Climate change and community response in the Borough of Queenscliffe

The Borough of Queenscliffe (BoQ) occupies a unique place among coastal Victorian locations. Situated at the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, the Borough has approximately 3000 permanent residents, one third of who are over 60 years old. The Borough is also the smallest in Victoria, covering a total area of 13 square kilometres. BoQ is also unique because of its location. The Borough is almost totally surrounded by water and much of this is classified as maritime national park. The Swan Bay Marine Reserve is a Ramsar site and is therefore a wetland of international significance. The Borough relies heavily on tourism for its economic livelihood.

This paper begins with an overview of the BoQ in geographic, demographic and economic terms and then discusses the possible effects and impacts of climate change, as they relate to this small community. These sections are viewed from environmental, economic and social perspectives. Environmental impacts include the erosion of the coastal sand dune system and the loss of habitat for the orange-bellied parrot. Social impacts include the health effects and dangers of flooding for low-lying housing. Various indicators of community response are described, particularly the activities of the local climate change action group. Their strategy can essentially be described as a ‘push upward and downward’ approach. Innovative actions to implement this strategy are described in the paper.

Lipid composition of Australian pork cuts 2005/2006

A study of the cholesterol content and fatty acid composition of fresh retail Australian pork was undertaken to determine whether new breeding, feeding and processing methods had resulted in any compositional changes in fresh pork in the market place since surveys undertaken in previous decades. Samples of 13 popular pork cuts were purchased from randomly selected supermarkets and butchers’ stores in urban areas across the socioeconomic scale in three States of Australia, and analysed, separable fat and separable lean, in late 2005 and early 2006. Variability was low across States for saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, but more pronounced for polyunsaturated acids. The separable lean portions of all pork cuts contained levels of n-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (C18:1c9t11) in measurable but not nutritionally claimable amounts, whilst total trans fatty acid levels were very low. There appeared to be some differences in fatty acid composition across States that may have resulted from feeding method. Cholesterol contents were similar to levels in the 80s and 90s for separable lean pork tissue, but presently are lower for separable fat tissue than for separable lean.

Adaptation planning for coastal inundation and erosion at the local level : a knowledge systems perspective

Scientific projections for climate change induced sea level rise highlight the potential for serious consequences in low lying coastal areas, through impacts upon: built infrastructure; beneficial uses; and ecological values. An area of particular concern relates to the ways in which issues associated with land may be subject to future inundation and, or, erosion. Responding to such issues is complex and challenging, requiring consideration of multiple sources of evidence (with varying levels of certainty), diverse organisational settings and priorities, and multiple perspectives on what the evidence means. Further, limited attention has been directed towards exploring the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning. In this paper we explore the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning, in order to highlight the inter-organisational and inter-personal challenges involved. We do so by drawing on the views expressed in semi structured interviews by stakeholders with an interest in coastal climate change. The particular focus is on exploring how different actors perceive coastal adaption planning process, and the tensions, challenges, and implications associated with, and arising from, the way in which coastal adaptation knowledge is exchanged.

Negotiating local decision making to manage coastal inundation : certainty, precedence, precaution and practicality

Scientific projections for climate change induced sea level rise highlight the potential for serious consequences in low lying coastal areas, through impacts upon: built infrastructure; beneficial uses; and ecological values. An area of particular concern relates to the ways in which local decision makers work through the issues associated with new development proposals on land that may be subject to future inundation, whether permanent or temporary. In making such issues, local authorities need to consider multiple sources of evidence, and multiple perspectives on what the evidence means. In this paper we examine decision making about coastal development in south west Victoria to explore how such issues are worked through, in terms of the responsibilities of different actors, and the tensions, challenges, and implications associated with, and arising from, the way in which various actors participate in, and negotiate their way through, decision making processes. In doing so, our particular focus is on the way in which different actor types engage with and interpret particular pieces of information (e.g. estimates of sea level rise and LSIO information) which are central to the decision making process. While the focus is on local decision making in south west Victoria, the insights generated may have broader relevance.

