Gender blind? Australian immigration policy and practice, 1901-1930

This paper seeks to explore the nature of Australian immigration policies and practices, particularly their impact on women, from federation in 1901 to the cessation of large-scale assisted immigration to Australia brought about by the 1930s depression. The characteristics that influenced and affected female immigrants may have differentiated their experiences from those of male immigrants in the same period. Differential treatment of men and women has often been an unstated given in the formulation and implementation of immigration policies. It was as common to non-government organisations (of which there were, and still are, a great many associated with immigration and settlement), as to governments, both federal and state. Several inequities can be identified in the making and implementation of immigration and settlement policies, and in the access to government grants, concessions and services, not only in terms of race, ethnicity, class or occupation (which is well trodden ground in this field) but also in terms of gender.[1] Such differentiation is part of the broader framework of changing conceptions about the place and roles of women in Australian society and their expected contribution to the nation, but it has remained largely unexplicated in this period and field.

The 'Australian settlement' and Australian political thought

Arguments for reshaping political agendas invariably begin from an appraisal of past errors and achievements. Paul Kelly's notion of the 'Australian Settlement' attempts such a task. Kelly identifies a particular ideological and institutional tradition in Australian politics that dominated much of the twentieth century and that is now deemed to have broken down. This article accepts that the notion of a Settlement provides certain insights into the evolution of Australian political thought. Nonetheless, the paper takes issue with the specific content of Kelly's version of the 'Australian Settlement' and indicates how it may be reformulated. It argues that, to the extent that we can speak of a 'Settlement' in Australia, it was one reached on a wider range of key conflicts or cleavages than those to which Kelly refers.

The Fiftieth Gate : an Australian case study in twentieth-century 'popular' publishing

On Sunday 6 April 1997, historian Mark Baker's first non-academic book was launched at Melbourne's iconic migrant portal, Station Pier. The guest list of over 500 invitees included representatives of many print media organisations, most of whom interviewed the author. His photograph was reproduced a week later in the 'Agenda' section of The Age newspaper. In this portrait, Baker leans on the railings beside the massive structure of Station Pier. Framed by sea and sky, he is caught glancing pensively over his shoulder past the camera and into the middle distance. He is alone. The day is bleak. Here, the reader is invited to surmise, is a man with much on his mind. In a flash of inspiration the sub-editor has prefaced the accompanying caption, 'Back to the future', linking the story with the mass media of film and television.

Effects of a holistic health program on women's physical activity and mental and spiritual health

Intervention studies aimed at promoting increased physical activity have been trialled in many different settings including primary care, worksites and the community. Churches are also potential settings for physical activity promotion. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this setting for promoting physical activity, particularly in Australia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mind, body and spiritually based health promotion program in increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health. Nineteen women completed the 8-week intervention, and 30 women in a non-health related 8-week program at the same church comprised a comparison group. Pre- and post-program surveys assessed outcome measures. Between-group differences over time were examined using one-way MANOVA's. Physical activity was higher in the intervention group than the comparison group. In contrast to the comparison group, both mental health (depression symptoms) and spiritual health improved significantly more among intervention participants. The data highlight the potential for a church-based setting and holistic approach to health promotion as a successful means of increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health among Australian women.

Managing the family`s health: preferences and experiences of women with different work and family arrangements.

Balancing the needs of work and family is a subject of much debate.The purpose of this research was to explore how families manage their children's health within the context of different work and family arrangements.In-depth interviews were conducted with women who were at home full time (8) or in paid work over 30 hours a week (7). Women had at least one child under the five years of age. Findings revealed there was no simple relationship between women's working arrangements and how they managed their children's health. All women, irrespective of their working arrangements, held similar preferences for managing their children's health.However, most women experienced either time or financial constraints that meant they had to compromise their original preferences. In some cases this meant children missed out on receiving health services. Workplace support, extended family support and general satisfaction with work and family arrangements appeared to be important factors for the small number of women who had no problems in managing their children's health. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Australian hackers and ethics

The aim of the paper is to look at the way hackers act and ways in which society can protect itself. The paper will show the current views and attitudes of hackers in an Australian context. The paper will also include a case study to show how a hacking incident can develop and how technology can be used to protect against hacking.

Dietary patterns of Australian adults and their association with socio-economic status: results from the 1995 national nutrition survey

Objective: To describe dietary patterns among men and women in the Australian population, and to explore how these varied according to socioeconomic status (SES).

Design: A cross-sectional self-report population survey, the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey (NNS), was used.

Setting: Private dwelling sample, covering urban and rural areas across Australia.

Subjects: Data provided by 6680 adults aged 18-64 who participated in the NNS were used in the analyses.

Methods: Factor analyses were used to analyse data from a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) completed by participants. Associations between SES and dietary pattens were assessed using ANOVA.

Results: Separate factor analyses of the FFQ data for men and women revealed 15 factors, accounting for approximately 50% of the variance in both men's and women's dietary patterns. Several gender and SES differences in food patterns were observed. Lower SES males more frequently consumed 'tropical fruits', 'protein foods', and 'offal and canned fish', while high SES males more often ate 'breakfast cereals' and 'wholemeal bread'. Lower SES females more often ate 'traditional vegetables', 'meat dishes' and 'pasta, rice and other mixed foods', while high SES females more frequently ate 'ethnic vegetables' and 'breakfast cereal/muesli'.

