Veterinary employment patterns

Rolls and electronic records of The Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland between 1940 and 2000 were analysed to identify changes in the numbers and employment patterns of veterinarians. The number of veterinarians increased at a much more rapid rate than the population and on a state-wide level reached a plateau a decade ago at 340 per million. A plateau has not been reached in the capital city of Brisbane. The percentage of veterinarians employed with government funds has decreased, and the percentage of private practitioners increased to more than 80%. In 2000, single veterinarian practices represented 50% of all practices and 24% of practitioners. Women represented less than 10% of Queensland veterinarians until 1980, but 33% in 2000, and they are in higher concentration in Brisbane than elsewhere in the state.

Patterns of alcohol consumption in young Australian women: socio-demographic factors, health-related behaviours and physical health

Objective: To determine which sociodemographic factors. health-related behaviours and physical health conditions are associated with non-drinking, binge drinking and hazardous/harmful drinking in young Australian women. Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from the baseline survey of 14,762 young women (aged 18-23 years) enrolled in the Women's Health Australia study in 1996. Associations between a range of drinking patterns and sociodemographic factors, health-related behaviours and health conditions were examined. Results: Half the women were 'low intake' drinkers, a third 'rarely drank' and 9% were non-drinkers; however, 70% reported binge drinking with one-quarter of the binge drinkers doing so at least weekly. Nondrinkers were more likely than drinkers to be married, pregnant, non-smokers, born in non-English speaking countries, to live in the Northern Territory, and to have lower levels of education, employment, and private health insurance. Low intake/binge weekly' drinkers (12%) and 'hazardous/ harmful' drinkers (5%) were more likely than 'low risk' drinkers to be unmarried; to live in shared accommodation, alone or with their parents; to live in rural or remote areas; to have ever had any sexually transmitted infection; to be current smokers or ex-smokers and to have used unhealthy weight-control practices. Conclusions: The results confirm findings from other countries about the importance of social conditions as determinants of alcohol consumption by young women. Implications: Health promotion to reduce young women's alcohol consumption needs to be carefully targeted to take account of their demographies, living environments and beliefs.

Labour flexibility and gender in the service sector: A study of employment practices in law and accounting firms

In seeking to increase the flexibility of their use of employee time, employers can pursue strategies based on the employment of casual and part-time workers (numerical flexibility) or strategies based on ad hoc variation of the working hours of permanent employees (working time flexibility). Patterns of flexibility strategies and their implications are examined in the context of a highly feminised sector of work-clerical and administrative employment in law and accounting firms. We consider whether, as is often assumed, working time flexibility strategies are generally better for employees because they avoid the substitution of core, high quality jobs with the peripheral, relatively insecure employment often associated with casualisation. Analysing data drawn from a survey of law and accounting firms, we argue that there are three distinct flexibility strategies adopted by employers, and that the choice of strategy is influenced by the size of the firm and the extent of feminisation. The quality of employment conditions associated with each strategy is investigated through an analysis of the determinants of training provision for clerical and administrative workers. Rather than an expected simple linear relationship between increasing casualisation and decreasing training provision, we find that firm size and feminisation are implicated. Larger firms that tend to employ at least some men and use a combination of working time and numerical flexibility strategies tend to provide more training than the small, more fully feminised firms that tend to opt for either casualisation or working time flexibility strategies. This suggests that, from an employee perspective, working time flexibility may not be as benevolent as is often thought.