Constrained pole placement for linear systems using low-order output feedback controllers

The paper presents a simple approach to the problem of designing low-order output feedback controllers for linear continuous systems. The controller can place all of the closed-loop poles within a circle, C(- , 1/ β) , with centre at - and radius of 1/ β in the left half s-plane. The design method is based on transformation of the original system and then applying the bounded-real-lemma to the transformed system. It is shown that subjected to the solvability of an algebraic Riccati equation (ARE), output feedback controllers can then be systematically derived. Furthermore, the order of the controller is low and equals only the number of the open-loop poles lying outside the circle. A step-by-step design algorithm is given. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the design method.

Low allozyme variation in snapper, Pagrus auratus, in Victoria, Australia

The population genetic structure of snapper, Pagrus auratus (Bloch and Schneider), in Victoria was investigated using six polymorphic allozyme loci. Fish were sampled from four sites in Victoria and single locations in South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand. Although there were distinct genetic differences between the snapper populations from each of the Australian states and New Zealand, only minor and largely insignificant differences were detected among Victorian populations. The results are consistent with previous genetic and tagging studies that indicate no mixing between snapper stocks in Victoria and Spencer Gulf in South Australia. This justifies separate management of the snapper fisheries in these regions. The low levels of polymorphism and heterozygosity in Victorian snapper suggest an isolation by distance model of population structure rather than one of discrete subpopulations.

Evaluating a measure of content quality for accounting narratives (with an empirical application to narratives from Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States)

This paper evaluates a texture-based approach developed by Sydserff and Weetman (1999), to examine corporate annual report narratives. This is achieved by using the texture index to evaluate information content (which includes readability) in accounting narratives. Specifically, we examine the letter to shareholders of reports from Australia, Hong Kong and the United States.

We suggest a texture-based evaluation provides a robust measure of narrative quality due to the incorporation of readability and content analysis. The ability to measure content quality assists in promoting accountability, with the aim of improving usefulness of corporate
information and disclosures, and greater investor confidence in capital markets.

This paper also investigates these exploratory results to consider variations in quality between different countries. Considerable differences were found between the countries with Hong Kong reports generally superior. These tentative findings provide a small contribution to the comparative annual report literature and the emerging area of narrative evaluation.

What determines migration flows from low-income to high-income countries? An empirical investigation of Fiji-U.S. migration 1972-2001

This article examines the long-run and short-run determinants of migration from Fiji to the United States between 1972 and 2001 using a human capital framework, which is extended to take account of political instability in Fiji. In the long-run the authors find that differences in income levels, disparities in police strength, disparities in the number of doctors, costs of moving, and political instability in Fiji are all statistically significant with the expected sign. In the short run the cost of moving, lagged migration, political instability, and differences in both police strength and medical care are the main determinants of Fiji-United States immigration.

Relationship of heart failure patients' knowledge, perceived barriers, and attitudes regarding low-sodium diet recommendations to adherence.

The purposes of this study were to describe heart failure patient perceptions regarding instructions received for following a low-sodium diet and the benefits, barriers, and ease and frequency of following the diet. A total of 246 patients with heart failure referred from academic medical centers in the United States and Australia participated in the study. A subset of 145 patients provided 24-hour urine samples for sodium excretion assessment. While most (80%) patients reported receiving recommendations to follow a low-sodium diet, their recall of specific instructions was poor. Although the majority (75%) reported following a low-sodium diet most or all of the time, 24-hour urine sodium excretion indicated that only 25% of patients were adherent. Patients who reported being more adherent, however, had lower urine sodium excretion levels. Attitudes regarding difficulty in and perceived benefits of following the diet were not related to sodium excretion. Data on attitudes and barriers provided guidance for strategies to improve adherence.

Pathways from school suspension to adolescent nonviolent antisocial behavior in students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States

School suspension is associated with school dropout, crime, delinquency, and alcohol and other drug use for the suspended student. Important research questions are how academic and related factors are relevant to the school suspension process and the generality of the process in different sites. State-representative samples of Grade 7 students (N = 1,945) in Washington State, United States and Victoria, Australia were followed from 2002 to 2004. In both states, Grade 7 school suspension was associated with higher rates of nonviolent antisocial behavior and suspension 24 months later, before Grade 8 factors were entered into the model. Relevant factors were Grade 8 low school grades and association with antisocial peers, as well as Grade 8 antisocial behavior in Washington State only. The implications of these findings for the ways in which suspension is used in schools are outlined.

