'Against the tide': Australian government attitudes to decolonisation in the South Pacific, 1962-1972

This article is a study of the attitudes of Australian government ministers and officials towards the decolonisation of the Pacific island colonial territories in the decade from 1962 to 1972. It argues that the Australian state was very slow to recognise and understand that the winds of change would also sweep through the South Pacific and see the emergence of many new island nations by 1980.

Nationalism in Central Asia: post-Soviet expediency

National identity for the Tajiks, the Uzbeks and the Turkmens is a construct derived from the Soviet period. Over seventy years of Soviet social engineering and efforts at creating a Soviet community have led to the unintended emergence of aspiring "national" elite and intelligentsia groups, trained and educated in their "national" languages and identifying Soviet-defined administrative territories as their "national" motherlands. The Soviet trained elite and intelligentsia groups in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were responsible for the smooth transition to the post-Soviet era, and thus performed a major role in ensuring political continuity. These two states seek to legitimise themselves by claiming to defend and represent the interests of their "national" communities. The Soviet initiated process of social engineering is now being modified to serve these states. National intelligentsia groups, through their scientific, historical and creative writings, are pivotal for the dissemination of the national ideal.

At the crossroads : the relationship between heritage and intellectual property in traditional knowledge protection in Southeast Asia

Matters related to traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) are 'at the crossroads' in various respects. From a legal perspective, TK is discussed in several international forums and is at the intersection of several already established or still emerging fields of law. Of particular interest here is the relationship between heritage and intellectual property. It is discussed in international diplomatic negotiations on intellectual property (IP) protection for TK/TCEs in the context of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and in the context of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Geographically, TK is also located 'at the crossroads'. It is linked to cultural spaces associated with certain peoples and certain territories and these are often not identical with the borders of nation states. Such borders are a colonial artefact that often fails to reflect the ethno-geographical reality of a region. The divergent national and ethnic boundaries create overlapping claims in situations that may be further complicated by both ancient and modern transmigrations and/or shared heritage. The Southeast Asian region, which is the geographical focus of this article, has been at the crossroads of trade and religious and cultural influences for centuries and it provides, therefore, excellent examples for such overlapping cultural spaces and resulting conflicting or competing claims. The article examines the legal and geographical intersections that have contributed to the current situation and the relationship between cultural and intellectual property in regional claims as well as examples of disputes that have arisen and the reasons for them.

Duration of unemployment and suicide in Australia over the period 1985–2006: an ecological investigation by sex and age during rising versus declining national unemployment rates

Background The relationship between unemployment and suicide may be sensitive to demographic factors, national unemployment rates, and length of time without employment. This study investigated these factors in relation to suicide in Australia for the period 1985–2006, in an ecological study. Methods The outcome variable was annual suicide rate by age group, sex and the eight states and territories over 22 years of observation (total observations=1760). The main predictor variable was the average duration of unemployment in the population, categorised into three time periods (<2 weeks, 2–4 weeks, >4 weeks). Poisson regression models were used to investigate the relationship between duration of unemployment and suicide over the years 1985–2006 in a series of cross-sectional analyses. Interaction analyses indicated significant differences during periods of declining or increasing labour market opportunity and by age group. Results During periods of declining unemployment rates in the country, longer durations of unemployment were associated with higher male suicide rates. During periods of increasing unemployment in the country, longer unemployment duration was associated with lower male suicide rates. Effect modification was also apparent by age-group, with stronger associations between unemployment duration and male suicide evident in those aged 25–34 and 55–64, and weaker associations in those aged 15–24 and 44–54 years. Longer length of unemployment was not associated with an increase in female suicide rates. Conclusions The labour market opportunities in Australia modified the effect of duration of unemployment on suicide, and the effect was more prominent in men and older age groups. This may reflect social norms and acceptability about unemployment, as well as life-stage influences associated with transitions into and out of the labour market.

Pathways to non-complex assistive technology for HACC clients in WA : full report

The project aims to identify, evaluate and make recommendations to improve the pathways by which West Australian (WA) Home and Community Care (HACC) clients access daily living equipment. Otherwise known as assistive technology (AT), these devices are largely non-complex and often low cost. Funded by HACC and conducted within the context of the WA Assessment Framework (WAAF), the project seeks to answer the following question:

Iranian women's sports fandom : gender, resistance, and identity in the football movie offside

As sport enters new global territories, attending to questions of cultural difference is increasingly important to studies of women’s sports fanship. This article draws on theories of transnational feminism and feminist sports scholarship to contemplate the cinematic portrayal of the non-Western female football supporter. Women sports fans rarely appear as film protagonists, with the notable exception of the 2006 movie Offside, which tells the story of Iranian women soccer fans attending a World Cup qualifying match. By focusing on the ways that women fans negotiate their marginal status in the sporting arena, I argue that the film unsettles cultural associations between masculinity and football in Iran, and confounds the oppositional construction of the “other” woman as a passive victim of, or freedom fighter against, Islam. 

