Exploding the stability myth : structural change in the Australian trade union movement, 1969-85

Traditional studies of long-term change in trade union structure have predominantly relied upon the aggregate number of trade unions as the principal measure, or indicator of change over time. Using the Australian trade union movement as an example, this article argues that our understanding of the long-term change in the external structure of trade unions would be better served by using Waddington's structural events approach examining the incidence of four distinct 'structural events'--union formations, dissolutions, breakaways and mergers. In doing so, this article presents new data on structural change in the Australian trade union movement between 1969 and 1985. It casts doubt on the traditional argument, which relied on the apparent lack of change in the aggregate number of unions reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to argue that this period was one of structural rigidity. The structural events data reveals that far from being a period of structural stability, it was in fact one of significant change, albeit in the composition of the Australian trade union movement, rather than in the aggregate number of trade unions in operation.

Culture and political party ideology in Australia

Australian federal cultural policy has been shaped by the political party in government in ways that reflect the distinctive ideology of that party. The authors trace the influence of Australia's two major political parties on federal cultural policy, arguing that their distinctive political philosophies have been significant forces in determining the changing shape of cultural policy in diverse ways. The authors demonstrate that, over the past decade, the cultural policies of the two major parties have become less distinctive as each party responds to the same international economic and political challenges. This lack of ideological dichotomy within political discourse has hampered the development of cultural policy that adequately responds to the cultural interests of Australian communities and artists.

The all for Australia league in New South Wales : a study in political entrepreneurship and hegemony

In 1931, the All for Australia League and other 'citizens movements' mounted a major challenge to the established conservative parties. Traditional views of the League saw it as a reflection of economic group interests, whether of the business establishment or dissident capitalists such as manufactures. More recent scholarship has stressed middle-class concerns with 'sound finance' as the inspiration of the League. This paper instead situates the League in the historical context of centre party projects in New South Wales, and of progressivism, in particular industrial psychology. The economic crisis and the rightward shift of the nationalists enabled a group of political entrepreneurs to transform the League from a front group for business into a populist movement. However, the shift of mainstream conservatism back to the political centre fatally undercut the League's support base.

Freedom of political communication, public officials and the emerging right to personal privacy in Australia

In recent times Australian courts have demonstrated a willingness to fashion a right to personal privacy at common law. The Australian Law Reform Commission has noted this impOt1ant development and said it was likely to continue in the absence of legislative action in the area. The aim of this article is to outline a theoretical framework to underpin and inform the development of this emerging right - howsoever framed - and the extent to which it is possible for the law to provide meaningful privacy protection to public officials under the Constitution.

Weaving the web - From myth to modernity

The discovery, development or invention of new objects and phenomena by humankind, requires a new set of words to be coined or adopted to describe it. This is also true of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) world. Words are not neutral, regardless of which dialect or language they occur in. They carry with them associations and connotations based on their previous applications and alliances, and augmented by their shapes, sounds, rhymes and rhythms. The subtext that word choice creates, while often not recognised or acknowledged, is important in considering how communication operates in, and shapes Information Technology (IT) environments. Many words that are now embedded in the ICT lexicon continue to be informed by these earlier meanings, some of which, in the English lexis, are drawn from myths. The vernacular of the ICT lexis reflects its openness to new ideas, the nature of its users, its English language roots and its Western cultural origins. This contributes to a particular communication style. But such lexis can prove problematic for non-English speaking background users and/or those from different cultures. As the ICT vocabulary continues to evolve, these language and cultural underpinnings are coming under challenge, suggesting a language and cultural future very different to the past. This in turn, will create a subtext that affects all users.

Australian businesses in China : the political dimension

This paper develops a model about the political factors Australian businesses should consider when entering China, and then empirically examines the issues by interviewing representatives .fi'om 40 companies who have operations in China. The political dimension in this paper comprises the political system, political barriers and risk, relationships with government, Australian government assistance, and Chinese government assistance. We then looked at whether these components of politics influenced entry modes, as stated by our interviewees. We found that political barriers effected entry mode choice, while the remainder of components of politics influenced business implementation and operation.

Political Islam and human security

Summary: "In the wake of the September 11 and subsequent terrorist attacks, the academic and media commentaries on Islam the religion and Islam the basis for political ideology haves received an unprecedented high level of exposure and attention. The acts of political violence by extremist groups and the omnipresent war on terror have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order. Just as terrorism and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims and non-Muslims alike is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. This general assessment holds true for Muslims living in the Muslim world and beyond. The pervasive sense of being under attack physically and culturally by the United States and its allies has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the ʻWestʼ. Public articulation of such misgivings has in turn, lent credence to Western observers who posit an inherent antipathy between the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to the vicious cycle of insecurity. The present volume is anchored in the current debates on the uneasy and potentially mutually destructive relationship between the Muslim world and certain West countries. It brings together leading international scholars in this interdisciplinary field to deal with such inter-related questions as the nature of Islamism, the impact of the ʻwar on terrorʼ on the spread of militancy, the growing sense of being under siege by Muslim Diasporas and the many unintended ramifications of a security-minded world order. This volume deliberately focuses on these issues both at a broad theoretical level but more importantly in the form of a number of prominent case studies including Indonesia, Algeria and Turkey."--Publisher description.