Patterns of community integration 2-5 years post-discharge from brain injury rehabilitation

Outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by a high degree of variability which has often been difficult to capture in traditional outcome studies. The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of community integration 2-5 years after TBI. Participants were 208 patients admitted to a Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit between 1991-1995 in Brisbane, Australia. The design comprised retrospective data collection and questionnaire follow-up by mail. Mean follow-up was 3.5 years. Demographic, injury severity and functional status variables were retrieved from hospital records. Community integration was assessed using the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ), and vocational status measured by a self administered questionnaire. Data was analysed using cluster analysis which divided the data into meaningful subsets. Based on the CIQ subscale scores of home, social and productive integration, a three cluster solution was selected, with groups labelled as working (n = 78), balanced (n = 46) and poorly integrated (n = 84). Although 38% of the sample returned to a high level of productive activity and 22% achieved a balanced lifestyle, overall community integration was poor for the remainder. This poorly integrated group had more severe injury characterized by longer periods of acute care and post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and greater functional disability on discharge. These findings have implications for service delivery prior to and during the process of reintegration after brain injury.

An occupational view of the Australian labour force - Patterns of job growth and decline

Generally employment has been studied in terms of changes in the types of goods and services that the economy is purchasing. Far less attention has been given to the occupational aggregates that go into producing these goods and services. The few studies that did investigate this area found that the mix of tabour inputs appear to have been changing over time in a systematic pattern. The increasing prevalence of white-collar, information workers gave rise to the assertion that many societies had entered a post-industrial information age. Deals first of aff with some issues of measurement in the context of the Australian labour force, then looks at trends in various occupational groups using a non-standard four-sector classification of the labour force. Finally suggests an application in relation to the link between education and training and its ability to reduce structural unemployment.

Paid employment of mothers and fathers of an adult child with multiple disabilities

Background Paid employment is increasingly undertaken by mothers as their children age, with the majority of women being in employment by the time their offspring are adult. Opportunities to engage in employment appear to be reduced for mothers of children with disabilities; however, little is known about the employment of mothers or fathers of adults with disabilities. Method Data were collected regarding the employment decisions of parents of a young adult with multiple disabilities and contrasted with those of parents whose children were all developing normally. Twenty-five mothers and 12 fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities were interviewed, as were 25 comparison mothers and 19 comparison fathers. Data collected included hours of work, reasons for employment status, attitudes towards work and child care, and psychological well-being. Results Clear differences were found between the two groups. Mothers and fathers of a child with multiple disabilities showed different engagement patterns with the paid workforce from comparison parents. Hours of work for fathers of a young adult with multiple disabilities showed a bi-modal distribution, with some fathers working fewer hours than usual and others working very long hours. For mothers in both groups, the number of hours in paid employment was negatively associated with reports of psychological problems. Conclusions Increased attention needs to be given to the employment opportunities of parents of children with disabilities since employment appears to play a protective role for mothers, in particular. Services provided to adults with disabilities will need to change if parents are to have the same life chances as parents without adult offspring with a disability.

The employment of people with mental illness

People with a mental illness are among the most socially and economically marginalised members of the community. They experience high levels of unemployment and nonparticipation in the labour force. Unemployment has a number of negative effects including the loss of purpose, structure, roles and status and a sense of identity which employment brings. Employment enables social inclusion in the wider community and is an important way that people with a mental illness can meaningfully participate in the wider community. Australia has a mental health strategy, which guides the ongoing reform of mental health services. However, specific strategies to address the social and economic marginalisation of people with a mental illness have not been addressed. A recovery-oriented approach is recommended, which integrates the key sectors involved. To date there has been little intersectoral collaboration between the various sectors such as mental health services, housing, and vocational services. People require more role-specific assistance to enable them to participate in socially valued roles implicit with citizenship. There is a need to formulate improved pathways to assistance and more evidence-based forms of assistance to re-establish career pathways. This report aims to: 1) collect relevant overseas and Australian evidence about the employment of people with mental illness; 2) identify the potential benefits of employment; 3) describe patterns of labour force participation in Australia among people with mental illness; 4) identify how mental illness can cause barriers to employment; 5) outline the type of employment restrictions reported by people with mental illness; 6) identify the evidence-based ingredients of employment assistance; 7) identify relevant policy implications; and 8) suggest strategies to improve employment outcomes and career prospects for people with mental illness.