Conclusions: These findings contribute to a better understanding of the dietary patterns that underscore gender-specific SES differences in nutrient intakes. Analyses of the type employed in this study will facilitate the development of interventions aimed at modifying overall eating patterns, rather than specific components of the diet.

Bob Brown: ecology, economy, equality and eternity

"Against a backdrop of advancing neoliberalism and globalisation, this timely book examines nine prominent Australians from diverse backgrounds - ʻglobal citizensʾ who have each enhanced public life through promoting universal values and human rights. The book charts over 50 years of campaigning, and espouses perennial causes such as peace, social justice, ecological sustainability and gender and racial equality. Ultimately, this inspiring volume sends a message of hope for Australian society and provides a benchmark for all proponents of change."--Publisher description.

The early postnatal period : exploring women's views, expectations and experiences of care using focus groups in Victoria, Australia

Background: There is growing evidence from Australia and overseas that the care provided in hospital in the early postnatal period is less than ideal for both women and care providers. Many health services face increasing pressure on hospital beds and have limited physical space available to care for mothers and their babies. We aimed to gain a more in-depth understanding of women's views, expectations and experiences of early postnatal care.

Methods: We conducted focus groups in rural and metropolitan Victoria, Australia in 2006. Fifty-two people participated in eight focus groups and four interviews. Participants included eight pregnant women, of whom seven were pregnant with their first baby; 42 women who were in the postpartum period (some up to twelve months after the birth of their baby); and two partners. All participants were fluent in English. Focus group guides were developed specifically for the study and explored participants' experiences and/or expectations of early postnatal care in hospital and at home, with an emphasis on length of hospital stay, professional and social support, continuity of care, and rest. Discussions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. A thematic network was constructed to describe and connect categories with emerging basic, organizing, and global themes.

Results: Global themes that emerged were: anxiety and/or fear; and the transition to motherhood and parenting. The needs of first time mothers were considered to be different to the needs of women who had already experienced motherhood. The women in this study were generally concerned about the safety of their new baby, and lacked confidence in themselves as new mothers regarding their ability to care for their baby. There was a consistent view that the physical presence and availability of professional support helped alleviate these concerns, and this was especially the case for women having a first baby.

Conclusion: Women have anxieties and fears around early parenting and their changing role, and may consider that the physical availability of professional care providers will help during this time. Care providers should be cognisant of these potential issues. It is crucial that women's concerns and needs be considered when service delivery changes are planned. If anxiety around new parenting is a predominant view then care providers need to recognise this and ensure care is individualised to address each woman's/families particular concerns.

Malaysian and Australian male and female middle managers : a cross-cultural comparison of workplace attitudes, aspirations for promotion, and self-rated leadership styles

This paper outlines the rise of women in management worldwide, and considers why so few women achieve senior or executive management positions. This slow advance of women into senior roles is unexpected given that the changes in organisations today are believed to require more ‘feminine leadership’. A decrease in the emphasis on masculine characteristics for managers is reported, and a requirement that more ‘feminine leadership’ needs to be adopted by organisations in order to ensure their survival in the future (Powell, Butterfield & Parent, 2002, p.189). Recent empirical research reports that there are differences in leadership style between male and female managers, and the findings suggest that women exhibit more transformational leadership than their male counterparts, with this style being strongly equated with effective leadership (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, van Engen, 2003). However, these findings are based on western research, and it may be that cross cultural research will yield a different picture (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). Leadership and leadership styles may be conceptualised differently in a more paternalistic society. To explore this possibility, a cross cultural study was conducted in Malaysia and Australia. It is hypothesised that countries that are paternalistic in cultural values will exhibit a stronger constraint on women in management roles, which may impact on workplace attitudes, aspirations for promotion and style of leadership exhibited. Therefore, it is possible that the career advancement of women may be more problematic for Malaysian managerial women than their Australian counterparts. Results from an initial pilot study in Malaysia and Australia are outlined, and highlight some interesting similarities and differences to what are reported in the western literature.

Profile of a fully online unit in an Australian arts and education faculty

Australia's leading distance education provider, Deakin University, has a policy to ensure all graduates in most courses must successfully complete at least one wholly online unit. Historically, all distance education at Deakin University has been undertaken solely in print. Off-campus students normally receive a Set Text, a series of additional photocopied readings and a Study Guide providing assistance on how to navigate through each weekly topic. Some fully online units currently offered by the University replicate this approach, ever though a distinct pedagogy is needed to ensure wholly online units truly enhance student learning.

This paper outlines the approach we adopted in developing AIX 391 - Work Transitions in the 2Ist Century, a wholly online unit designed to improve the capacity of Arts and Education students to identify viable career paths after they have graduated, The paper outlines the unit's rationale and development over a two-year period in adopting a student-centred approach to enhance teaming outcomes, while exposing students to new and often challenging online technologies. The paper also highlights results from the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning surveys, which ranked the unit in the top 5% of all Arts and Education faculty units offered in Semester 2, 2008.

How do Australian small and medium enterprises communicate their corporate social responsibility activities online?

Much of the existing research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focuses on large firms, with comparatively little on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The SME research focuses on barriers and drivers to CSR and neglects how SMEs communicate their CSR activities. This paper addresses this gap by reporting on a content analysis of 443 Australian SME websites which identifies how they are using this channel to communicate their CSR activities.