A narrative study of migrant women and Australian law

This thesis found that the migrant women it studied experienced everyday, discrimination-related hardships and legal problems which the law only partially resolved. It concluded that discrimination was an invisible issue with serious personal consequences for these migrant women.

Return to the mother : male surrealists - female bodies

The exegesis examines Surrealist writing and visual art, arguing that the Surrealists assumed the patriarchal role of the mythological hero whose subjective quest was to return to, and conquer, the Mother. The other part of the thesis is an exhibition which parodies and plays alongside Surrealist ideologies.

Factors influencing the planning undertaken by women during pregnancy for their return to work after maternity leave

The planning women (N = 199) do during pregnancy for their return to work post birth and the factors that influence employment planning during late pregnancy were investigated in this study. The findings revealed three components of planning: Planning for Childcare, Planning with Partner, and Planning with Employer. Several factors emerged as consistent cross-sectional predictors of these components (work satisfaction, hours worked before commencing maternity leave, anticipated weeks of maternity leave and anticipated hours per week on the return to work). Anticipated support from family and friends, and from the workplace also predicted Planning with Partner and Planning with Employer, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Optimal management of a goose flyway : migrant management at minimum cost

1. We adopt a ‘whole flyway’ approach to modelling scenarios for protecting migratory birds, aiming at efficient and cost-effective conservation of flyway habitat.

2. We developed a model to minimize flyway management costs while safeguarding a migrating bird population. The model assumes that the intensity of the birds’ use of sites can be manipulated by varying management regimes (with concomitant costs) and that the birds make optimal use of the conditions created along their flyway.

3. We used dynamic programming to find the sequence of migratory decisions that maximizes the fitness of the migrants given a range of management scenarios, followed by a management cost estimate of all these scenarios and selection of those scenarios yielding an optimal solution from both an economic and the migrants’ perspective.

4. Using the population of pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus that breed in Svalbard as an example, we calculated that the cheapest management scenario given current compensation payment rates at the various goose stopover sites yielded a 35% cost saving over current management. This cheapest scenario provides a migration itinerary that is very similar to the current itinerary used by the geese. This is fortuitous since changing environmental conditions may put the migrants at risk.

5. Synthesis and application. Given the global threats to migratory birds, developing a framework for efficient and effective conservation of flyway habitat is an urgent need. Such a framework may likewise be used to assist in controlling migrants causing conflict with agriculture, such as several goose species, in an economic and responsible fashion. Our suggested exemplified framework identified large unexplainable differences in management costs between regions. Differences in management costs between staging sites for birds make big differences to the optimal management of a flyway. Hence, to achieve efficient and effective management of migratory birds, we firstly need an objective assessment of the cost of management in different locations, followed by a modelling approach as here advocated, and followed up by a collaborative action of managers along the entire flyway.

The impact of a parenting intervention in Australia among migrants and refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, and Burundi : results from the African migrant parenting program

African migrants and refugee families who resettle in high-income countries such as Australia face many challenges. Negotiating parenting in a new culture is one of the most pressing challenges that is faced by most African migrant and refugee parents. As a consequence of the new cultural environment reflecting values and practices that may seem inconsistent with traditional parenting from countries of origin, differing acculturation rates of parents as compared to their children may lead to difficulties and challenges. An eight-session parenting program for African migrant and refugee parents living in Melbourne was evaluated. Thirty-nine families participated in the program, which involved pre-test and post-test measures of parenting domains, using the Bavolek and Keene (1999) revised Adult–Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2). Exposure to the program was related to positive changes in parental expectations of children, attitudes towards corporal punishment, and restriction of children’s access to food. The program facilitated positive change in almost all parenting domains. In light of these findings, recommendations are made for policy and future programs.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among African migrant and refugee adults in Melbourne

Migration to industrialised countries poses a “double whammy” for type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African migrant and refugee adults. This population group has been found to be at an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which may be further aggravated by inadequate vitamin D status. Thus, this study aimed to describe the demographics of vitamin D insufficiency, obesity, and risk factors for type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees aged 20 years or older living in Melbourne, Australia (n=49). Data were obtained by a questionnaire, medical assessment, and fasting blood samples. The mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 27.3 nmol/L (95% CI: 22.2, 32.4 nmol/L); with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/L occurring in 88% of participants. Participants displayed a cluster of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: 62% were overweight or obese, 47% had insulin resistance (HOMA-IR ≥2), 25% had low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≥3.5 mmol/L, 24.5% had high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels ≤1.03 mmol/L, 34.6% had borderline or high levels of total cholesterol (≥5.2 mmol/L), 18.2% had borderline or high levels of triglyceride (≥1.7 mmol/L), and 16% had hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg). These findings suggest that sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees may be at risk of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis-related diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Well-designed vitamin D interventions that incorporate lifestyle changes are urgently needed in this sub-population.

Migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne, Australia, 1950‐1975

The data collection contains documentation of migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne. It includes photographic documentation of the houses, interviews with the inhabitants, and drawings/sketches of the houses.

The focus of the research is on houses that were built between 1950 and 1975. These houses are themselves a product of the construction skills and processes of post-war immigrants and the waves of 1960s immigrants into Australia from Southern European countries. Typically, these houses are brick veneer and have a strict sense of order and endurance about their design and image of the facade. A series of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces produce a complexity of inside-outside relations and make possible different lifestyles.

Stories of the migrant house suggest it is an example of what might be called an ‘eco-object’, an object through which ecological practices are interwoven with social and cultural orientations. The houses are also aesthetic artefacts that present a public image through their facades. The project has documented the ‘material history’ of the houses. It illustrates the significance of particular elements/processes including: the terrace, new nature (in the front garden and back vegetable garden), summer kitchen, ongoing construction and storage space.