Question: do we need to change the racial discrimination laws?

In light of the Bolt v. Eatock case before the Racial Discrimination Commission, this article discusses calls for Australia's racial vilification laws to be amended to exclude humiliation and embarrassment as grounds for a finding of vilification. 

Impairments of contrast discrimination and contrast adaptation in glaucoma

Purpose:

Dynamic price discrimination with customer recognition

This paper studies a general two-period model of product line pricing with customer recognition. Specifically, we consider a monopolist who can sell vertically differentiated products over two periods to heterogeneous consumers. Each consumer demands one unit of the product in each period. In the second period, the monopolist can condition the price-quality offers on the observed purchasing behavior in the first period. In this setup, the monopolist can price discriminate consumers in two dimensions: by quality as well as by purchase history. We fully characterize the monopolist's optimal pricing strategy when there are two types of consumers. When the type space is a continuum, we show that there is no fully separating equilibrium, and some properties of the optimal contracts (price-quality pairs) are characterized within the class of partitional perfect Bayesian equilibria.

Rapid discrimination and determination of polyunsaturated fatty acid composition in marine oils by FTIR Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis

A rapid analytical approach for discrimination and quantitative determination of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in a range of oils extracted from marine resources has been developed by using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis. The spectral data were collected without any sample preparation; thus, no chemical preparation was involved, but data were rather processed directly using the developed spectral analysis platform, making it fast, very cost effective, and suitable for routine use in various biotechnological and food research and related industries. Unsupervised pattern recognition techniques, including principal component analysis and unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis, discriminated the marine oils into groups by correlating similarities and differences in their fatty acid (FA) compositions that corresponded well to the FA profiles obtained from traditional lipid analysis based on gas chromatography (GC). Furthermore, quantitative determination of unsaturated fatty acids, PUFAs, EPA and DHA, by partial least square regression analysis through which calibration models were optimized specifically for each targeted FA, was performed in both known marine oils and totally independent unknown n - 3 oil samples obtained from an actual commercial product in order to provide prospective testing of the developed models towards actual applications. The resultant predicted FAs were achieved at a good accuracy compared to their reference GC values as evidenced through (1) low root mean square error of prediction, (2) good coefficient of determination close to 1 (i.e., R 2≥ 0.96), and (3) the residual predictive deviation values that indicated the predictive power at good and higher levels for all the target FAs. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

In defence of settlement: resolving discrimination complaints by agreement

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has become an entrenched feature of Australia’s anti-discrimination law, so much so that the vast majority of discrimination complaints are settled. There are many reasons to be against settlement but with reference to a study of the outcomes negotiated in discrimination complaints settled in Queensland, this article shows that there are valid reasons to be in favour of settlement, particularly when it results in systemic remedies which would not be obtained otherwise. The article concludes by presenting modifications to the existing complaint resolution system which would retain ADR while ensuring that the wider, systemic aspects of a discrimination claim are also addressed by introducing an institution with the power to enforce the law.

Supporting working parents: findings from the AHRC’s national inquiry into the prevalence of pregnancy and return to work discrimination in the workplace

In July 2014 the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released the findings of its national review into pregnancy and return to work discrimination in the workplace1 which it conducted following a request from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.2 The review comes 15 years after the commission’s first inquiry into pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.3Federal law has prohibited pregnancy discrimination in the workplace since the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA) came into force.4 It is now unlawful in every state and territory.5 Discrimination on the basis of breastfeeding and family or carer’s responsibilities is also prohibited.6 Since 2009 the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) has prohibited workplace discrimination based on pregnancy and family or carer’s responsibilities7 and the Act gives employees additional entitlements relating to their parental and caring responsibilities. Male and female employees who are the primary caregiver for a child are entitled to 12 months unpaid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of the child and can request an additional 12 months leave.8 Upon returning to work, they can request flexible working conditions9 and they are protected from adverse action, such as dismissal, for exercising these rights.10 Yet despite these legal protections, the findings of the national review show that employees continue to experience discrimination during pregnancy, when taking parental leave and upon re-entering the workforce. This note presents the main findings from the surveys and consultations that were held with employers and employees as part of the review and the review’s recommendations for addressing the prevalence of what it terms ‘pregnancy/return to work discrimination’.

