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The article discusses the urgent need for decarbonizing Australian housing and the support required to transition towards more sustainable housing practices. Topics include the concept of the circular economy, the distinctive structure and actors in the housing industry, and the proposed quadrant framework for achieving sustainable housing outcomes through policy measures and capacity building.

The term "community" has a long and contested lineage in social analysis and debate. This lineage, however, is not generally recognized in policy and public debates on community and bushfire in Australia. "Community" is thought to be central to bushfire preparedness in Australia, especially in rural areas, but what "community" actually means in this context is vague at best. There is an ever-present tension between the use of "community" as a reference to locality, a "sense of community" as experienced by residents, and the use of "community" as a rhetorical tool by governments and state agencies. We argue that a rigorous analysis of the concept of "community" is critical to an understanding of the processes involved in preparing for the challenges associated with disaster, in this case bushfires. These broader issues are supported by research (a series of surveys, interviews, and focus groups) carried out with residents living in (predominantly rural) bushfire-prone areas in the state of Victoria, Australia. Ultimately, we assert that social participation and social networks are likely to be the crucial aspects of community that play a central role in effective bushfire preparedness. (Contains 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)

This paper offers a critical review of the international literature on gender, disaster and rural masculinities. Empirical reference is made to bushfires in Australia, offering new evidence from the State of Victoria. Bushfires loom large in the Australian imagination and there is an increasing amount of research now being conducted in relation to bushfire events. A significant gap remains, however, with regard to the issue of gender. Despite increasing evidence that gender plays a significant role with reference to disaster risk assessment, preparation and response, a gendered analysis of bushfire preparation and response has not been a sustained research priority. Building on the writing of others, a critical assessment is provided of the concept of a specifically Australian, rural hegemonic masculinity as a possible way of better understanding the social dimensions of gender, and bushfire preparation and response in the Australian context. This conceptual consideration is extended to draw attention to the process whereby alternative conceptions of masculinities may emerge. This recognition provides a basis for further research on gender and disaster internationally. (Contains 1 figure.)

This paper is concerned with the relationship between trade unions and learning in the workplace, particularly in relation to the enhancement of worker employability profiles. With the restructuring and modernising of the European steel industry as its context, this paper argues that the organisational and structural features of a sector have a profound influence on the way workplace learning is organised. Equally, trade union organisation and approaches also shape the learning agenda. In the steel industry, trade unions have failed to address the significance of workplace learning, partly because of the ways that they approach this topic. In the context of traditional sectors, with relatively vulnerable workforces, the weakened state of union bargaining positions means that they have limited capacity to address workforce employability or workplace participation. The outcome is that trade union involvement in skill formation and workplace learning is marginal. (Contains 1 note.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to open up discussion about the relationship between trade unions and workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on an analysis of a series of case-studies of restructuring in the European steel industry, incorporating interviews, observation and documentary analysis. Findings: The paper argues that trade unions often fail to address the significance of workplace learning for members, because they address workplace learning as a service. This approach fails to exploit opportunities and possibilities to extend workplace-learning provisions, and thereby meet the wider learning and employability enhancing needs of members. The outcome is that trade union involvement in skill formation and workplace learning is marginal, and contributes to the perpetuation of traditional sector practices and regressive learning provisions. Research limitations/implications: The paper focuses on a discussion of trade union involvement in workplace learning in the European steel industry. The implications for workplace learning practices more generally, are limited to industries where trade unions (and companies/industry) organise in relation to training and learning agendas in similar ways--and in relation to industries undergoing similar process of restructuring and "modernisation." Practical implications: The paper provides a critique of trade union service approaches to learning agendas and highlights for policy-makers gaps in current learning provisions within industry. Originality/value: This paper makes an original contribution to debates concerned with trade union involvement and participation in workplace learning. It focuses on workplace inequities in training provision, and the implications for the future of unions and the employability prospects of workforces within the European steel industry. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)

The focus in recent studies of workplace learning has been on "communities of practice" and the ways that learning is shaped by such communities. In the process, there has been a downplaying of the importance of broader institutional arrangements, including the impact of organisational structures and management practice, as well as national systems of Vocational Education and Training. This paper draws attention to the importance of these organisational processes in structuring workplace learning. We argue that the institutional arrangements that define organisations are decisive in defining the parameters of workplace learning. In relation to traditional industries, such as steel, the opportunities for time-served workers employed in production areas to learn their work and enhance their expertise is characterised by a set of embedded and regressive practices. These practices hinder the adoption of new forms of working practices and leave many steelworkers vulnerable to the broader effects of industry restructuring. (Contains 1 figure.)