From local to national: aspects of mapping the welfare third sector in Australia

The paper charts the authors' research experiences in various types of sociological mapping ofc ommunity or third sector organisations. Specifically this was a search for a way of understanding how third sector organisations dealing with welfare issues were operating in Australia in the mid I990s.

The paper tells the story of how the researchers worked through the implications of being faced initially with a dearth of information about their subject and of how lessons were learnt about the disjunctions between what is formally given as textbook knowledge about research practice and what actually can and does happen: that is, the relationship between the theory and the practice of research.

In discussing the creation of a database of organisations, conducting focus groups and a national sample survey, the paper comments on some of the practical problems facing third sector researchers as well as looking at concept generation and typology building as analytical tools.

Exploring low-income women's welfare stigma through rich point analysis

The project described in this presentation was the final component of my PhD thesis which explored how Centrelink policies mediated social citizenship for low-income women. I first analysed the Centrelink Information Handbook, and then collected ethnographic data through observations and interviews. The first two of my research questions were quite deductive in nature, as I applied Levitas' (1998) conceptual framework of social exclusion to the Centrelink Information Handbook and low-income women's experiences. This third research question, to explore how low-income women's social citizenship was socially and politically mediated, however, required a more unstructured approach.

Technology licensing and grantbacks under hidden information

This paper explores technological transfer via licensing under hidden information. The transaction features a quality choice of technology to be transferred between a licensor and a licensee that has private information about its ability to implement and refine the technology. The model accounts for the possible damage that drastic refinements and reverse licensing can do to the licensor's market position, and makes predictions on the structure of licensing contracts. We show under what conditions a licensing contract will include a further contractual provision such as a grantback clause. Finally, the welfare implications of grantback inclusion are assessed.

Australia's health 2004 : the ninth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2004 is the ninth biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health services expenditure. The report also includes a special chapter on the health of older Australians. Australia's Health 2004 is an essential reference and information resource for all Australians with an interest in health.

Australia's health 2002 : the eighth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2002 is the eighth biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health service costs and performance. Australia's Health 2002 is an essential reference and information resource for all Australians with an interest in health.

Australia's health 2000 : the seventh biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2000 is the seventh biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health services costs and performance.This 2000 edition serves as a summary of Australia's health record at the end of the twentieth century. In addition, a special chapter is presented on changes in Australia's disease profile over the last 100 years.Australia's Health 2000 is an essential reference and information source for all Australians with an interest in health.

Australia's health 1996 : the fifth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The fifth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This publication provides comprehensive information and the most recent data available on health and health services in Australia. It also details key sources of health information and statistics in this country, and directions for the future. Australia's Health 1996 is an important reference text and information source for all Australians with an interest in health, in addition to medical and paramedical personnel and students, health workers and those working in or studying health administration, policy, planning and management.

Australia's health 1994 : the fourth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of national information on health in Australia. Australia's Health is published mid-year in even-numbered years and provides national statistics and related information that form a record of health status, service provision and expenditure in Australia.

Australia's health 1992 : the third biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of national information on health in Australia. Australia's Health is published mid-year in even-numbered years and provides national statistics and related information that form a record of health status, service provision and expenditure in Australia.

Inter-firm knowledge diffusion, market power, and welfare

We propose an infinite-horizon quantity-setting differential game with learning spillovers and organizational forgetting to analyze the optimal management decisions affecting the evolution of the stock of know-how, and, in turn, the dynamics of productive efficiency. Specifically, we study the long run impact of inter-firm knowledge diffusion on market power, i.e. the ability of a firm to raise the price above the marginal cost, and welfare. We consider two types of processes through which knowledge is acquired: (i) passive learning, or learning-by-doing, where managers do not actively invest in information and (ii) active learning, or learning-by-investing, where managers acquire new and additional information through specific investments in human capital. We show that: under (i), knowledge diffusion reduces market power; under (ii), knowledge diffusion reduces market power as long as learning spillovers are sufficiently important. From a welfare viewpoint, we also show that: under (i), knowledge diffusion is always welfare-enhancing; under (ii), weak spillovers are required in order for knowledge diffusion to be welfare-enhancing.

