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Australia's large regional cities and towns display wide variation in how they are adjusting to the socio-economic transitions that have occurred over the past decade. One area of research interest has been in developing typologies of non-metropolitan performance. The current paper represents an analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census data aimed at analysing non-metropolitan regions based on their performance across a range of selected socio-economic variables. Using model-based clustering methods, this paper places non-metropolitan regions into clusters depending on the degree to which they share similar socio-economic and demographic outcomes. These clusters form the basis of a typology representing the range of socio-economic and demographic outcomes at the regional level. Differences between the clusters are analysed using graphs of 95% confidence intervals on the individual means for each cluster. The typology provides a useful framework with which to develop a broad understanding of socio-economic processes and performance across different spatial scales. Las grandes capitales y ciudades regionales de Australia muestran una gran variación en el modo en que se están adaptando a las transiciones socio-económicas que han sucedido durante la década pasada. Un área de investigación de interés ha sido el desarrollo de tipologías de rendimiento no metropolitano. Este artículo representa un análisis de datos del Censo 2001 del Australian Bureau of Statistics dirigido a analizar regiones no metropolitanas basándose en su rendimiento en un rango de variables socio-económicas seleccionadas. Usando métodos de cluster basados en modelos, este artículo agrupa regiones no metropolitanas en clusters dependiendo del grado en que comparten resultados socio-económicos y demográficos similares. Estos clusters forman la base de una tipología que representa el rango de resultados socio-económicos y demográficos a escala regional. Las diferencias entre clusters son analizadas usando gráficas con intervalos de confianza del 95% para las medias individuales de cada cluster. La tipología proporciona un marco útil con el que desarrollar un conocimiento más amplio de los procesos socio-económicos y rendimiento en diferentes escalas espaciales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports several issues and events related to economics in Australia. The South Australian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia invites all economists to attend the 38th Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2009 held in Adelaide, South Australia on September 28-30, 2009. The History of Economic Thought Society of Australia (HETSA) announces that the organization will already accepting applications for the 2009 (HETSA) Prizes award. The Economic Society of Australia has two publications entitled "The Economic Record and Economic Papers" and "Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy."

The objective of this paper is to document the knowledge and experiences of healthcare professionals and researchers in Australia about the barriers to controlling Strongyloides stercoralis in Australian Indigenous communities. Qualitative research methods were used to conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were digitally recorded, transcribed, and participant-checked. Data were thematically analysed to identify significant themes. Five major themes were identified: 1. Barriers to health/treatment; 2. Access to healthcare; 3. Policy; 4. Learning opportunity; and 5. Ideas for intervention. The findings suggest that Australian Indigenous communities will continue to suffer increased morbidity and mortality due to a lack of control or prevention of Strongyloides stercoralis. Issues such as institutional racism, improvements to health promotion, education, socioeconomic determinants, and health care system policy and procedures need to be addressed. This study identifies several direct implications for Indigenous health: • The need for increased knowledge and understanding of the risks to health for Indigenous community members; • The need for prevention policy development for neglected tropical diseases in Indigenous communities; • The need for increased knowledge and understanding of the treatment, diagnosis, and healthcare access concerning Strongyloides stercoralis for health professionals and policymakers who work within Indigenous health; • The need to raise awareness of systematic institutional racism in the control and prevention of neglected tropical diseases in Indigenous communities; and • The need for a health promotion framework that can provide the basis for multiple-level interventions to control and prevent Strongyloides in Indigenous communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Government's Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program aims to encourage greater participation of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in higher education. Historically, participation and retention rates of students from under-represented groups have been less than for the majority of school leavers. Universities are now intensifying their efforts to improve retention, and expect all parts of their institutions, including the university library, to contribute. Through a review of conceptual and empirical literature, this paper identifies five potential means by which a library may contribute to student retention and concludes by outlining one library's approach to investigating its contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins by considering the Australian evidence on intergenerational social and economic mobility in the context of the international literature. Recent evidence from the Youth in Focus project is used to highlight the effects of growing up in socio-economic disadvantage on a range of outcomes for young Australians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - In the wake of public service liberalisation in many OECD countries, economic interventions into the purpose and implementation of social policies have gained a lot of interest in recent years. The prime aim of this paper is to describe the nature of these interventions. The paper examines the reasons for pursuing elusive efficiency objectives in the conduct of public policy, rationales for purchaser-provider splits, evaluation of cost-quality relationships, service costing and pricing, and the influence of "external" economic variables. Design/methodology/approach - The paper breaks the analysis of public policy down to three layers of economic interventions: macroeconomics (allocative efficiency, intervention rationales and macroeconomic environment), mesoeconomics (economics of delivery in "social industries") and microeconomics (agent behaviour, contracting, pricing and evaluation). Each level of economic intervention is illustrated with examples, mainly taken from Australian public policy and mainstream social economic research. Findings - Some of the most critical questions in policy implementation (outsourcing, pricing, contracting and agency problems) can be traced back to economic reforms. Experiments with new modes of service delivery are driven by a changing economic context, yet the efficiency gains from these innovative approaches may come at the expense of service quality. Practical implications - Changing macro-, meso- and microeconomic variables profoundly alter the parameters of service delivery. Designers and managers of service delivery systems need to be aware of - and skilled in - the practical application of economic principles, concepts and methods. Originality/value - Except for the health sector, there is a lack of consistent research on the intecrelationships between the standard economics toolkit and the delivery of public services. Yet the two are profoundly intertwined. The paper helps distinguish these relationships by putting together elements of conceptual analysis and fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the philosophical question: ‘why rehabilitate urban river systems?’ within an Australian context. Rehabilitation of river systems has become an important objective of many local, state and national governments around the world, who allocate substantial investment into various river projects. An understanding of the various factors influencing stream condition and potential rehabilitation options is essential in order to determine how the process is undertaken, and how success is measured. This paper examines the triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) factors that influence decisionmaking with respect to urban stream rehabilitation and management and considers their relative value and importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Technology use, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pump therapy, is associated with improved outcomes in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In 2017 CGM was universally funded for youth with T1D in Australia. In contrast, pump access is primarily accessed through private health insurance, self-funding or philanthropy. The study aim was to investigate the use of diabetes technology across different socioeconomic groups in Australian youth with T1D, in the setting of two contrasting funding models. Methods: A cross-sectional evaluation of 4957 youth with T1D aged <18 years in the national registry was performed to determine technology use. The Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) derived from Australian census data is an area-based measure of socioeconomic status (SES). Lower quintiles represent greater disadvantage. IRSD based on most recent postcode of residence was used as a marker of SES. A multivariable generalised linear model adjusting for age, diabetes duration, sex, remoteness classification, and location within Australia was used to determine the association between SES and device use. Results: CGM use was lower in IRSD quintile 1 in comparison to quintiles 2 to 5 (p<0.001) where uptake across the quintiles was similar. A higher percentage of pump use was observed in the least disadvantaged IRSD quintiles. Compared to the most disadvantaged quintile 1, pump use progressively increased by 16% (95% CI: 4% to 31%) in quintile 2, 19% (6% to 33%) in quintile 3, 35% (21% to 50%) in quintile 4 and 51% (36% to 67%) in the least disadvantaged quintile 5. Conclusion: In this large national dataset, use of diabetes technologies was found to differ across socioeconomic groups. For nationally subsidised CGM, use was similar across socioeconomic groups with the exception of the most disadvantaged quintile, an important finding requiring further investigation into barriers to CGM use within a nationally subsidised model. User pays funding models for pump therapy result in lower use with socioeconomic disadvantage, highlighting inequities in this funding approach. For the full benefits of diabetes technology to be realised, equitable access to pump therapy needs to be a health policy priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pasos: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural is the property of Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This paper reports on the experimental design process and considerations of a choice experiment conducted in collaboration with farmers in northern Australia. The purpose of the research is to inform the design of effective and efficient payments-for-ecosystem services schemes to safeguard north Australia’s biodiversity values. It promotes the contractual provision of biodiversity conservation services by farmers, in particular pastoralists operating in Australia’s tropical savannas. The paper focuses on the discrete choice experimental (DCE) aspects. The DCE is employed to estimate farmers’ preference heterogeneity for supplying ecosystem services, specifically their willingness to accept remuneration for the on-farm conservation of biodiversity, based on potential programme attributes. The design of the choice experiment draws on best practice standards (Hoyos, 2010), a recognition of the benefits of embedding design in a consultative process (Klojgaard et al., 2012) and recent advances in accounting for response certainty (Brouwer et al., 2010; Hensher et al., 2012). DCE design decisions relating to attribute selection, attribute levels, alternatives and choice tasks are explained based on literature, focus group discussions, expert input and an iterative process of Bayesian D-efficient DCE design. Additional design aspects include measuring choice certainty and stated attribute attendance, embedding the DCE within a discrete-continuous approach, capturing relevant respondent-related attributes with socio-economic-psychological questions and scales, and devising appropriate data collection logistics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Australia, as in many countries across the world, our educational landscape is being shaped by an ever-increasing focus on the "globalized educational policy discourse" (Lingard, 2010) of standardised, 'high-stakes' testing, and the subsequent quantitative measuring and ranking of children, classes, schools, districts, states, and countries. Through this paper, we explore our research conducted with children, teachers and parents within a culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse public school community. The paper draws on the voices of teachers, parents, and children who were co-researchers in Clare's case study research at the school (using emergent, arts-informed methods (Clark & Moss, 2001; Cole & Knowles, 2008; Somerville, 2008)), and Sophie's teaching and teacher-research experiences (using pedagogical documentation (Rinaldi, 2006)). We explore the children's perspectives on how they were developing individual and collective subjectivities, how they conceived of difference and connection, and the ways they worked with difference to create a community of belonging in this highly diverse context. We also analyse the ways in which the teachers and school community sought to actively challenge hegemonic constructions of the "successful" student subject through discourses of trust, difference and connectedness. Shaped by a theoretical framework informed by the philosophies of Deleuze and Guattari (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987), this paper highlights the ways this school community may disrupt "normalised" conceptualisations of pedagogical practices and contribute to the research literature that offers hope in opening up lines of flight to re-imagine possible subjectivities for teachers and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demography of Indigenous Australians is distinguished from that of other Australians by relatively high mortality and fertility leading to very different composition by age. This is beginning to change as movement towards a convergence in vital rates is observed. In the meantime, the Australian government has established targets for Indigenous socioeconomic outcomes that simultaneously impact on, and