Review of guidelines for children's vision screenings

The aim of children's vision screenings is to detect visual problems that are common in this age category through valid and reliable tests. Nevertheless, the cost effectiveness of paediatric vision screenings, the nature of the tests included in the screening batteries and the ideal screening age has been the cause of much debate in Australia and worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to report on the current practice of children's vision screenings in Australia and other countries, as well as to evaluate the evidence for and against the provision of such screenings. This was undertaken through a detailed investigation of peer-reviewed publications on this topic. The current review demonstrates that there is no agreed vision screening protocol for children in Australia. This appears to be a result of the lack of strong evidence supporting the benefit of such screenings. While amblyopia, strabismus and, to a lesser extent refractive error, are targeted by many screening programs during pre-school and at school entry, there is less agreement regarding the value of screening for other visual conditions, such as binocular vision disorders, ocular health problems and refractive errors that are less likely to reduce distance visual acuity. In addition, in Australia, little agreement exists in the frequency and coverage of screening programs between states and territories and the screening programs that are offered are ad hoc and poorly documented. Australian children stand to benefit from improved cohesion and communication between jurisdictions and health professionals to enable an equitable provision of validated vision screening services that have the best chance of early detection and intervention for a range of paediatric visual problems.

Spatial linkages among Australian construction markets

The linkages among different construction markets have recently attracted much attention from construction economists. The interactions among regional construction markets have been discussed in a few studies, most of which have been carried out by using input-output methods, and none of them investigated spatial effects on the regional construction markets. This study employed spatial econometric techniques, including spatial autocorrelation and convergence tests, to analyse interactions and linkages among construction price indices in Australian six states and two territories. The empirical results indicate the presence of significant positive spatial correlation among the construction prices in Australian eight construction markets and the degree of dependence decreasing sufficiently quickly as the space between regions increases. The results of convergence test further provide evidence of existence of a ripple effect in construction prices among the Australian regional markets and the changes in construction prices in a state would first positively influence neighbouring states, and then spread out into other non-neighbouring states or territories.

Socio-economic disparities in Australian adolescents' eating behaviours

Objective: To assess the association between socio-economic position (SEP) and poor eating behaviours in a large representative sample of Australian secondary school students.
Design: Cross-sectional survey of students’ vegetable, fruit, sugar-sweetened beverage and fast-food consumption assessed using validated instruments and collected via a web-based self-report format.
Setting: Secondary schools across all Australian states and territories.
Subjects: Secondary-school students (n 12 188; response rate: 54 %) aged 12–17 years participating in the 2009–10 National Secondary Students’ Diet and Activity (NaSSDA) survey.
Results: Overall, 25% of students reported consuming <1 serving of vegetables/d and 29% reported eating <1 serving of fruit/d. Fourteen per cent of students reported drinking at least 1–2 cups of sugar-sweetened beverages/d while 9% reported eating fast food <3 times/week. After adjusting for other demographic factors, students of lower-SEP areas were more likely to report low intake of vegetables (F (4, 231) = 3.61, P = 0.007) and high frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (F (4, 231) =8.41, P < 0.001) and fast food (F (4, 231) = 4.59, P =0.001) compared with students of high-SEP neighbourhoods. A positive SEP association was found for fruit consumption among female students only (F (4, 231) = 4.20, P = 0.003). Those from lower-SEP areas were also more likely to engage in multiple poor eating behaviours (F (4, 231) = 5.80, P, < 0.001).
Conclusions: Results suggest that socio-economic disparities in Australian adolescents’ eating behaviours do exist, with students residing in lower-SEP neighbourhoods faring less well than those from high-SEP neighbourhoods. Reducing social inequalities in eating behaviours among young people should be a key consideration of future preventive strategies.

Did the late-2000s financial crisis influence construction labour productivity?

