Extractive transnational corporations, intrastate conflict and peacemaking : frameworks and best practice

This thesis explores the role of mining and oil transnational corporations in corporate peacemaking. That is, helping to bring together warring parties in intrastate conflict to enable them to conduct peace negotiations and then, supporting these negotiations. Key concerns, and new theory, frameworks and best-practice in corporate peacemaking are proposed.

Concepts in conflict : social marketing and sustainability

This article discusses a major dilemma faced by social marketers: the conflict between implementing social marketing programs aimed at developing material wellbeing and the increased use of resources as a result of these changes. Social marketers aim to make social changes positively however the social‐environmental cost benefit is seldom a consideration. It is suggested that many changes are ‘unsustainable’ in their current format. Social marketers will need to become involved in the tradeoffs between material wellbeing and sustainability of the environment. This important issue is of direct relevance to a large section of those involved in social change creation. The consideration of sustainability is an important issue for social marketers. Implications and further research are proposed.

Conflict between genetic and phenotypic differentiation : the evolutionary history of a ‘lost and rediscovered’ shorebird

Understanding and resolving conflicts between phenotypic and genetic differentiation is central to evolutionary research. While phenotypically monomorphic species may exhibit deep genetic divergences, some morphologically distinct taxa lack notable genetic differentiation. Here we conduct a molecular investigation of an enigmatic shorebird with a convoluted taxonomic history, the White-faced Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus), widely regarded as a subspecies of the Kentish Plover (C. alexandrinus). Described as distinct in 1863, its name was consistently misapplied in subsequent decades until taxonomic clarification ensued in 2008. Using a recently proposed test of species delimitation, we reconfirm the phenotypic distinctness of dealbatus. We then compare three mitochondrial and seven nuclear DNA markers among 278 samples of dealbatus and alexandrinus from across their breeding range and four other closely related plovers. We fail to find any population genetic differentiation between dealbatus and alexandrinus, whereas the other species are deeply diverged at the study loci. Kentish Plovers join a small but growing list of species for which low levels of genetic differentiation are accompanied by the presence of strong phenotypic divergence, suggesting that diagnostic phenotypic characters may be encoded by few genes that are difficult to detect. Alternatively, gene expression differences may be crucial in producing different phenotypes whereas neutral differentiation may be lagging behind.

Conflict at deals for top Year 12s

Tensions at the University of Melbourne over the fairness of providing guaranteed postgraduate pathways only to students with high Year 12 scores, has underlined the high-wire act institutions face in balancing equity and the pursuit of prestige.

Using job strain and organizational justice models to predict multiple forms of employee performance behaviours among Australian policing personnel

The overall purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between stress-related working conditions and three forms of employee performance behaviours: in-role behaviours, citizenship behaviours directed at other individuals and citizenship behaviours directed at the organization. The potentially stressful working conditions were based on the job strain model (incorporating job demands, job control and social support) as well as organizational justice theory. A sample of Australian-based police officers (n = 640) took part in this study and the data were collected via a mail-out survey. Multiple regression analyses were undertaken to assess both the strength and the nature of the relationships between the working conditions and employee performance and these analyses included tests for additive, interactional and curvilinear effects. The overall results indicated that a significant proportion of the explained variance in all three outcome measures was attributed to the additive effects of demand, control and support. The level of variance associated with the organizational justice dimensions was relatively small, although there were signs that specific dimensions of justice may provide unique insights into the relationship between job stressors and employee performance. The implications of these and other notable findings are discussed.