are affected by, the course of demographic change. This paper examines the relationship between these targets and projected Indigenous demographic outcomes that arise from incipient population ageing. The most likely scenario is movement into an indeterminate period of potential demographic dividend. If demand for Indigenous labour expands alongside reductions in age dependency this could provide for dramatic improvement in Indigenous economic circumstances. However, caution is warranted as disparities in adult mortality require long-term solutions and movement into a second phase of demographic transition appears likely to be delayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research of potential socio-economic value is commonly conducted within cross-sector (government, university, business) centres. Success depends on partners whose objectives and strategies may converge or compete. Yet little empirical evidence exists on: (a) how individual researchers perceive the benefits of their participation, (b) how far the structures and functions of particular collaborative R&D centres coalesce around of researchers’ expectations and, (c) what problems arise for researchers who opt for a ‘second job’ in the centre. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of a survey of respondents from public sector organizations involved in Australian Cooperative Research Centres. A novel frame for analysing these data is the study of inter-organizational relationships (IOR). We use the perspective of the individual research scientists to illuminate the important management issues of trust, governance, and competition between functional domains, which emerge from IOR and which have been inadequately recognised in the context of collaborative R&D centres. The findings have implications for the management and of the centres, for the careers of research scientists and for public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given escalating rates of chronic disease, broad-reach and cost-effective interventions to increase physical activity and improve dietary intake are needed. The cost-effectiveness of a Telephone Counselling intervention to improve physical activity and diet, targeting adults with established chronic diseases in a low socio-economic area of a major Australian city was examined. Methodology/Principal Findings: A cost-effectiveness modelling study using data collected between February 2005 and November 2007 from a cluster-randomised trial that compared Telephone Counselling with a ''Usual Care'' (brief intervention) alternative. Economic outcomes were assessed using a state-transition Markov model, which predicted the progress of participants through five health states relating to physical activity and dietary improvement, for ten years after recruitment. The costs and health benefits of Telephone Counselling, Usual Care and an existing practice (Real Control) group were compared. Telephone Counselling compared to Usual Care was not cost-effective ($78,489 per quality adjusted life year gained). However, the Usual Care group did not represent existing practice and is not a useful comparator for decision making. Comparing Telephone Counselling outcomes to existing practice (Real Control), the intervention was found to be cost-effective ($29,375 per quality adjusted life year gained). Usual Care (brief intervention) compared to existing practice (Real Control) was also cost-effective ($12,153 per quality adjusted life year gained). Conclusions/Significance: This modelling study shows that a decision to adopt a Telephone Counselling program over existing practice (Real Control) is likely to be cost-effective. Choosing the 'Usual Care' brief intervention over existing practice (Real Control) shows a lower cost per quality adjusted life year, but the lack of supporting evidence for efficacy or sustainability is an important consideration for decision makers. The economics of behavioural approaches to improving health must be made explicit if decision makers are to be convinced that allocating resources toward such programs is worthwhile. Trial Registration: This paper uses data collected in a previous clinical trial registered at the Australian Clinical Trials Registry, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: Anzcrt.org.au ACTRN012607000195459. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new approach to well-being measurement is presented in this paper based on multidimensional hierarchical human needs and motivation. This paper empirically applies this new measure of well-being to Australia for the period 1985–2000. This hierarchical approach is underpinned by a rigorous psychological theory of human motivation. Hierarchical human needs are classified into five categories. Eight indicators have been chosen to reflect these categories. A composite indicator of these eight indicators is calculated. This paper concludes that it is necessary to consider multidimensional human needs and motivation when analysing and seeking to improve well-being through economic and social development activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the learning that reading by listening requires from readers with print disabilities. Method. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students with blindness or vision impairment in Australia. Analysis. A theoretical reading of the interview material was conducted, with a basis in sociocultural learning theory. Results. The responsibility for learning to use audio-based reading tools was often left to the participants themselves. The process of appropriating audio-based reading tools included two important aspects: digital literacy and learning to manage the sequentiality of audio text. This process was related to trajectories of participation in academic communities of practice, English-speaking communities of practice, and blindness and visual impairments communities of practice. It also included learning to participate in practices where vision and reading by seeing is the norm. Conclusion. Three conclusions are drawn: 1) reading by listening is not a passive and effortless activity, it requires specific expertise, 2) socio-economic and socio-political circumstances influence how reading by listening is practiced and the learning that this form of reading requires, and 3) reading by listening requires learning how to navigate and manage the effects of institutions and systems that are disabling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports how one Australian university and the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) are working together to increase the number of school students from low socio-economic backgrounds enrolling in undergraduate university degrees. This innovative program involves university lecturers and school teachers working together in the delivery and assessment of four Bachelor of Education units (or subjects) to a cohort of Year eleven and twelve students at a secondary school. Focus group interviews collected data from 26 students, 7 parents, 4 school and 3 university staff to assess the effectiveness of the program. All stakeholders viewed the program as a highly valuable opportunity to experience university learning with 31 high school graduating students being made offers to enter full-time university in the 2010 and 2011. This positive result has particular significance in the current drive in Australia and elsewhere to increase the participation in higher education of young people from under-represented groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we