Aboriginal health promotion through addressing employment discrimination

The Localities Embracing and Accepting Diversity (LEAD) program aimed to improve the mental health of Aboriginal Victorians by addressing racial discrimination and facilitating social and economic participation. As part of LEAD, Whittlesea Council adopted the Aboriginal Employment Pathways Strategy (AEPS) to increase Aboriginal employment and retention within the organisation. The Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training Program was developed to build internal cultural competency and skills in recruiting and retaining Aboriginal staff. Analysis of surveys conducted before (pre; n=124) and after (post; n=107) the training program indicated a significant increase in participant understanding across all program objectives and in support of organisational policies to improve Aboriginal recruitment and retention. Participants ended the training with concrete ideas about intended changes, as well as how these changes could be supported by their supervisors and the wider organisation. Significant resources have since been allocated to implementing the AEPS over 5 years. In line with principles underpinning the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-23, particularly the focus on addressing racism as a determinant of health, this paper explores the AEPS and training program as promising approaches to health promotion through addressing barriers to Aboriginal employment. Possible implications for other large organisations are also considered.

Age, class and race discrimination: their interactions and associations with mental health among Brazilian university students

Although research on discrimination and health has progressed significantly, it has tended to focus on racial discrimination and US populations. This study explored different types of discrimination, their interactions and associations with common mental disorders among Brazilian university students, in Rio de Janeiro in 2010. Associations between discrimination and common mental disorders were examined using multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for confounders. Interactions between discrimination and socio-demographics were tested. Discrimination attributed to age, class and skin color/race were the most frequently reported. In a fully adjusted model, discrimination attributed to skin color/race and class were both independently associated with increased odds of common mental disorders. The simultaneous reporting of skin color/race, class and age discrimination was associated with the highest odds ratio. No significant interactions were found. Skin color/race and class discrimination were important, but their simultaneous reporting, in conjunction with age discrimination, were associated with the highest occurrence of common mental disorders.

Are racist attitudes related to experiences of racial discrimination? Within sample testing utilising nationally representative survey data

Although the relationship between an individual's racist attitudes and discriminatory behaviours has been widely studied, the association between racist attitudes among perpetrators and experiences of racism among targets has been under-examined. Based on data from the 2001-8 Australian Challenging Racism Project survey, this paper details a novel method to investigate the link between racist attitudes and experiences of discrimination utilising two separate models linked by nomination of cultural or ethnic groups who do not fit into Australian society (i.e., out-groups). Those identified as out-groups were more likely to report experiences of discrimination than those who were not nominated as out-groups. Overall, out-group nomination by those with racist attitudes strongly predict experiences of discrimination among these same target out-groups, OR=2.2, F(6, 12,348)=78.61, p<.001. Racist attitudes are related to racist behaviours among perpetrators that are, in turn, related to experiences of racial discrimination among targets. This study demonstrates that attitudes not only affect majority group behaviour but also drive the resulting experiences of discrimination for minority group members.

Odour-based discrimination of subspecies, species and sexes in an avian species complex, the crimson rosella

Olfaction is an ancient sensory capability, and yet while it is now widely recognized that birds have olfactory mechanisms, use of the sense within a social context has been largely overlooked. In our study, we aimed to determine, for the first time, whether plumage odour may contribute to avian subspecies discrimination. We used a species complex, the crimson rosella, Platycercus elegans, which exhibits large geographical and phenotypic differences. Across 2 years in a wild population of P.elegans elegans we tested whether females at the nest could: (1) discriminate odours of conspecifics; (2) discriminate odours of subspecies; (3) discriminate odours of sexes of conspecifics; and (4) habituate at different rates to odour treatments. We found that female response differed between odours of feathers of consubspecifics, heterosubspecifics, heterospecific controls and sham controls and between odours of sexes of conspecifics. Across all odour treatments, we found habituation to the odour and the rate of habituation differed between odour treatments. Our results indicate that P.e. elegans females are able to discriminate conspecifics, consubspecifics and sexes based on plumage odour. To our knowledge, this is the first work to show that birds of a certain subspecies can discriminate the odour of its own subspecies from that of other subspecies. Our findings suggest that olfaction in birds may play a larger role than hitherto considered, and may even act as a signal to maintain or promote population divergence. © 2014 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Discrimination, Peformance and Career Progression in Australian Public Sector Labor Markets

While promotion is an important mechanism for allocating labor within organizations, relatively little is known about the determinants of promotion in the highly diverse and traditionally heavily regulated Australian labor markets. This study uses unique data from the Victorian Public Sector Census 2004 to identify the extent and nature of bias in the promotion process. Specifically, we use the promotion histories of 16,675 public sector employees to investigate the existence of discrimination in promotion on the basis of gender, disability and cultural diversity. We find that some differences exist in the rate of promotion on the basis of gender, and to a lesser extent, of birthplace, but, importantly, most of these are due to differences in endowments. There are effectively no differences in promotion on the basis of disability. We find that the main driver of promotion in Victorian public sector labor markets is worker effort and performance. Compared to labor markets elsewhere, the Australian public sector is relatively free of discrimination in promotions.