Exploring the extent and nature of the diversity of the doctoral population in Australia : A profile of the respondents to a 2005 national survey

Although there is general agreement that diversity is a feature of doctoral education in Australia, there are various forms and levels of diversity, many of which are not captured by analyses that rely on categories for analysing the doctoral education population that are those commonly used in education at the undergraduate level, such as sex, age, mode of study, type of enrolment, citizenship, and Broad Field of Study, etc. These categories primarily reflect concerns to do with funding and issues of participation and equity. Our analysis of data from a national survey of doctoral candidates carried out in 2005 as part of a Linkage Grant project “Reconceptualising the doctoral experience’, suggests that not all of these categories are relevant to critical concerns for doctoral education. Nor do analyses at a macro-level represent the particularity of the doctoral experience. They can mask the reality of a highly variable student population, and one that is not necessarily represented accurately or helpfully by ascribing group identities.

Effects of financial disadvantage on use and non-use of after hours care in Australia

Policy addressing the provision of primary care after hours (AH) is currently in flux because of concerns about equity of access and cost. In this study we examine the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on access to AH care and episodes of not seeking AH care when needed among users and non-users of AH care. The effects of health on these relationships were also explored. The total sample consisted of 5538 users of AH care and 891 non-users of AH care who were randomly selected for telephone interviews. Factors determining AH care included accessibility that is structural barriers to use of care such as distance and transport, as well as affordability and availability. Logistic regression was used to determine the impact of financial disadvantage on episodes of not seeking AH care. Barriers to use of AH care and household health were subsequently added to the models to assess their impact. The results suggested that there were inequities in access to AH care but these were a function of barriers to AH care use rather than financial disadvantage per se. Accessibility and availability were significant barriers to use of AH clinics among both user and non-user samples. Affordability was only a significant barrier among users of AH care. The study suggests that policy aimed at reducing these barriers may effectively address inequities in AH care but that to be optimally effective policy change would also need to be accompanied by changes in consumer awareness.

Clinical effectiveness of barrier preparations in the prevention and treatment of nappy dermatitis in infants and preschool children of nappy age

Nappy dermatitis is a broad term used to describe an acute inflammatory reaction of the skin in the nappy area because of irritation from urine, faeces, moisture or friction. The prevalence is estimated to be between 7% and 35% in infants. Regular application of a barrier preparation at every nappy change may be a valuable component of nappy dermatitis prevention and/or treatment.

Forms of memory in post-colonial Australia

There are many forms of memory in post-colonial Australia, and many kinds
of haunting. This paper investigates the poetry of contemporary Indigenous poets Sam Wagan Watson and Tony Birch, and reads the script of the Federal Government’s February 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations, asking how and why the nation should be haunted – historically and imaginatively - into the future.

The development of biological objectives for streams in a single catchment: a case study on the catchment of western port bay, Victoria, Australia

Government environment protection policies for waterways have traditionally relied on water quality indicators and their objectives. In this paper we describe the development of biological objectives based on invertebrate indicators for inclusion in a government policy for the catchment of Western Port Bay, Victoria. The first step of defining segments (areas with streams in which the same objectives are applied) was problematic, requiring two different approaches, as follows. Site groups initially based on invertebrate community composition derived using multivariate techniques (ordination and classification) proved to be unsuitable for policy segments. Segment boundaries were subsequently defined using topographical (e.g. boundary of foothills and lowland plains), climate (e.g. rainfall) and land-use (e.g. urban) features. We used information and data from reference sites inside as well outside the catchment to derive specific biological objectives based on aquatic invertebrates for these segments. Objectives were specified for the following four indicators – number of invertebrate families, the SIGNAL index, the AUSRIVAS predictive model and the number of key families.