theorize an " enabling place pedagogy" drawn from the findings of two studies of exceptional place-based teaching and learning initiatives in primary schools in low socio-economic communities in rural and regional Australia. In each case the place-based teaching and learning involved the whole school community and was extended to the communities outside of the school. Children across all grade levels participated in the programs, which were enacted in varying degrees across the curriculum. We propose the notion of "organized chaos" as a way to understand the extraordinary nature of the pedagogical encounters offered by the two leading teachers. Through a pedagogy of organized chaos, infinite connections are made possible, opening the way for alternative learner subjectivities, especially for children who are different and those who do not achieve well in conventional classroom teaching. We argue that through a pedagogy of organized chaos in diverse outdoor learning environments, deep ecological learning takes place that enables different ways of being in and knowing the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article references a study by Daniel S. Hamermesh and Jungin Lee in the Working Paper Series of the National Bureau of Economic Research. The authors proposed an economic function depicting households maximizing their utility in the face of some time constraint. Results showed that the binds of the time constraint, that is, time stress, increases along with increases in income. They tested their hypothesis by looking at measures of time stress from surveys of working couples in Australia, Canada, Germany, Korea, and the U.S. Reports of time stress were more common in high-income, two-income families. Part of increased time stress might be the stress that comes with high-paying occupations. But not all of the increase can be attributed to these factors. The authors observed that busy lifestyles of the economically comfortable should be seen as more of a blessing, evidence of the myriad of options and opportunities that are available to those who can afford them. They close with the observation that while answering crunch or kvetch? is a matter of values, it may be more ethical to direct public sympathy to those who suffer from the goods constraint than those for whom the time constraint is the problem--that is the economist's way of saying the poor instead of the financially well-off.

Since Georgescu-Roegen's ("The entropy law and the economic process", 1971) pioneering work on entropy in economics, not many scholars have preoccupied themselves with this concept and its consequences. Recently some revival is taking place to link entropy and the business world (see for example "The entropy vector, connecting science and business" by Handscombe and Patterson, 2004). Briefly entropy is the degree of disorder at some time for any system. For a closed system the natural tendency would be for entropy to keep increasing till final destruction. In the business world, entropy is also present and unless some actions are taken, any business will become more and more ineffective and eventually die. Sanidas ("The open system of four dynamic bio-socio-economic processes of the firm: the diamond of the black box", 2006) has introduced four processes ("processes of the black box, or PROBB) that are negentropic, in other words they can prevent entropy from increasing during all operations of a firm. Based on Sanidas's work a questionnaire has been constructed and a survey was conducted with 120 firms in the marine industry in Australia. In this paper part of the results of this survey is presented with the aim to measure entropy in business. Thus, variables that denote waste directly or indirectly are some of the variables to correlate with all variables in the PROBB and inspect which such correlations are the strongest. The examination of these correlations together with some other analyses is providing us with some encouraging results as to the measurement of entropy. In turn such measurement will enable us to establish which areas are primary sources of inefficiencies. Obviously, the detection of these inefficiencies is necessary for firms to become more competitive and robust in their commercial and production activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the state of commercial development and resource management on Indigenous land in remote Australia. Indigenous landowners control significant assets--over one million square kilometres of land--often with substantial resource rights and income earning potential. The inactivity and missed opportunities on the Indigenous estate are of such magnitude as to represent a major risk both for Indigenous landowning communities, in terms of their future economic and social well-being, and for national and international interests in terms of ecological vulnerability. The article explores the role of government as risk manager in such circumstances and outlines the principles that might underpin any intervention program targeted to the commercial development of Indigenous land. Using the analytical framework for profit-related loans and elements of an existing venture capital support programme, the Innovation Investment Fund Program, we outline the hypothetical skeleton of a new investment scheme to assist development and natural resource management on the Indigenous estate. Our proposal can be conceptualised as a profit-related loan scheme or as a form of capped public investment. It seeks to address key elements of the market failure that exists in relation to financing development on remote Indigenous land, provides incentives for greater private sector investment, and ensures that commercial and social risks are shared equitably between government, private sector investors and Indigenous-owned corporations to avoid problems of adverse selection and moral hazard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competitiveness of the agribusiness sector is critical to the social and economic sustainability of regional Australia, where agribusiness is directly responsible for one in five jobs (DNRE, 2002). Although it is recognised that environmental issues must be considered in order to 'sustain' the natural resources used to produce food, this paper focuses on the social and economic issues relating to sustainability (Cocklin et al., 2001). Social sustainability has only recently been upheld as an aim of agricultural and regional policy in Australia, however it has typically been considered less important than economic and ecological sustainability (Cocklin et al., 2001). In rural Australia, social sustainability is typically reflected in the maintenance of social networks among residents of a rural area, the viability of the rural towns and the associated provision of infrastructure, facilities and services. The State Government of Victoria is actively encouraging the development and maintenance of sustainable networks of agribusiness-related entities in regional and rural Victoria. The Victorian Agribusiness Networks program is an example of how government is engaging agribusiness communities in regional Victoria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the reasons why extreme approaches to policy making are inferior from the socio-economic point of view in Australia. Role of economic policies in assisting the market to operate more efficiently; Achievement of non-market oriented social-justice objectives through re-distribution measures; Complementarity of market and state intervention.

