If a holistic approach to social work requires acknowledgement of religion, what does this mean for social work education?

There is growing recognition that promoting wellbeing requires a holistic approach to social work practice which includes understanding the role of religion in the lives of service users. This is reflected in a number of mentions of religion in the new code of ethics produced by the Australian Association of Social Workers. However, any consideration of whether religion has a place in social work should not only occur at the individual level, but also consider faith-based agencies. This paper considers the implications of this for social work education in respect of developing curriculum which acknowledges the religious dimension of the lives of many service users; skill development to enable social workers to broach issues of religion with service users; and working in or with faith-based agencies.

Good boards are strategic : what does that mean for sport governance?

To learn more about the governance of sport organizations, this study explored what meaning board members of national sport organizations (NSOs) attach to the concept of "strategic capability". In so doing, the inquiry also identified factors considered to constrain or enable board strategic function. This paper draws on a body of knowledge developed over 38 years on board strategic function, primarily from the commercial setting but also from the emerging body of work in the nonprofit and sport governance setting. Located within the interpretive research paradigm this study engaged a range of different qualitative methods including cognitive mapping and visual imagery. Working across two NSOs in New Zealand, four elements were generated that served as reference points in mapping out the meaning of a strategically able board. These were categorized as the need to have capable people, a frame of reference, facilitative board processes, and facilitative regional relationships.

The allometric relationship between mean fibre diameter of mohair and the fleece-free liveweight of Angora goats over their lifetime

As mean fibre diameter (MFD) is the primary determinant of mohair price we aimed to quantify the lifetime changes in mohair MFDas Angora goats aged and grew. Measurements were made over 12 shearing periods on a population of Angora goats representing the current range and diversity of genetic origins including South African, Texan and interbred admixtures of these and Australian sources. Records of sire, dam, birthweight, birth parity, liveweight, fleece growth and fleece quality were taken for does and castrated males (wethers) (n = 267 animals). Fleece-free liveweights (FFL_wt) were determined for each goat at shearing time by subtracting the greasy fleece weight from the liveweight recorded immediately before shearing. A restricted maximum likelihood growth curve model was developed for relating MFD to FFL_wt, age and other measurements.Asimple way of describing the results is:MFD= k (FFL_wt)b E; where k is a parameter that can vary in a systematic way with shearing(age), breed, weaning weight, sire, dam and individual; b is a parameter that is the same for nearly the whole study; and E are independent errors from a log-normal distribution. The analysis shows that ^b = 0.34, with s.e. (^b) = 0.021. Thus, mohair MFD was allometrically related to the cube root of FFLwt over the lifetime of Angora goats. However, the allometric proportionality constant differed in a systematic way with age at shearing, genetic strain, weaning weight, sire, dam and individual. For Texan-breed goats, MFD decreased as weaning weight increased (P = 0.00016). The findings indicate that management factors that affect liveweight and weaning weight have lifetime effects on mohair fibre diameter and therefore the value of mohair and the profitability of the mohair enterprise.

What does a museum mean? A narrative approach to museum impact

This paper presents ‘narrative’ as a theoretically informed qualitative perspective to explore and substantiate such abstract concept as ‘museum impact’. It argues that the impact of museums is best understood via the meanings visitors make and negotiate in the long-term. This provides critical insights into what a museum visit means and how its impact is negotiated within time and space. I lay out the theoretical rationale and methodological approach for the research project underpinning this paper while future publications will provide empirical findings and theoretical conclusions.

Congestion and optimal immigration policy

This paper presents a model to explain the stylized fact that many countries have a low ratio of migrants in their population while some countries have a high ratio of migrants. Immigration improves the income of the domestic residents, but migrants also increase the congestion of public services. If migrants are unskilled and therefore pay low taxes, and the government does not limit access to these services, then the welfare of the domestic residents decreases with the number of migrants. Visa auctions can lower the cost of immigration control and substitute legal migrants for illegal migrants. If the government decides to limit the access of migrants to public services, immigration control becomes unnecessary and the optimal number of migrants can be very large.

Illegal immigration, technology adoption and welfare

A debate in the illegal immigration and technology adoption literature suggests that hiring illegal immigrants may be hindering the adoption of new technology, which in turn harms a country’s productivity growth. This paper analyses an individual firm’s behaviour regarding new technology adoption in the presence of illegal immigrants. We assume a Ricardian economy and analyse immigration of illegal unskilled workers in a model of Cournot duopoly where firms are producing homogenous and non-traded goods, and hiring illegal immigrants. A two-stage simultaneous move game is set up: in Stage 1, given the opportunity of hiring illegal immigrants, an individual firm decides whether to adopt the new technology or not, where technology adoption is costly. In Stage 2, each firm will choose the Cournot output level. Solving this two-stage game, we conclude that (i) given the opportunity of hiring illegal immigrants, an individual firm may adopt the new technology and (ii) in the case of zero tolerance of illegal immigration, technology adoption may increase but such technology adoption is immiserizing as it reduces the total surplus.

Exporting detention : Australia-funded immigration detention in Indonesia

Since 2000, Australia has provided significant levels of funding and resources to encourage Indonesia to use immigration detention to deter asylum seekers from making the onward journey to Australia. In this way Australia has effectively extended its domestic policy of immigration detention beyond its own national borders. The provision of Australian funding for detention in Indonesia has resulted in an increased propensity of Indonesian officials to detain. This article examines the outcomes and implications of this transfer of immigration detention policy for asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. It draws on interviews conducted with individuals who have spent time in Indonesia’s immigration detention centres, and Indonesian immigration officials, to assess the conditions of the detention centres. The particular arrangement between Australia and Indonesia, however, fails adequately to protect the human rights of immigration detainees. Ultimately, the detention of asylum seekers in Indonesia serves as one more barrier to finding effective protection in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wind farm power uncertainty quantification using a mean-variance estimation method

This paper proposes an innovative optimized parametric method for construction of prediction intervals (PIs) for uncertainty quantification. The mean-variance estimation (MVE) method employs two separate neural network (NN) models to estimate the mean and variance of targets. A new training method is developed in this study that adjusts parameters of NN models through minimization of a PI-based cost functions. A simulated annealing method is applied for minimization of the nonlinear non-differentiable cost function. The performance of the proposed method for PI construction is examined using monthly data sets taken from a wind farm in Australia. PIs for the wind farm power generation are constructed with five confidence levels between 50% and 90%. Demonstrated results indicate that valid PIs constructed using the optimized MVE method have a quality much better than the traditional MVE-based PIs.

Trust in strategic alliances: what does it mean and how is it built?

Informed by social exchange theory (SET) this study examines the role of trust in strategic alliances. Interviews were conducted with 17 participants who were strategic alliance managers in their organization. The study finds that trust is important to strategic alliance managers, and without it alliance managers would find it difficult to keep their alliance going. Trust is built over time, and based on the past experiences that the alliance manager has with their partner. The study found that prior networks, timely and appropriate communication and information exchange, fairness preservation and inter-firm adaptation were important in developing trust in the strategic alliance.