Social connectedness among international students at an Australian university

A representative sample of undergraduate and postgraduate international students at a large Australian university (n = 979, 64% females) completed a mail-back survey examining their perceptions of social connectedness. Four aspects of social connectedness were investigated: (1) connectedness in Melbourne, (2) social mixing and interaction with co-culturals and Australians, (3) involvement in organisations, associations and groups, and (4) connections to home and family. The majority of students report being well-connected to others in Melbourne, although some desire increased personal support from people who know and care about them. Connectedness in Melbourne is related to students’ cultural background and communication skills in the new culture and their evaluation of their perceived academic progress. Students from Asian countries reveal different patterns to other students, especially in the relationships between connectedness and interactions with co-culturals. Awareness of these and other differences among international students from varying cultural backgrounds can help target assistance in achieving a sense of well-being.     

A census-based analysis of the economic status of older indigenous Australians

The focus of this paper is the educational and economic status of indigenous Australians aged 50 years and over as reported in the 1991 Population Census. These indigenous people were less likely to be in employment than other Australians in the same age group and were more likely to be in unskilled occupations. Although there was no evidence of an improvement in the relative individual incomes of indigenous people in this age group between 1986 and 1991, there was some evidence of gains relative to other Australians in the share of the population in employment. This probably reflects the expansion of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme and as such should not be taken as an indicator of growth in indigenous employment independent of government support.     

Family interaction of the young-old: Social exchange as an explanation of the qualitative and quantitative experience

Very frequent family interaction, daily or more often, significantly lowered the morale scores in a sample of retired men and women who were highly satisfied with their family life, even after controlling for health, income and other measures of satisfaction. In contrast to other research which has shown that it is the quality not the quantity which affects morale, these findings suggested that both quantity and quality of family interaction were important to morale. An explanation from the social exchange perspective indicates that there is an optimal level of family interaction beyond which the costs outweight the benefits.     

Wives who outearn their husbands: A transitory or persistent phenomenon for couples?

In what percentage of married couples do wives outearn their husbands, and, moreover, how persistent are these patterns? This study systematically examined variation in point-in-time estimates across alternative measures of earnings, definitions of types of couples, and data sources and gauged the persistence of these patterns for a period of three calendar years using data from the 2000 Current Population Survey and the 1996–2000 Survey of Income and Program Participation. Among the findings are that in 19% to 30% of all married couples, wives have higher earnings than their husbands. In 60% of such couples, this arrangement persists over the three-year period; for the rest, this arrangement is transitory.     

The impact of international experience on cultural intelligence: an application of contact theory in a structured short-term programme

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of a short-term international experience, which is designed to address the conditions outlined in Allport’s (Allport, G.W. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. New York: Perseus Book Group) contact hypothesis, on each of the four factors which make up cultural intelligence (CQ). A sample of 135 university students was broken up into test and control groups. The results for the test group suggest that the short-term experience ranging from 7 to 12 days within a structured study abroad service programme, including modest pre-trip preparation, found a significant increase in each of the four factors of CQ. At the same time, there was no significant change in the control group. Implications for human research development research and practice as well as limitations and suggested areas for future research are discussed.     

Mother needs a bigger “helper”: A critique of “wine mom” discourse as conformity to hegemonic intensive motherhood

“Wine mom” discourse encourages American women to self-deprecatingly bond over the stressors of parenting and touts alcohol use as necessary means for coping and escapism. Before the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby alcohol sales and consumption increased in the United States, rates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related illnesses among US women have been steadily increasing. Exceeding the clinical markers of responsible alcohol use, “wine mom” discourse normalizes an inextricable link between alcohol misuse and expectations of (White, middle-class) motherhood. Online communities and businesses emphasize “wine mom” discourse for self-acceptance and bonding in response to the impossible demands of hegemonic motherhood. In this critique of “wine mom” discourse, we argue that although alcohol consumption is commonly touted as self-care, this messaging operates in toxic ways that harms women and reinforces patriarchy. Applying Merton's strain theory, we argue that “wine mom” trends and related discourse encompass a harmful form of conformity, if not false resistance, to the strain of flawed cultural goals and lacking institutionalized supports for American mothers. We call for true rebellion, emphasizing positive discourse as well as structural changes and policy reforms to dismantle patriarchal barriers and hegemonic motherhood constraints to better support American families.     

‘WORK FOR THE DOLE’ – A CHEAP LABOUR MARKET PROGRAM? AN ECONOMIST'S PERSPECTIVE

From an economists perspective, this paper explores some of the issues associated with the design of an effective labour market program, and evaluation processes which are required to determine the merits of a scheme. This analysis comes at the time when pilot projects under the federal Government's ‘Work for the Dole’ scheme are being implemented. The paper concludes that if the ‘Work for the Dole’ scheme is to be viewed as a labour market program, then an evaluation mechanism should have been determined prior to the implementation of such a scheme.     

The household inventory as urban ‘theatre’ in late medieval Burgundy

In 1413 at the death of his wife Guillemot, Jean Aubert, a group of witnesses and a clerk of the local mayoralty met to value the possessions of their residence, resulting in an inventory full of notes and values on rooms and their objects. Within the existing historiography of the Burgundian Netherlands and its northern European neighbours, inventories and their objects tend to be analysed from two perspectives: the Burgundian court and the ‘consumer revolution’. Applying insights from Erving Goffman and Bruno Latour, this article suggests a third perspective should have priority: the urban ‘theatre’ within which objects were documented and placed. Therefore it sets up an alternate methodology which begins with the inventory to build a picture of the theatre (the urban context and residence), the actors (the Aubert family) and the audience (the witnesses of the inventory) to establish new insights into the operation of Burgundian power and the dynamics of the ‘consumer revolution’.