This article reports some of the results from a recent study which, among other things, developed and costed low cost budgets for a range of Australian households. A budget standard rep- resents what is needed, in terms of goods, services and activities, to achieve a particular standard of living and what that costs in a particular place and time. A low cost budget standard is one designed to meet basic needs at a frugal level while still allowing social and economic participation consistent with community expectations. The low cost budget standard estimates for households living in Sydney in February 1997 are somewhat higher than the Henderson poverty line, partly a reflection of the high cost of housing in Sydney, but also a consequence of the low cost standard itself being above a poverty standard. In spite of this, the budget standard relativities for different households provide an estimate of the relative needs of Australian households in the 1990s which could replace the current much-criticised equivalence scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Pädagogik is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The research presented in this article is based on a four-year place-based qualitative case study of Aboriginal success in addressing Aboriginal disadvantage in the Australian city of Newcastle. The article presents extracts from in-depth interviews with Aboriginal people working on a day-to-day basis with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people experiencing disadvantage in this city. Interviewees define Indigenous disadvantage in a way that differs considerably from how it is defined in mainstream policy circles. They describe Indigenous disadvantage as being grounded in the histories of social exclusion from Australian society, rather than merely a contemporary phenomenon related socio-economic factors (i.e., lack of educational and employment opportunities). They indicated that it was (a) closely tied to Aboriginal experiences of displacement and trauma; (b) not just a material problem but a historical and social structural problem; and (c) unique to each community. For instance, urban Indigenous disadvantage is distinct from Indigenous disadvantage in remote areas. This supports the claims of Indigenous sociologist Maggie Walter (2009). In doing so, the article more strongly aligns with a critique of a neo-liberal racial project, which defines Indigenous disadvantage within an individualistic framework of individual rights and in terms of socioeconomic gaps, from the voices of Aboriginal representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the third Asian Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting to be held on July 15-17, 2001 in Adelaide, Australia. The conference is being held in association with the "Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal." There will be strong interdisciplinary program of research papers and forums addressing the relationships between accounting, auditing and accountability and their social, institutional, economic and political environment. The address of Internet Web site for further detail is also given.

Background: Evidence suggests that family meals influence food intakes and behaviours, which in turn impact children's eating habits, diets and health. Mealtimes therefore offer potential as settings for health promotion. Given diet, health behaviours and health are often socioeconomically patterned, it is important to consider whether family meals differ by socioeconomic position (SEP).Methods: The Family Meals with Young Kids study was an online survey completed by parents in 2014. Mealtime characteristics measured included; frequency of shared meals across the day, duration and location of mealtimes, parental modelling, and parental perceived importance of the evening meal. Maternal education was used to assess SEP. The aims of this study were to describe family meal characteristics among Australian families with children aged six months to six years and to describe the socioeconomic patterning of these.Results: Participants (n = 992) were mostly mothers (97%) with a university degree (71%). The evening meal was the most frequently reported meal eaten together with the responding parent and child (77% ≥ five nights/week). Snacks were least commonly eaten together (39% ≥ five days/week). The frequency of having everyone present for the evening meal was inversely associated with SEP (OR 0.70, CI 0.54-0.92). Parent rated importance of family meals was generally high and positively associated with higher SEP (OR 1.32, CI 1.00-1.76). Most children consumed breakfast (73%), lunch (58%) and dinner (82%) sitting at a table or bench and this was positively associated with higher SEP for all meal types (OR 1.61-2.37, p < 0.05). Increased television (TV) viewing during meals was inversely associated with SEP (OR 0.63, CI 0.54-0.72). Less than half of children (36%) watched TV during meals more than once a day.Conclusions: Australian families engage in many healthy mealtime behaviours. Evidence that parents share meals with children and place high value on mealtimes with children provides important opportunities for promoting healthy behaviours in families. The choice of eating location and the practice of viewing TV during mealtimes are examples of two such opportunities. Socioeconomic patterning of the location of mealtimes and TV viewing during meals may contribute to socioeconomic differences in dietary intakes and may be important targets for future health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Australian Aboriginal children experience a disproportionate burden of social and health disadvantage. Avoidable hospitalizations present a potentially modifiable health gap that can be targeted and monitored using population data. This study quantifies inequalities in pediatric avoidable hospitalizations between Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. Methods: This statewide population-based cohort study included 1 121 440 children born in New South Wales, Australia, between 1 July 2000 and 31 December 2012, including 35 609 Aboriginal children. Using linked hospital data from 1 July 2000 to 31 December 2013, we identified pediatric avoidable, ambulatory care sensitive and non-avoidable hospitalization rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. Absolute and relative inequalities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children were measured as rate differences and rate ratios, respectively. Individual-level covariates included age, sex, low birth weight and/or prematurity, and private health insurance/patient status. Area-level covariates included remoteness of residence and area socioeconomic disadvantage. Results: There were 365 386 potentially avoidable hospitalizations observed over the study period, most commonly for respiratory and infectious conditions; Aboriginal children were admitted more frequently for all conditions. Avoidable hospitalization rates were 90.1/1000 person-years (95% CI, 88.9-91.4) in Aboriginal children and 44.9/1000 person-years (44.8-45.1) in non-Aboriginal children (age and sex adjusted rate ratio=1.7 (1.7-1.7)). Rate differences and rate ratios declined with age from 94/1000 person-years and 1.9, respectively, for children aged <2 years to 5/1000 person-years and 1.8, respectively, for ages 12- < 14 years. Findings were similar for the subset of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations, but in contrast, non-avoidable hospitalization rates were almost identical in Aboriginal (10.1/1000 