Initiative for ASEAN integration: policy brief 4: graduation of all ASEAN member states from less developed country status

ASEAN recognises that concerted efforts are required to narrow development gaps between ASEAN countries to ensure that development and the benefits of economic integration are equitably shared by all member states and their citizens. Narrowing development gaps between member states is a cornerstone of the equitable economic development agenda within ASEAN and forms an important part of the ASEAN Roadmap. This agenda translates primarily to a concern for the relatively low development achievements in the CLMV countries compared to those in the ASEAN-6 group. 

Demographic and socio-cultural correlates of medical mistrust in two Australian states:Victoria and South Australia

Studies on medical mistrust have mainly focused on depicting the association between medical mistrust and access/utilization of healthcare services. The effect of broader socio-demographic and psycho-social factors on medical mistrust remains poorly documented. The study examined the effect of broader socio-demographic factors, acculturation, and discrimination on medical mistrust among 425 African migrants living in Victoria and South Australia, Australia. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, low medical mistrust scores (i.e., more trusting of the system) were associated with refugee (β=−4.27, p<0.01) and family reunion (β=−4.01, p<0.01) migration statuses, being Christian (β=−2.21, p<0.001), and living in rural or village areas prior to migration (β=−2.09, p<0.05). Medical mistrust did not vary by the type of acculturation, but was positively related to perceived personal (β=0.43, p<0.001) and societal (β=0.38, p<0.001) discrimination. In order to reduce inequalities in healthcare access and utilisation and health outcomes, programs to enhance trust in the medical system among African migrants and to address discrimination within the community are needed.

National identity in fragile states: insights from tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste

The challenges of nation building in Melanesia and Timor-Leste have often been neglected in the regional focus on state-building challenges. High levels of ethno-linguistic diversity, combined with an array of regional, historical and cultural divisions, continue to present obstacles to the creation of a cohesive sense of national political community leading these nations to be labelled ‘fragile’. This paper presents the findings of a comparative study on the attitudes of tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste to national identity and nation building. A strong pan-Melanesian pattern of group identification was identified, common to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The ongoing importance of traditional authority and custom in informing conceptions of political community and identity was evident in all four case study sites, but was in each case matched by indicators of respect for modern state authority. The survey also reveals some significant gender differences in key attitudes towards national identity, including the role of traditional authorities. Most importantly, the study reveals high degrees of national pride, and faith in democratic principles and citizenship; but conversely, low levels of pride in contemporary democratic performance and inter-group tolerance.

Does school suspension affect subsequent youth non-violent antisocial behaviour? A longitudinal study of studnets in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States

School suspension has been not only associated with negative behaviours but also is predictive of future poor outcomes. The current study investigates (1) whether school suspension is a unique predictor of youth non-violent antisocial behaviour (NVAB) relative to other established predictors, and (2) whether the predictors of NVAB are similar in Australia and the United States (USA). The data analysed here draw on two statewide representative samples of Grade 7 and 9 students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, USA, resurveyed at 12-month follow-up (N = 3,677, 99% retention). School suspension did not uniquely predict NVAB in the final model. The predictors of NVAB, similar across states, included previous student NVAB, current alcohol and tobacco use, poor family management, association with antisocial friends, and low commitment to school. An implication of the findings is that US evidence-based prevention programmes targeting the influences investigated here could be trialled in Australia.

Student and school factors associated with school suspension : A multilevel analysis of students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States.

One of the common issues schools face is how best to handle challenging student behaviors such as violent behavior, antisocial behavior, bullying, school rule violations, and interrupting other students' learning. School suspension may be used to remove students engaging in challenging behaviors from the school for a period of time. However, the act of suspending students from school may worsen rather than improve their behavior. Research shows that suspensions predict a range of student outcomes, including crime, delinquency, and drug use. It is therefore crucial to understand the factors associated with the use of school suspension, particularly in sites with different policy approaches to problem behaviors. This paper draws on data from state-representative samples of 3,129 Grade 7 and 9 students in Washington State, United States and Victoria, Australia sampled in 2002. Multilevel modeling examined student and school level factors associated with student-reported school suspension. Results showed that both student (being male, previous student antisocial and violent behavior, rebelliousness, academic failure) and school (socioeconomic status of the school, aggregate measures of low school commitment) level factors were associated with school suspension and that the factors related to suspension were similar in the two states. The implications of the findings for effective school behavior management policy are that, rather than focusing only on the student, both student and school level factors need to be addressed to reduce the rates of school suspension.