The late-2000s global financial crisis has wrought dramatic impacts on the construction industry. However, the issue of whether the crisis influenced the behaviours of the construction industry has not been addressed yet. This research presents an econometric approach to investigating the effects of the recent global financial crisis on construction labour productivity. By employing the error correction model and panel regression methods, the direct and indirect effects of the financial crisis on the changes in Australian construction labour productivity are explored at national and state levels. Neither the direct nor the indirect effects appear statistically significant. The results indicate that the direct effect of the financial crisis drives up construction labour productivity at the national level, while the indirect effect diminishes productivity. The effects of the financial crisis on the state construction labour productivity vary from state to state. The financial crisis influenced construction labour productivity directly and significantly in the northern and eastern regions, while the direct effects appear not significant in the other states and territories. The indirect effects of the financial crisis on productivity are statistically significant in three regions: the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. By comparison, the model with the financial effects fails to provide more accurate simulating results. As such, this research concludes that the influence of the late-2000s financial crisis on Australian national and state construction labour productivity is limited.

Australian school canteens: menu guideline adherence or avoidance?

Since 2005, all states and territories across Australia have progressively introduced policy guidelines to promote nutritious food sales in school canteens. This study aimed to assess the compliance of school canteens with their state or territory canteen guidelines.

Characteristics of cancer diagnoses and staging in South Western Victoria: a rural perspective

Australian states and territories have legislation mandating reporting of cancer diagnoses; however, tumour stage at diagnosis, treatment plan and associated outcomes are not routinely recorded in cancer registries for all tumour types. This study describes the Evaluation of Cancer Outcomes study that collects detailed information for patients diagnosed with cancer in south-western Victoria.

Deterrence policies and asylum seekers: the case of Australia

The basic tenets of the international refugee protection regime, set out in the UN's 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, grant individuals the right to seek asylum, but do not provide for laws obliging signatory states to grant asylum. This inherent paradox allows signatory states ongoing manoeuvre to prevent would-be asylum seekers from accessing protection in their territories. To this end, countries of the global north have designed and implemented a range of measures aimed at deterring onshore asylum seekers - privileging border control over refugee protection. This paper examines the effectiveness of deterrence measures taken by Australia. It argues that deterrence measures and attendant political rhetoric are not only contrary to international humanitarian obligations, but obscure empirically grounded understandings of forced migration as a complex social phenomenon, and as such are problematic in terms of meeting their publicly stated objectives of stopping on-shore asylum seeking in the long term.

Mandatory jury directions in sexual assault trials in Victoria: less a model than a cautionary tale?

 Jury directions in relation to the issue of consent in trials of sexual offence cases are mandated in two jurisdictions in Australia (Victoria and the Northern Territory). The Australian Law Reform Commission, in conjunction with the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, has recommended that provisions similar to those in Victoria should be contained in relevant legislation in all States and Territories. However, a recent series of cases in Victoria has revealed significant problems in relation to the mandatory jury directions. These difficulties have generated increasingly elaborate and complex directions. The complexity of these directions not only presents considerable challenges for judges but also may overwhelm, rather than assist, members of the jury. The Court of Appeal of Victoria has called for “urgent and wholesale reform”. In the light of these concerns, it is suggested that the Victorian mandatory directions do not provide a model for other jurisdictions. Rather, the Victorian experience can be seen as a cautionary tale of the problems and pitfalls of such directions. Recently, the Victorian government has passed the Jury Directions Act 2013. This Act sets out “guiding principles” that should determine the content, and use, of jury directions. These guiding principles should form the basis for any jury directions with respect to sexual offences.

Retrials of persons acquitted of indictable offences in England and Australia: exceptions to the rule against double jeopardy

Jury directions in relation to the issue of consent in trials of sexual offence cases are mandated in two jurisdictions in Australia (Victoria and the Northern Territory). The Australian Law Reform Commission, in conjunction with the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, has recommended that provisions similar to those in Victoria should be contained in relevant legislation in all States and Territories. However, a recent series of cases in Victoria has revealed significant problems in relation to the mandatory jury directions. These difficulties have generated increasingly elaborate and complex directions. The complexity of these directions not only presents considerable challenges for judges but also may overwhelm, rather than assist, members of the jury. The Court of Appeal of Victoria has called for "urgent and wholesale reform". In the light of these concerns, it is suggested that the Victorian mandatory directions do not provide a model for other jurisdictions. Rather, the Victorian experience can be seen as a cautionary tale of the problems and pitfalls of such directions. Recently, the Victorian government has passed the Jury Directions Act 2013. This Act sets out "guiding principles" that should determine the content, and use, of jury directions. These guiding principles should form the basis for any jury directions with respect to sexual offences.