person-years, (9.6-10.5)) and non-Aboriginal children (9.6/1000 person-years (9.6-9.7)). Conclusions: We observed substantial inequalities in avoidable hospitalizations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children regardless of where they lived, particularly among young children. Policy measures that reduce inequities in the circumstances in which children grow and develop, and improved access to early intervention in primary care, have potential to narrow this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major contributor to negative attitudes towards migrants is that they exert pressure on the facilities of the host communities without making any (substantial) contribution to the host economy and society. This negative sentiment is particularly acute in cities, where pressure on amenities is concentrated and more visible. In turn, migrant neighbourhoods are particularly despised. Migration experiences in the Rookwood Cemetery area of Sydney, Australia, widely regarded as the "largest necropolis in the southern hemisphere", however, challenge this stereotypical view. This migrant neighbourhood is the site of vibrant and diverse migration and migrant (especially Korean) activities never before seen in the history of the area, which is now called Lidcombe. Drawing on multiple sources of evidence, including archival research at local libraries, discussion with long-time residents of the neighbourhood and visual ethnography (analysed from the historical-structural perspective in migration studies), this study offers a history of Lidcombe and appraises its twenty-first-century migration experiences. By doing so, it highlights the demographic, social and economic changes to emphasise the contribution of migrants to the regeneration of a "dead city" and also to contest inherited stereotypes of migrants that often lead to racial scapegoating and misrepresentation as "parasites", "criminals" and a "drain" on the host economy. Overall, this case study suggests that migrants can and often do transform the spaces they occupy in ways that make a positive and lasting contribution to the host economy and society more generally. This is an important lesson for European countries facing the "migrant crisis" to consider, as it also is for politicians around the world seeking to wall out migrants to protect host economies and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the association between multiple measures of socio-economic position (SEP) and diet quality, using a diet quality index representing current national dietary guidelines, in the Australian adult population.DesignCross-sectional study. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate the association between indicators of SEP (educational attainment, level of income and area-level disadvantage) and diet quality (measured using the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI)) in the total sample and stratified by sex and age (≤55 years and >55 years).SettingA large randomly selected sample of the Australian adult population.SubjectsAustralian adults (n 9296; aged ≥25 years) from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study.ResultsA higher level of educational attainment and income and a lower level of area-level disadvantage were significantly associated with a higher DGI score, across the gradient of SEP. The association between indicators of SEP and DGI score was consistently stronger among those aged ≤55 years compared with their older counterparts. The most disadvantaged group had a DGI score between 2 and 5 units lower (depending on the marker of SEP) compared with the group with the least disadvantage.ConclusionsA higher level of SEP was consistently associated with a higher level of diet quality for all indicators of SEP examined. In order to reduce socio-economic inequalities in diet quality, healthy eating initiatives need to act across the gradient of socio-economic disadvantage with a proportionate focus on those with greater socio-economic disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research showed an increase in Australian suicide rates during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). There has been no research investigating whether suicide rates by occupational class changed during the GFC. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the GFC-associated increase in suicide rates in employed Australians may have masked changes by occupational class. Methods: Negative binomial regression models were used to investigate Rate Ratios (RRs) in suicide by occupational class. Years of the GFC (2007, 2008, 2009) were compared to the baseline years 2001-2006. Results: There were widening disparities between a number of the lower class occupations and the highest class occupations during the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 for males, but less evidence of differences for females. Conclusions: Occupational disparities in suicide rates widened over the GFC period. There is a need for programs to be responsive to economic downturns, and to prioritise the occupational groups most affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo assess the association between socio-economic position (SEP) and poor eating behaviours in a large representative sample of Australian secondary-school students.DesignCross-sectional survey of students’ vegetable, fruit, sugar-sweetened beverage and fast-food consumption assessed using validated instruments and collected via a web-based self-report format.SettingSecondary schools across all Australian states and territories.SubjectsSecondary-school students (n 12 188; response rate: 54 %) aged 12–17 years participating in the 2009–10 National Secondary Students’ Diet and Activity (NaSSDA) survey.ResultsOverall, 25 % of students reported consuming ≤1 serving of vegetables/d and 29 % reported eating ≤1 serving of fruit/d. Fourteen per cent of students reported drinking at least 1–2 cups of sugar-sweetened beverages/d while 9 % reported eating fast food ≥3 times/week. After adjusting for other demographic factors, students of lower-SEP areas were more likely to report low intake of vegetables (F(4, 231) = 3·61, P = 0·007) and high frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (F(4, 231) = 8·41, P < 0·001) and fast food (F(4, 231) = 4·59, P = 0·001) compared with students of high-SEP neighbourhoods. A positive SEP association was found for fruit consumption among female students only (F(4, 231) = 4·20, P = 0·003). Those from lower-SEP areas were also more likely to engage in multiple poor eating behaviours (F(4, 231)=5·80, P < 0·001).ConclusionsResults suggest that socio-economic disparities in Australian adolescents’ eating behaviours do exist, with students residing in lower-SEP neighbourhoods faring less well than those from high-SEP neighbourhoods. Reducing social inequalities in eating behaviours among young people should be a key consideration of future preventive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the book "Bridging the Arafura Sea: Australia-Indonesia Relations in Prosperity and Adversity," edited by Idris F. Sulaiman, G. Hanafi Sofyan and Shannon Luke Smith. The book contains papers that consider the relationship at the level of government and politics, economic and business relations, and legal issues, the place of technology, education, and the media in the relationship, social and cultural aspects of the relationship, and Australia-Indonesia relations in the ongoing East Asian crisis. Contributors were drawn from a range of disciplines, including economics.

