Think global, act global: Corporate content streaming and Australian media policy

Australia ’s media policy agenda has recently been dominated by debate over two key issues: media ownership reform, and the local content provisions of the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement. Challenging the tendency to analyse these issues separately, the article considers them as interlinked indicators of fundamental shifts occurring in the digital media environment. Converged media corporations increasingly seek to achieve economies of scale through ‘content streaming’: multi-purposing proprietary content across numerous digitally enabled platforms. This has resulted in rivalries for control of delivery technologies (as witnessed in media ownership debates) as well as over market access for corporate content (in the case of local content debates). The article contextualises Australia’s contemporary media policy flashpoints within international developments and longer-term industry strategising. It further questions the power of media policy as it is currently conceived to deal adequately with the challenges raised by a converging digital media marketplace.

Sociodemographic backgrounds and career decisions of Australian and New Zealand dental students

This article describes the sociodemographic and career selection characteristics of dental students in Australia and New Zealand. A total of 672 dental students participated in the study. The survey covered age, language proficiency, type of school attended, place of residence, parental occupation, and level of education. The respondents had an average age of twenty-two years, with a range of eighteen to fifty. Fifty-six percent of respondents were female, and approximately half had completed secondary education in private schools with 44.3 percent having finished in public schools. The majority of students lived with their parents, with only a few respondents reporting a rural home address (6.8 percent). The majority of students (65.3 percent) had placed dentistry as their first career choice and had most likely made the decision after leaving high school or near the end of high school (81.4 percent), with self-motivation being the major influence on their decision. This study provides a description of the sociodemographic profile of Australian and New Zealand dental students and provides a better understanding of career decision issues. It also highlights areas for further investigation and management by educational institutions and public policy.

Is corrections correcting? An examination of prisoner rehabilitation policy and practice in Queensland

This article provides an analysis of the policy and practice of prisoner rehabilitation in Queensland, and the extent to which they accord with international best practice. Actual practice was identified through interviews and written submissions from 20 ex-prisoners and 18 prisoner service providers (including two past staff members from Queensland prisons), as well as through an examination of reported judicial review decisions and Department of Corrective Services statistics. The results demonstrate that although the legislation and procedures suggest that a best practice system of prisoner rehabilitation exists in Queensland, there is a significant gulf between policy and practice. Far from being sufficiently prepared for release, Queensland prisoners are generally released directly from high security facilities into a community which they have great difficulty reintegrating into. The results suggest that the corrective services system in Queensland is not succeeding in fulfilling its primary purpose, 'correction', or in meeting its well-publicised goal of ensuring community safety.

Notes on the history of the mobile phone in Australia

The first automatic mobile phone service was launched in Australia in 1981, with the first cellular mobile service following in 1987. In 2003 there were over 14.5 million mobile phone subscribers, and the technology had become central to everyday life and culture. Despite the significance of mobile phones, little has been written about their Australian histories. This paper offers some notes on the history of mobile telecommunications in Australia. As well as reviewing the development of the mobile phone in Australia, it looks at the cultural representation of this technology.

Women from the Union of Australian Women with banner during Aldermaston Peace march in 1964

Women from the Union of Australian Women with banner during Aldermaston Peace march, Sunday, April 5th 1964. The Aldermaston march covered the distance between Ipswich and Brisbane, Australia, walked in relays covering approximately two miles each. Most relay sections were sponsored by one or more individual organisations. The Union of Australian Women is a national organisation that was formed in 1950. Its aim is to work for the status and wellbeing of women across the world. It has been involved in a wide variety of campaigns that concern women. The Union of Australian Women networks with other women's community and union groups on such issues.

The influence of regionalization and psychic distance on the direction of Australian exports

International business research has identified separately two distinct influences on the direction of firm internationalisation. One of those influences is psychic distance, the other is regionalisation. This paper sets out to test the influences of regionalisation and psychic distance on the direction of Australian merchandise exports. The paper applies a quantitative methodology using a multiple regression model on a large, purposively compiled data set. Unlike most previous outward internationalisation studies, which use the firm as the unit of analysis, this paper uses aggregated Australian export values by country destination and export category over an extended time period, 1990 to 2004. The findings show that regionalisation is the dominant influence on the direction of Australian merchandise exports. This has important trade policy implications for Australian state and federal governments, related export promotion agencies and for managers of Australian firms, as well as for international business researchers generally.