Industrial relations decentralisation and the growth of 12-hour shifts in Australia

In the last two decades, increasing numbers of workplaces in Australia have introduced 12-hour shifts. This increase is due, in part, to government policies aimed at promoting labour flexibility. The purpose of this paper is to examine the cover afforded by the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and other industrial relations legislation in terms of shift-workers’ health and safety. Particular reference is made to the broader social, economic and political context surrounding the introduction and use of 12-hour shifts, as it is this context that shapes the constraints and opportunities facing employers and employees in the work arrangements they choose and how they are negotiated. We conclude that the current system of regulating industrial relations in Australia is largely outcome-focused and inadequate. The bargaining process receives little regulation in terms of considering how changes could affect health and safety in the workplace or how changes might affect individual workers. As a result, the increased introduction of unsafe shiftworking arrangements is a worrying, and likely, prospect.

Differences between older volunteers and nonvolunteers - Attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs

It has been suggested that older people are a rich potential source of volunteers, as prior literature has highlighted the benefits and rewards of volunteering in later life. This article examines differences between volunteers and nonvolunteers in a random sample of older people resident in Brisbane, Australia. Using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, the article focuses on the beliefs that distinguish those who volunteer from those who do not. Findings from the study allowed for an assessment of both the costs and benefits associated with volunteering; beliefs about the support of others, including the broader community, to volunteer; and beliefs about the barriers that might prevent volunteering. The implications of these finding's to a country with an aging population are discussed.

Popular understandings of 'UnAustralian': an investigation of the un-national

In social science the 'national' has been studied extensively, but comparatively little attention has been given to the 'un-national'. The article takes up this challenge in an Australian context. Drawing on the work of Raymond Williams, investigation is centred around the keyword 'UnAustralian'. Participants in focus groups were asked to nominate and account for what they thought of as 'UnAustralian' people, places, values, activities, groups and organizations. Analysis of the data revealed that two factors underpinned an attribution: incivility and foreign influence. Contemporary uses revolve around outcomes from globalization and can be contrasted with the centrality of class politics to deployments of the concept in the first part of the 20th century.

Domestic objects and the taste epiphany - A resource for consumption methodology

The presentation of an aesthetic identity involves the accomplishment of a coherent, plausible narrative which links one's choices to desired characteristics of the self. As symbolic evidence of a person's taste, material culture is a vital component of a successful narrative. Via case studies of pivotal household objects, this paper uses face-to-face interview data as a way of investigating processes of aesthetic choice. Household objects are interpreted as material elements imbricated in the presentation of a socially plausible and internally consistent aesthetic self. Narrative analysis, and the concept of the epiphany-object, are proposed as useful ways of accounting for tastes in domestic material culture. Methodological questions of truth-telling and authenticity in the face-to-face context are considered, and the sociological problem of taste is scrutinized in light of ideas about social accountability and textual identity.

Life on the ocean wave: Testing some intergroup hypotheses in a naturalistic setting

A survey (N= 352) was conducted among British passengers of a cross-channel ferry. The survey aimed to test hypotheses drawn from Realistic Group Conflict, Social Identity and Contact theories using mainly a correlational design. However, an intervention by members of the outgroup (French fishermen blockading a port) also allowed a quasi-experimental test of the effects of a direct experience of intergroup conflict. Results supported the hypotheses since conflict and national identification were associated with more negative and with less positive attitudes toward the outgroup, while contact had the reverse effects. In addition, the salience of group membership in the contact relationship weakly moderated the effect of contact.