Survival misperception, time inconsistency, and implications for life-cycle saving and welfare

Some empirical studies firmly reveal that people tend to form overly pessimistic survival expectations for relatively less distant ages and overly optimistic survival expectations for relatively more distant ages. We incorporate this observation into a life-cycle continuous time overlapping-generations model of consumption/saving with a general form for a subjective survival function. Resulting time-inconsistent optimal control problem has been analytically solved. At the micro level, time inconsistency leads to higher consumption at young and old ages, but this alone fails to improve lifetime well-being since micro-level decisions made with a lack of information about true mortality are suboptimal. In general equilibrium, however, such time inconsistent behavior with survival misperception is conducive to aggregate capital accumulation and greater equilibrium bequest income. The latter effects can produce substantial welfare gains. We also note that empirically observed old age optimistic bias is an important phenomenon, as it helps to avoid unrealistic very old-age debt accumulation within a life-cycle model. In addition, if for a given level of optimistic bias we increase early-life pessimism, this would result in slower capital accumulation, lower bequest income, and thus be detrimental to welfare. Since recent literature reports that young-age survival pessimism has grown over time, it raises some concerns.

Chinese international students in Australia: an insight into their help and information seeking manners

Understanding the waysthatinternational students seek information and help in the host country is essential forimprovingacademic, social, cultural,and welfare support for this student cohort. However,there is a dearth of literature that documentshowinternational studentsin the vocational education and training (VET) sector do so. This paper aims to fill thisgap. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 Chinese international students undertaking diploma and associate degree programsin Australia,this research shows thatthe ways in which Chinese international students seek help prior to their departure and after their arrival at the host country, largely dependson the nature of the issuesthey confront. The data also reveals that students’use of education agents is not limited to the pre-departure stage,asisindicated in theexisting literature, but throughout their journey in the host country. Notably,the role of agents has become increasingly important in Chinese international students’ decision-making processesduring their transition from diploma to associate degree and higher education programs.

Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development.

Remarkable gains have been made in global health in the past 25 years, but progress has not been uniform. Mortality and morbidity from common conditions needing surgery have grown in the world’s poorest regions, both in real terms and relative to other health gains. At the same time, development of safe, essential, life-saving surgical and anaesthesia care in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) has stagnated or regressed. In the absence of surgical care, case-fatality rates are high for common, easily treatable conditions including appendicitis, hernia, fractures, obstructed labour, congenital anomalies, and breast and cervical cancer. In 2015, many LMICs are facing a multifaceted burden of infectious disease, maternal disease, neonatal disease, non-communicable diseases, and injuries. Surgical and anaesthesia care are essential for the treatment of many of these conditions and represent an integral component of a functional, responsive, and resilient health system. In view of the large projected increase in the incidence of cancer, road traffic injuries, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in LMICs, the need for surgical services in these regions will continue to rise substantially from now until 2030. Reduction of death and disability hinges on access to surgical and anaesthesia care, which should be available, affordable, timely, and safe to ensure good coverage, uptake, and outcomes. Despite growing need, the development and delivery of surgical and anaesthesia care in LMICs has been nearly absent from the global health discourse. Little has been written about the human and economic effect of surgical conditions, the state of surgical care, or the potential strategies for scale-up of surgical services in LMICs. To begin to address these crucial gaps in knowledge, policy, and action, the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery was launched in January, 2014. The Commission brought together an international, multi- disciplinary team of 25 commissioners, supported by advisors and collaborators in more than 110 countries and six continents. We formed four working groups that focused on thedomains of health-care delivery and management; work-force, training, and education; economics and finance; and information management. Our Commission has five key messages, a set of indicators and recommendations to improve access to safe, affordable surgical and anaesthesia care in LMICs, and a template for a national surgical plan.