Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Icils At A Glance: Highlights From The Full Australian Report – Australian Students’ Readiness For Study, Work And Life In The Digital Age, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley, Catherine Underwood, Elizabeth O'Grady, Eveline Gebhardt

Lisa De Bortoli

Tourism And Hospitality Small And Medium Enterprises And Environmental Sustainability, Abel Alonso, Alfred Ogle

Alfred Ogle

While environmental sustainability is increasingly gaining relevance, it appears to have been ignored in certain areas, such as in research on water usage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality and tourism industries. The purpose of this paper is to examine this dimension from the perspective of the operators. Semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with ten managers/operators in the Swan Valley region of Western Australia. Strong manager/operator awareness of the impact of their actions on the environment was demonstrated. Also salient was the factors impinging on implementation of environmental initiatives. Business demands or added costs also …

High Speed Rail In Australia - Much Studied And Slow To Start, Philip Laird

Dr Philip Laird

High Speed Rail or HSR with electric passenger trains operating at speeds of 250km/h or more is now operational in 11 countries and has been under recent consideration in Australia for future operation between Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. The paper outlines HSR studies in Australia and conditionally quantifies the potential reduction of aviation fuel use at up to 0.5m litres per annum from the introduction of HSR by 2020 in Australia with a reduction of external costs at $540m per annum by 2020. In addition, HSR in Eastern Australia by 2020 could allow for some 300 slots to be …

Olives, Hospitality And Tourism: A Western Australian Perspective, Abel Alonso

Abel D Alonso

The purpose of this paper is to examine the links between olive growing, hospitality and tourism in an emerging olive growing region, as well as challenges olive grove operators face. A qualitative approach is taken in the form of face-to-face and telephone interviews among 23 olive grove operators in Western Australia from a sample of 33 operations identified. Almost half of the respondents indicated being open to the public in some form, including ellar door sales and hospitality facilities, such as a cafe´. Other respondents are currently in the process of developing hospitality facilities or plan to be associated to …

Tourism And Hospitality Small And Medium Enterprises And Environmental Sustainability, Abel Alonso, Alfred Ogle

Abel D Alonso

While environmental sustainability is increasingly gaining relevance, it appears to have been ignored in certain areas, such as in research on water usage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality and tourism industries. The purpose of this paper is to examine this dimension from the perspective of the operators. Semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with ten managers/operators in the Swan Valley region of Western Australia. Strong manager/operator awareness of the impact of their actions on the environment was demonstrated. Also salient was the factors impinging on implementation of environmental initiatives. Business demands or added costs also …

Evidence Of Enso Mega-Drought Triggered Collapse Of Prehistory Aboriginal Society In Northwest Australia, Hamish Mcgowan, Samuel K. Marx, P Moss, Andrew Hammond

Samuel K Marx

The Kimberley region of northwest Australia contains one of the World's largest collections of rock art characterised by two distinct art forms; the fine featured anthropomorphic figures of the Gwion Gwion or Bradshaw paintings, and broad stroke Wandjina figures. Luminescence dating of mud wasp nests overlying Gwion Gwion paintings has confirmed an age of at least 17,000 yrs B.P. with the most recent dates for these paintings from around the mid-Holocene (5000 to 7000 yrs B.P.). Radiocarbon dating indicates that the Wandjina rock art then emerged around 3800 to 4000 yrs B.P. following a hiatus of at least 1200 yrs. …

Evidence Of Solar And Tropical-Ocean Forcing Of Hydroclimate Cycles In Southeastern Australia For The Past 6500 Years, Hamish A. Mcgowan, Samuel K. Marx, Joshua Soderholm, John Denholm

Samuel K Marx

Evidence of solar and tropical‐ocean forcing of climate cycles has been found in numerous palaeoclimate records. Numerical modelling studies show physical mechanisms by which direct and indirect solar forcing may affect climate, while there is mounting evidence of solar forcing of tropical ocean‐atmosphere teleconnections. This study has developed a 6500 year record of dust deposition, a proxy for regional hydroclimate variability for the Snowy Mountains region of Australia. Spectral analysis of the record provides evidence of statistically significant cycles in dust deposition of 35–43 years, 62–73 years, 161 years and 2200 years. These correlate with variability in solar irradiance and …

Whiteness And Social Change: Remnant Colonialisms And White Civility In Australia And Canada, Colin Salter

Colin Salter

In the early hours of the Sunday 19 September 2004, two men were seen running away from McCauley's Beach towards the coastal village of Thirroul, located south of Sydney in the northern suburbs of the Illawarra region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Moments later the nearby Sandon Point Aboriginal Tent Embassy (SPATE) burst into flames. The complete destruction of the embassy's structure and the life-threatening situation for the five people who were asleep inside marked a significant point in the long-running dispute over the future of the Sandon Point area. The assailants' actions provide a stark contrast to those …

The Retention, Revival, And Subjugation Of Indigenous Fire Knowledge Through Agency Fire Fighting In Eastern Australia And California, Christine Eriksen, Don Hankins