Status, legitimacy and ingroup bias in the context of an organizational merger

Adopting an intergroup perspective, the research was designed to examine predictors of employee responses to an organizational merger. Data were collected from 120 employees of a newly merged scientific organization. As predicted from social identity theory, the most negative responses to the merger were apparent among the employees of the low status premerger organization. There was also evidence of ingroup bias among both groups of employees involved in the merger—as expected, the bias was most marked on the status-irrelevant dimensions for the employees of the lower status organization, but most marked on the status-relevant dimensions for the employees of the high status organization. Also, in support of social identity theory, the perceived legitimacy of the basis for the status differentiation between the groups was associated with more positive responses to the merger among employees of the low status premerger organization, but with poorer responses among employees of the high status premerger organization. There was consistent evidence that the status by legitimacy interaction was mediated through the extent to which employees of the newly merged organization perceived a common ingroup identity

Employee adjustment to an organizational merger: An intergroup perspective

Adopting an intergroup perspective, the research was designed to examine predictors of employee responses to an organizational merger Data were collected from 465 fleet staff employed in a newly merged airline company. As predicted from social identity theory, the negative effects of the merger were most marked for employees of the low-status premerger organization. Also, as predicted, the perception of permeable intergroup boundaries in the new organization was associated positively with identification with the new organization and both job-related and person-related outcomes among employees of the low-status premerger organization but negatively with person-related outcomes among employees of the high-status premerger organization. As predicted, there was some evidence that the main and interactive effects involving status, perceived permeability, and intergroup contact on employee adjustment were mediated through strength of identification with the new organization.

Using Theory to Understand the Multiple Determinants of Low Participation in Worksite Health Promotion Programs

Low participation at the employee or worksite level limits the potential public health impact of worksite-based interventions. Ecological models suggest that multiple levels of influence operate to determine participation patterns in worksite health promotion programs. Most investigations into the determinants of low participation study the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional influences on employee participation. Community- and policy-level influences have not received attention, nor has consideration been given to worksite-level participation issues. The purpose of this article is to discuss one macrosocial theoretical perspective—political economy of health—that may guide practitioners and researchers interested in addressing the community- and policy-level determinants of participation in worksite health promotion programs. The authors argue that using theory to investigate the full spectrum of determinants offers a more complete range of intervention and research options for maximizing employee and worksite levels of participation.

Communication and health beliefs - Mass and interpersonal influences on perceptions of risk to self and others

This study investigated the impact of media coverage of a health issue (skin cancer) on judgements of risk to self and others and the role of related communication processes. Consistent with predictions derived from the impersonal impact hypothesis, the effects of mass communication were more evident in perceptions of risk to others rather than in perceptions of personal risk. Perceptions of personal risk were more strongly correlated with interpersonal communication. However, as suggested by media system dependency theory, the relationship between mass communication and beliefs was complex. The impact of mass communication on both personal and impersonal perceptions was bound to be moderated by self-reported dependence on mass mediated information. The effect of this two-way interaction 071 perceptions of personal risk was partially mediated through interpersonal communication. Results point to the interdependence of mass and interpersonal communication as sources of social influence and the role of media dependency in shaping media impact.

Scoring occupational categories for social research: A review of current practice, with Australian examples

The scoring of occupational categories has along history. After reviewing the historical background, we develop and discuss the properties of two new Australian scales based on current theorising in stratification research. The first is based on the operation of the labour market and scores occupations to reflect their central role in converting educational credentials into market income. The second is based on patterns of social interaction and scores occupations to reflect the choices that people make in marriage markets. While these two scales are not theoretically or empirically equivalent, they are closely related and provide equally valid, but alternative, ways of measuring the underlying stratification order of modern societies.

Sterilization of girls and women with intellectual disabilities - Past and present justifications

This article describes findings from empirical research examining sterilization applications for miners made to the Family Court of Australia between 1992 and 1999. Original materials and written reports from experts,family members, and judicial officers are used to highlight the dominant discourse and themes. These are compared with historical characterizations of young women with disabilities used during the notorious eugenics period in the first half of the 20th century. The new ways of justifying sterilization use the sanitized language of best interests, silencing constructionist approaches to disability and gender issues. The new ways are reminiscent of the old ways of discrimination, prejudice, and violation.