Restructuring of education and training in Vietnam : a development and application of arts management training in Australia to Vietnam

The adoption of a more market-oriented economy under doi moi has paved the way for Vietnam to record remarkable human development achievements in the past decades. The Vietnamese education system has been undergoing continuous changes for almost twenty years. Key reforms have been implemented in the education and training sector such as privatising the sector; expanding the schooling system, the vocational education and training (VET) system, and higher education. This paper examines: (1) key reforms implemented in the education and training sector, placed in a broader context of economic reforms in Vietnam; (2) a development of arts management training courses in Vietnam to assist cultural organisations to adjust to social changes, as Vietnamese education institutions have not had much experience in designing training courses in arts and culture management; (3) several arts management training courses in Australian institutions to see the possibility to apply training in arts management in Australia to Vietnam. The findings indicate that a variety of management training modes in Australia can be adapted and applied to the Vietnamese training context. Some factors such as differences in culture, education and training systems, shortages in training staff and resources are also considered in this paper.

Broad-scale mapping of temporary wetlands in arid Australia

We describe a robust methodology to detect and estimate the size of temporary wetlands using AVHRR satellite data within large areas (106 km2) of the arid zone. The methodology uses spectral matching and exclusion of salt surfaces to discriminate between water and non-water surfaces. The status of 115 lakes was used to evaluate the methodology. A classification accuracy of 98% was achieved for wetlands >120 ha, with accuracy of area estimates varying with the size and shape of individual lakes. Spectral matching of AVHRR data has methodological and cost advantages over the use of higher spatial resolution data for understanding changes in the distribution of water at broad scales.

The valuation of fast food outlets in Australia : methodology, analysis and reliability

Fast food outlets are a significant sub sector of the Hospitality and Tourism Property Market and a specialized form of business. This form of hospitality outlet has experienced significant growth and change in the last 20 years. Their value as an asset is therefore of significant interest to many involved in the tourism and hospitality industry, not least fast food operators or potential operators and their financiers. However, little attention has been given in professional and academic literature to valuation methodology, the analysis of the major components of asset value, and the underlying factors which influence asset value. As such the reliability of the valuation process could justifiably be questioned.
This paper sets out a working definition of a fast food outlet. It investigates the major determinants of value with respect to asset value and examines the accepted methods of valuation of fast food outlets in Australia as well as establishing the methods most commonly used. It clarifies the major components of asset value and examines to what extent these have changed with the changing business environment. In particular it isolates the role of Goodwill in assessing Going Concern Value. Sources of data include a comprehensive literature review and personal interviews with professionals involved in the valuation process. The paper concludes that an efficient valuation process requires that fast food outlets be considered as both a real estate and business investment. The contribution of both tangible and intangible assets to the value of the asset must be identified.

Pappadums in paradise? : journeys of Indian migrant women to Australia

The blue glass is always the hardest to find. On the beach you catch the waves bringing back the glass from forgotten tossed bottles, frosted green, clear, or mottled pale brown. But the blue glass - that's the real thing. I search for days without finding any. Sometimes there are slivers; other days, small chunks. Like a beachcomber, I comb the sands for it. I take the glass home and make some into jewellery and touchstones for people to hang on to; pour essential oils on others so the scents waft heavenward and meld together with the glass to form a bond. Words are like that. They can fuse with each other and ignite, or just quietly combine, On sunny days, I take my books with me to the beach. I toss words back and forth in my mind, like churning waves. I cobble them together, A phrase here. A sentence there. The water. The sun. The sand. The glass. The words. The paper. The Connection. I find myself enveloped in it all. The glass is from bottles tossed into the surf by unthinking people - picnickers, vacationers, those who don't have to return here and live with the remnants of their actions. Over time, the broken glass is ground and moulded by the action of the waves; the sharp edges are softened and etched by the sand and water, The sea glass is washed up on shore and picked up by beachcombers. Some recycle it for other uses like me; others just keep it as a reminder of a day at the beach. The words I sift through as I sit on the sand are measured in the sea glass. I pick each word up and look through it to see how much light shines through. What use do 1 have for it? A poem? An essay? A fragment of a sentence, for something to be said in the future? I watch the sun rest uneasily on its bed of water and slide slowly, farther down. I know the hot summer is coming to a close and I am loath to let go of the closeness I feel with nature. I live to find the blue glass, and sometimes it just happens. My search for Indian migrant women was like my quest for the blue glass. It was not an easy task. It became a process of rummaging through other people's lives, searching for fragments and relics. Eventually I was able to fit pieces together to form a mosaic of their lives in that other time, that other place. And also in this present time, in this place they now call home, Australia.