Christine Eriksen

This article explores the potential impact of training and employment with wildfire management agencies on the retention of Indigenous fire knowledge. It focuses on the comparative knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Elders, cultural practitioners, and land stewards in connection with “modern” political constructs of fire in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, and California in the United States of America. This article emphasises the close link between cross-cultural acceptance, integration of Indigenous and agency fire cultures, and the ways in which knowledge types are shared or withheld. While agency fire fighting provides an opportunity for Indigenous people to connect and …

Perceived Barriers For Implanting Microchips In Humans: A Transnational Study, Christine Perakslis, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael, Robert Gable

Professor Katina Michael

This quantitative, descriptive study investigated if there was a relationship between countries of residence of small business owners (N = 453) within four countries (Australia, India, UK, and the USA) with respect to perceived barriers to RFID (radio frequency identification) transponders being implanted into humans for employee ID. Participants were asked what they believed were the greatest barriers in instituting chip implants for access control in organizations. Participants had six options from which to select. There were significant chi-square analyses reported relative to respondents’ countries and: 1) a perceived barrier of technological issues (χ2 = 11.86, df = 3, p …

'Please Mr Frodo, Is This New Zealand? Or Australia?'... 'No Sam, It's Middle-Earth.', Michael K. Organ

Michael Organ

The exploitation of JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth by Tourism New Zealand following the success of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films and the release of the first part of The Hobbit has been met with accusations of cultural racism by Maori, misrepresentation by Pakeha and re-appropriation by independent British filmmakers, writes Michael Organ.

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Lisa De Bortoli

PISA is a survey that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, who are near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems. PISA in Brief summarises the results from the PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results.

Foreign Aid Budget: Promoting Australia's Interests At The Expense Of The Poor, Nichole Georgeou, Charles Hawksley

Nichole Georgeou

A brief, critical discussion of the Foreign Aid provisions of the 2014-15 Australian budget of the Abbott government, published in the 'Academics Stand Against Poverty Oceania, 2014-15 Budget Response'.

Ground Improvement At The Port Of Brisbane, Australia Using Vertical Drains And Vacuum Assisted Preloading, Buddhima Indraratna, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, A S. Balasubramaniam

Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Soft clays in coastal areas have low shear strength and high compressibility. Thus construction activities for infrastructure developments in these deposits often pose geotechnical problems due to large time dependent settlements and lateral movements. Ground improvement techniques are adopted to reduce the water content of the soft clays by preloading techniques with vertical drains. Depending on the magnitude of the surcharge used substantial immediate settlement with lateral movements can takes place during preloading. This in tum causes stability problems in the loaded areas. The use of vacuum assisted preloading has now become a popular method in Australia where substantial loads …

Ground Improvement At The Port Of Brisbane, Australia Using Vertical Drains And Vacuum Assisted Preloading, Buddhima Indraratna, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, A S. Balasubramaniam

Buddhima Indraratna

Soft clays in coastal areas have low shear strength and high compressibility. Thus construction activities for infrastructure developments in these deposits often pose geotechnical problems due to large time dependent settlements and lateral movements. Ground improvement techniques are adopted to reduce the water content of the soft clays by preloading techniques with vertical drains. Depending on the magnitude of the surcharge used substantial immediate settlement with lateral movements can takes place during preloading. This in tum causes stability problems in the loaded areas. The use of vacuum assisted preloading has now become a popular method in Australia where substantial loads …

Regulation Of Alcohol Advertising: Policy Options For Australia, Sandra C. Jones, Ross Gordon

Sandra Jones

A systematic search of academic databases was conducted to identify all refereed papers published between 1990 and 2012 on the regulation of alcohol advertising in Australia and three comparison countries (New Zealand, Canada and the UK). This paper reviews the codes that apply to alcohol advertising in each of the four countries, research into the effectiveness of these codes, and the small body of research into consumer attitudes towards alcohol advertising regulation. This review adduces considerable evidence that alcohol advertising influences drinking behaviours, and that current regulatory systems based on co-regulation and voluntary regulation (as is the case in Australia) …

Simulation In Dietetic Education In Australia, Peter Williams, Eleanor Beck

Peter Williams

In 2011 the Dietitians Association of Australia conducted a survey of simulated learning experiences in all universities offering dietetic course in Australia. A total of 35 SLEs currently used were identified: 14 paper-based, 15 physical-based and 6 computer or video based.

Roll Out The Red Carpet: Australian Nurses On Screen, Cathy Bridgen, Lisa Milner

Dr Lisa Milner

Cultural connections with caring and femininity have long been associated with the nursing profession, with mainstream media representations often reinforcing stereotypical depictions of nurses. Although more recent mainstream media portrayals increasingly depict nurses as strong, assertive professionals, little research has been conducted into films made by nurses. When nurses take on the filmmaking task, different outcomes are produced, and when their trade union is involved, unionist filmmaking becomes an organizing strategy. This qualitative study, using content and document analysis and interviews, analyzes a selection of films made by, for, and about Australian unionized nurses. We examine a generation of nurse-made …

Issues In Ict In Healthcare In Australia And India, Ambica Dattakumar, Julie Fisher, Linda Dawson

Associate Professor Linda Dawson

No abstract provided.