The domestic kitchen : the weak link in the food chain : is convenience leading to apathy?

To investigate the meaning and understanding of domestic food preparation within the lived experience of the household's main food preparer this ethnographic study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Data were collected from three sources: the literature; an in-store survey of251 food shoppers chosen at random while shopping during both peak and off peak shopping periods at metropolitan supermarkets; and semi-structured interviews with the principal food shopper and food preparer of 15 different Brisbane households. Male and female respondents representing a cross section of socio-economic groupings, ranged in age from 19-79 years and were all from English speaking backgrounds. Changes in paid labour force participation, income and education have increased the value of the respondents' time, instigating massive changes in the way they shop, cook and eat. Much of their food preparation has moved from the domestic kitchen into the kitchens of other food establishments. For both sexes, the dominant motivating force behind these changes is a combination of the their self perceived lack of culinary skill; lack of enjoyment of cooking and lack of motivation to cook. The females in paid employment emphasise all factors, particularly the latter two, significantly more than the non-employed females. All factors are of increasing importance for individuals aged less than 35 years and conversely, of significantly diminished importance to older respondents. Overall, it is the respondents aged less than 25 years who indicate the lowest cooking frequency and/or least cooking ability. Inherent in this latter group is an indifference to the art/practice of preparing food. Increasingly, all respondents want to do less cooking and/or get the cooking over with as quickly as possible. Convenience is a powerful lure by which to spend less time in the kitchen. As well, there is an apparent willingness to pay a premium for convenience. Because children today are increasingly unlikely to be taught to cook, addressing the food skills deficit and encouraging individuals to cook for themselves are significant issues confronting health educators. These issues are suggested as appropriate subjects of future research.

The role of the health surveillance program in the Queensland coal mining industry

The Queensland Coal Industry Employees Health Scheme was implemented in 1993 to provide health surveillance for all Queensland coal industry workers. Tt1e government, mining employers and mining unions agreed that the scheme should operate for seven years. At the expiry of the scheme, an assessment of the contribution of health surveillance to meet coal industry needs would be an essential part of determining a future health surveillance program. This research project has analysed the data made available between 1993 and 1998. All current coal industry employees have had at least one health assessment. The project examined how the centralised nature of the Health Scheme benefits industry by identi~)jng key health issues and exploring their dimensions on a scale not possible by corporate based health surveillance programs. There is a body of evidence that indicates that health awareness - on the scale of the individual, the work group and the industry is not a part of the mining industry culture. There is also growing evidence that there is a need for this culture to change and that some change is in progress. One element of this changing culture is a growth in the interest by the individual and the community in information on health status and benchmarks that are reasonably attainable. This interest opens the way for health education which contains personal, community and occupational elements. An important element of such education is the data on mine site health status. This project examined the role of health surveillance in the coal mining industry as a tool for generating the necessary information to promote an interest in health awareness. The Health Scheme Database provides the material for the bulk of the analysis of this project. After a preliminary scan of the data set, more detailed analysis was undertaken on key health and related safety issues that include respiratory disorders, hearing loss and high blood pressure. The data set facilitates control for confounding factors such as age and smoking status. Mines can be benchmarked to identify those mines with effective health management and those with particular challenges. While the study has confirmed the very low prevalence of restrictive airway disease such as pneu"moconiosis, it has demonstrated a need to examine in detail the emergence of obstructive airway disease such as bronchitis and emphysema which may be a consequence of the increasing use of high dust longwall technology. The power of the Health Database's electronic data management is demonstrated by linking the health data to other data sets such as injury data that is collected by the Department of l\1mes and Energy. The analysis examines serious strain -sprain injuries and has identified a marked difference between the underground and open cut sectors of the industry. The analysis also considers productivity and OHS data to examine the extent to which there is correlation between any pairs ofJpese and previously analysed health parameters. This project has demonstrated that the current structure of the Coal Industry Employees Health Scheme has largely delivered to mines and effective health screening process. At the same time, the centralised nature of data collection and analysis has provided to the mines, the unions and the government substantial statistical cross-sectional data upon which strategies to more effectively manage health and relates safety issues can be based.

The constitutional power to make war: domestic legal issues raised by Australia's action in Iraq

The legal power to declare war has traditionally been a part of a prerogative to be exercised solely on advice that passed from the King to the Governor-General no later than 1942. In 2003, the Governor- General was not involved in the decision by the Prime Minister and Cabinet to commit Australian troops to the invasion of Iraq. The authors explore the alternative legal means by which Australia can go to war - means the government in fact used in 2003 - and the constitutional basis of those means. While the prerogative power can be regulated and/or devolved by legislation, and just possibly by practice, there does not seem to be a sound legal basis to assert that the power has been devolved to any other person. It appears that in 2003 the Defence Minister used his legal powers under the Defence Act 1903 (Cth) (as amended in 1975) to give instructions to the service head(s). A powerful argument could be made that the relevant sections of the Defence Act were not intended to be used for the decision to go to war, and that such instructions are for peacetime or in bello decisions. If so, the power to make war remains within the prerogative to be exercised on advice. Interviews with the then Governor-General indicate that Prime Minister Howard had planned to take the matter to the Federal Executive Council 'for noting', but did not do so after the Governor-General sought the views of the then Attorney-General about relevant issues of international law. The exchange raises many issues, but those of interest concern the kinds of questions the Governor-General could and should ask about proposed international action and whether they in any way mirror the assurances that are uncontroversially required for domestic action. In 2003, the Governor-General's scrutiny was the only independent scrutiny available because the legality of the decision to go to war was not a matter that could be determined in the High Court, and the federal government had taken action in March 2002 that effectively prevented the matter coming before the International Court of Justice

Foundations of technology development, innovation and competitiveness in the globalised knowledge economy

With the growth of high-technology industries and knowledge intensive services, the pursuit of industrial competitiveness has progressed from a broad concern with the processes of industrialisation to a more focused analysis of the factors explaining cross-national variation in the level of participation in knowledge industries. From an examination of cross-national data, the paper develops the proposition that particular elements of the domestic science, technology and industry infrastructure—such as the stock of knowledge and competence in the economy, the capacity for learning and generation of new ideas and the capacity to commercialise new ideas—vary cross-nationally and are related to the level of participation of a nation in knowledge intensive activities. Existing understandings of the role of the state in promoting industrial competitiveness might be expanded to incorporate an analysis of the contribution of the state through the building of competencies in science, technology and industry. Keywords: Knowledge; economy; comparative public policy; innovation; science and technology policy

Governance in the Australian superannuation industry

In the Superannuation/Pension industry ordinary investors entrust their retirement savings to the trustees of the superannuation plan. Investors rely on the trustees to ensure ethical business and risk management practices are implemented to protect their retirement savings. Governance practices ensure the monitoring of ethical risk management (Drennan, 2004). The Australian superannuation industry presents a unique scenario. Legislation requires employers to contribute a minimum of 9% of the employees wage to retirement savings. However, there are no legislated governance standards, although there are standards of recommended governance practices. In this paper, we examine the level of voluntary adoption of governance practices by the trustees of Australian public sector and industry superannuation funds. We also assess whether superannuation governance practices are associated with performance and volatility/riskiness of returns. Survey results show that the majority of superannuation plans adopt recommended governance practices supporting the concept of ethical management of the member’s retirement savings. The examination of governance principles that impact returns and risk show that board size and regular review of conflicts are positively associated with return. Superannuation plans with higher volatility in returns meet more frequently.