This article evaluates the Australian tax-transfer system in an international comparative perspective, discussing the distributional profile of Australian transfers compared with those in other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Australian system in terms of impacts on income inequality and providing assistance to poor households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous researchers studied risk factors associated with smoking uptake, however, few examined protective factors associated with smoking resilience. This study therefore aims to explore determinants of smoking resilience among young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who are at risk of smoking. Methods: Overall, 92 out of 92 vocational education students accepted invitation to participate in this exploratory study. The Adelaide Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Arts campus was chosen for the study given the focus on studying resilience in young people of lower socioeconomic status i.e. resilient despite the odds. A self-report questionnaire comprising a measure of resilience: sense of coherence, sense of humour, coping styles, depression, anxiety and stress, and family, peers and community support, was distributed among participants aged 15 to 29. Additional factors researched are parental approval and disapproval, course type, and reasons for not smoking. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 13.0), analyses were undertaken using frequencies, means, standard deviations, independent sample t-tests, correlations, analysis of variance, logistic regression, and chi-square test. Results: Twenty five (27%) out of 92 students smoked. Young people with peer support tended to smoke (p < .05). A relationship between daily smoking and depression, anxiety and stress was also found (p < .05). When both mothers and fathers disapproved of their children smoking, it had a greater influence on females not smoking, compared with males. The majority of students chose 'health and fitness' as a reason for not smoking. Students in the Dance course tended to not smoke. Conclusions: The current study showed that most students chose 'health and fitness' as the reason for not smoking. Single anti-smoking messages cannot be generalised to all young people, but should recognise that people within different contexts, groups and subcultures will have different reasons for choosing whether or not to smoke. Future studies should use larger samples with a mixed methods design (quantitative and qualitative). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study on children's social, economic and cultural environment contributions in the economy of Australia. The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) describes the impact of the children's early experiences on their later development and the mapping of the diverse pathways that children follow as they develop. It also provides the opportunity to identify the long-term consequences of policy for children and their family.

The article focuses on medical workforce planning in Australia. The question of whether non-doctor inputs are complements or substitutes to the medical-care production function is an issue in the discussion about policy change. Another issue is how the productivity of the physician workforce can be improved. Topics include factors contributing to the increased demand for health services, labor supply trends in Australia and Great Britain, forecasting demand for workers, and the elements in supply estimation such as skill mix, pay, and migration trends.