Emerging adulthood and patterns of physical activity among young Australian women

The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is associated with a sharp decline in physical activity, particularly for women. This article explores the relations between physical activity status and change and status and change in four life domains: residential independence, employment status, relationship status, and motherhood. Two waves of survey data from a representative sample of 8,545 Australian women, aged 18-23 at Survey 1 and 22-27 at Survey 2, were analyzed. Cross-sectionally, physical inactivity was most strongly related to being a mother married, and not being in the labor force. Longitudinally, decreases in physical activity were most strongly associated with moving into a live-in relationship, with getting married, and with becoming a mother When considered in combination, women who were married with children and not employed outside the home were the most likely to be physically inactive. The data suggest that adoption of adult statuses, particularly traditional roles involving family relationships and motherhood, is associated with reductions in physical activity for these women, although it is possible that the effect is driven by socioeconomic factors associated with early transitions. The data suggest a need for interventions to promote continued physical activity among young women who cohabit or marry and among those not in the workforce, in addition to those supporting young mothers to be physically active.

Gendered dichotomies and segregation patterns in computing jobs in Australia

The uneven distribution of women and men in IT employment is often depicted as reflecting adistinction between 'hard' and 'soft' tasks, skills and attributes. This article uses detailed occupational data on professional computing jobs in Australia to examine the extent to which patterns of gender segregation are consistent with such dichotomies. Additionally, we draw on qualitative interview data from aset oforganisational case studies for insights into the ways in which segregation patterns are reproduced and/or reshaped at"the workplace level. While perceptions ofgendered dichotomies were evident among many of our interviewees, overall our analysis shows considerably more complexity, with segregation patterns not necessarily aligned with clear-cut dichotomies and career directions often directly influenced by the organisation ofworking time in particular occupational streams.

The effect of non-standard employment on work-family balance

Across the last four decades, the structure of the Australian labour market has changed profoundly as non-standard forms of employment have become more prevalent. According to many researchers, the growth of non-standard work has been driven by employee preferences, particularly among married women, for greater flexibility to balance paid work with domestic responsibilities and other non-work related pursuits. In contrast, other researchers argue that the increasing prevalence of non-standard employment reflects employer demands for greater staffing flexibility. From this perspective, non-standard forms of employment are considered to have a negative effect on work-family balance. This paper explores whether non-standard employment is associated with improved or poorer work-to-family conflict and tests whether experiences vary by gender. It concentrates on three common forms of non-standard employment: part-time employment, casual and fixed-term work contracts and flexible scheduling practices (such as evening work, weekend work and irregular rostering). Analysis is based on 2299 employed parents from the first wave of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics on Australia (HILDA) project. Results show that few scheduling measures are significant determinants of work-family balance. However, part-time employment is associated with reduced work-to-family strain for both men and women, even after controlling for various other employment and household related characteristics. Casual employment, in contrast, incurs the cost of poorer work-family balance for men. Surprisingly, HILDA data show that overall men experience greater work-to-family strain than women.

Gendered dichotomies and segregation patterns in computing jobs in Australia

Sex segregation in employment is a phenomenon that can be observed and analysed at different levels, ranging from comparisons between broad classifications by industry or occupation through to finely defined jobs within such classifications. From an aggregate perspective, the contribution of information technology (IT) employment to sex segregation is clear--it remains a highly male-dominated field apparently imbued with the ongoing masculinity of science and technology. While this situation is clearly contrary to hopes of a new industry freed from traditional distinctions between 'men's' and 'women's' work, it comes as little surprise to most feminist and labour studies analysts. An extensive literature documents the persistently masculine culture of IT employment and education (see, among many, Margolis and Fisher 2002; Wajcman 1991; Webster 1996; Wright 1996, 1997), and the idea that new occupations might escape sexism by sidestepping 'old traditions' has been effectively critiqued by writers such as Adam, who notes the fallacy of assuming a spontaneous emergence of equality in new settings (2005: 140).