explores the effect of the neighbourhood environment and its influence on liveability for older urban people. Reliance on motor vehicles and issues with availability and access to local amenities inhibit local participation for older people. Highlighting these issues furthers our understanding of the landscape planning and design factors that make urban neighbourhoods more liveable for older residents.

Internet usage and openness to internet-delivered health information among Australian adults aged over 50 years

The cost of healthcare in Australia's ageing population is ever increasing. In an attempt to reduce these rising costs, the internet has been suggested as a possible means of disseminating health-related information and promoting preventive health behaviours. Our objective was to determine the proportion of Australians aged 50-74 years who have internet access, and the characteristics of internet usage, current online health information seeking behaviour, and the willingness to receive unsolicited health information via the Internet. A random sample of N=25,511 urban older Australians aged 50 to 74 years received a questionnaire via mail and were asked to complete questions concerning variables related to internet usage. N=8,762 returned a competed questionnaire. Eighty-two per cent of respondents reported having internet access, mainly at home (94%), and the majority actively use this technology (93%). Younger people and those of higher socio-economic status and higher education were more likely to have access (p<.001). Approximately 61% reported actively seeking health-related information online but only 32% expressed a willingness to receive unsolicited health information via the internet. Females were more likely to currently search for health-related information than males but were less likely to be open to receiving unsolicited health information (both p<.001). According to the data it appears the majority of urban Australians aged over 50 have access to the internet at some location and 60% of them use the internet for health-related purposes. The data also suggests, however, that delivering health information via the internet alone would disadvantage those who are older, less educated, and less financially well-off.

Understanding Neighbourhood Liveability for Older Urban Australians

As with other major developed cities, the sub-tropical and fastest growing Australian capital city of Brisbane has adopted policies designed to increase residential densities and meet the liveability and sustainability goal of decreasing car dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. This goal hinges on a pedestrian friendly environment and walkable proximity to satisfy everyday needs. While older people are particularly attracted to sub-tropical urban environments, there has been little empirical evidence linking liveability satisfaction and perceived and actual use of older people’s urban neighbourhood. Using qualitative (diaries and in-depth interviews) and quantitative (Global Positioning Systems and Geographical Information Systems mapping) liveability research data this paper explores whether high density supports liveability and is sustainable for older people living in a sub-tropical urban environment. This paper links satisfaction and perceived use of the sub-tropical urban Brisbane environment with actual mapped characteristics and use. Linking the two methods (both quantitative and qualitative) is important in obtaining a greater understanding of human behaviour and the lived world of older urban Australians and in providing a wider picture of sub-tropical urban neighbourhoods for a significant population group within those neighbourhoods. What emerges from the research is an uneven standard of design, provision of amenities and maintenance of the public realm which negatively impacts on local neighbourhood participation by older urban Australians. By highlighting these issues this research furthers the understanding of design factors which make the sub-tropical urban neighbourhood more liveable and sustainable for older people and will inform actionable and implementable policies, programs and designs.