Social capital is generally recognized as the positive outcome of sociability and social connection and, more specifically, as the capacity to realize economic benefits through social connections. Limited attention has been paid to understanding the potential of social capital at the intersection of socioeconomic disadvantage. The first part of the article examines assumptions of class and gender in the theoretical literature on social capital. The second part explores the influence of class and gender contexts on social networks among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Victoria, Australia. The analysis reveals the ways in which social network assets are conditional on socioeconomic and gender circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To estimate variation between small areas in adult body mass index (BMI), and assess the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting BMI.Methods:We identified all census collector districts (CCDs) in the 20 innermost Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, and ranked them by the percentage of low income households (<$400/week). In all, 50 CCDs were randomly selected from the least, middle and most disadvantaged septiles of the ranked list and 4913 residents (61.4% participation rate) completed one of two surveys. Multilevel linear regression was used to estimate area level variance in BMI and the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting BMI.Results:There were significant variations in BMI between CCDs for women, even after adjustment for individual and area SES (P=0.012); significant area variation was not found for men. Living in the most versus least disadvantaged areas was associated with an average difference in BMI of 1.08 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.48–1.68 kg/m2) for women, and of 0.93 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.32–1.55 kg/m2) for men. Living in the mid versus least disadvantaged areas were associated with an average difference in BMI of 0.67 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.09–1.26 kg/m2) for women, and 0.43 kg/m2 for men (95% CI: −0.16–1.01).Conclusion:These findings suggest that area disadvantage is an important predictor of adult BMI, and support the need to focus on improving local environments to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity.International Journal of Obesity (2006) 30, 281–287. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803176; published online 6 December 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To undertake an assessment of survey participation and non-response error in a population-based study that examined the relationship between socio-economic position and food purchasing behaviour. Design and setting: The study was conducted in Brisbane City (Australia) in 2000. The sample was selected using a stratified two-stage cluster design. Respondents were recruited using a range of strategies that attempted to maximise the involvement of persons from disadvantaged backgrounds: respondents were contacted by personal visit and data were collected using home-based face-to-face interviews; multiple call-backs on different days and at different times were used; and a financial gratuity was provided. Participants: Non-institutionalised residents of private dwellings (n=1003), located in 50 small areas that differed in their socio-economic characteristics. Results: Rates of survey participation - measured by non-contacts, exclusions, dropped cases, response rates and completions - were similar across areas, suggesting that residents of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged areas were equally likely to be recruited. Individual-level analysis, however, showed that respondents and non-respondents differed significantly in their sociodemographic and food purchasing characteristics: non-respondents were older, less educated and exhibited different purchasing behaviours. Misclassification bias probably accounted for the inconsistent pattern of association between the area- and individual-level results. Estimates of bias due to non-response indicated that although respondents and non-respondents were qualitatively different, the magnitude of error associated with this differential was minimal. Conclusions: Socio-economic position measured at the individual level is a strong and consistent predictor of survey non-participation. Future studies that set out to examine the relationship between socio-economic position and diet need to adopt sampling strategies and data collection methods that maximise the likelihood of recruiting participants from all points on the socio-economic spectrum, and particularly persons from disadvantaged backgrounds. Study designs that are not sensitive to the difficulties associated with recruiting a socio-economically representative sample are likely to produce biased estimates (underestimates) of socio-economic differences in the dietary outcome being investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the relationship of age- and gender-specific measures of socio-economic status (SES) and health status in Australia. Factors considered in the interpretation of socio-economic findings; Correlation of age- and gender-specific SES with the physical and mental factors; Impact of family unit on the determination of SES among women and men.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation which was established on January 1, 1901. It consists of six states, all previously separate British colonies--New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the sparsely populated Northern Territory which now has a territorial government elected by its own citizens. The main functions of local government in Australia are to provide and maintain roads, street lighting, rubbish collection and disposal, maternal and child health care centers, libraries, and recreational facilities. It may also subsidize certain educational and counseling services, although education is not regarded as primarily a local responsibility. Most estimates of site revenue fall short of current levels of revenue. But this need not be a cause of alarm. One would be hard put to argue with the contention that, under a Georgist economy, the need for so much revenue would be considerably reduced (e.g., welfare payments). While in Australia there is a significant measure of site revenue and also a sound basis for its implementation (i.e., competent valuation, etc.), the old adage about the price of liberty being eternal vigilance is as apposite as ever. The retention of past achievements and the achievement of further extensions unfortunately require hard effort, as the forces opposing socio-economic justice are far from inactive.

This article describes the pattern of Southeast Asian migration to Australia and analyses the role of structural factors, such as ethnic diversity, as determinants of emigration. A short history of Asian immigration to Australia which discusses Australian government policy towards Asian immigrants is followed by a stock analysis of Asian-born residents in Australia which compares their socio-economic and demographic characteristics with the total Australian population. Flow data provide a picture of contemporary Hong Kong and Southeast Asian migration to Australia between July 1983 and May 1988. Ethnic relations and political- economic circumstances in these sending countries are examined as motivating factors for emigration. Potential emigrants from Singapore and Malaysia report that concerns about the long-term economic and political security and stability of small states are very important. Besides these factors, educational and career opportunities for their children are primary among their considerations. Many emigrants exhibited a sophisticated knowledge of their likely place in Australian society and have formulated strategies to cope with likely adversities. Many are prepared to accept downward occupational mobility which is compensated in part by better opportunities for their children and greater earning power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the contribution of smoking to the inverse association of mortality with years of formal education in men in Australia. Design: Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study that included 17 049 men in Melbourne recruited from 1990 to 1994, most of whom were aged between 40 and 69 years at baseline. The outcome measured was all-cause mortality. The contribution of smoking to socioeconomic status differentials was estimated by including smoking as a variable in a Cox's proportional hazards model that also included education and other potential confounding variables. Results: In men, the association between education and mortality was attenuated after adjustment for smoking, and the aetiological fraction for low levels of education was reduced from 16.5% to 10.6%. Conclusions: In men, smoking contributes substantially to socioeconomic differentials in mortality. Effective policies and interventions that target smoking among socially disadvantaged groups may substantially reduce socioeconomic differentials in health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economists have played a powerful role in shaping modern Australia. Drawing on my experience as an academic economist and an economic policymaker, I outline ten principles to guide economists seeking to maximise their impact. These are to (i) Focus on well‐being, not just dollars; (ii) Think comparative advantage; (iii) Ignore sunk costs; (iv) Optimise, subject to constraints; (v) Use the best evidence; (vi) Consider expected value; (vii) Think in magnitudes, not just in signs; (viii) Channel a libertarian; (ix) Remember equity; and (x) Incentives matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]