澳大利亚参与伊拉克战争原因探析

澳大利亚参加美国对伊拉克战争,与第二次世界大战后澳大利亚卷入有涉美国利益的历次战争或冲突一样,是澳美同盟关系平稳发展的体现。对澳大利亚来说,它是一场履行同盟义务和着眼于国家未来安全的保险战争;是一场密切澳美同盟关系借以实现其经济利益以及提升其在地区乃至国际性事务中的地位与影响的战争;在更广泛的意义上,澳大利亚参战体现了西方世界对外战略的基本价值观念。     

澳大利亚文化产业发展对天津滨海新区的启示与借鉴

文化产业现在已成为一个国家综合国力和国际竞争力的重要组成部分。对比澳大利亚政府和天津滨海新区发展文化创意产业的成功经验,以更好地理解文化产业发展对于传统文化传承创新及民族文化复兴的重要性,推动滨海新区的文化产业在有效政策的支持下真正实现创新发展,在全球化背景下拓展发展新思路。     

Choice of reinforcement rates and work rates with concurrent schedules

A constrained optimisation theory or choice in concurrent schedules of reinforcement is presented. The theory posits that subjects evaluate both reinforcement rates and the work rates required to produce them and select the most highly valued combination. The chosen reinforcement rate is obtained by efficiently allocating work rate across schedules. The theory provides a unified explanation for maximisation of the overall reinforcement rate, the law of least effort, choice under Conc FR FR, Conc VR VR. Conc VI VI and Conc VI VR schedules, and choice of work rate.     

From design to operations: a process management life-cycle performance measurement system for Public-Private Partnerships

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become a critical vehicle for delivering infrastructure worldwide. Yet, the use of such a procurement strategy has received considerable criticism, as they have been prone to experiencing time/cost overruns and during their operation poorly managed. A key issue contributing to the poor performance of PPPs is the paucity of an effective and comprehensive performance measurement system. There has been a tendency for the performance of PPPs to be measured based on their ex-post criteria of time, cost and quality. Such criteria do not accommodate the complexities and lifecycle of an asset. In addressing this problem, the methodology of sequential triangulation is used to develop and examine the effectiveness of a ‘Process Management Life Cycle Performance Measurement System’. The research provides public authorities and private-sector entities embarking on PPPs with a robust mechanism to effectively measure, control and manage their projects’ life cycle performances, ensuring the assets are ‘future proofed’.     

Preventing Domestic Violence by Changing Australian Gender Relations: Issues and Considerations

ABSTRACT

In recent years Australian governments have significantly refocused domestic violence policies to prioritise primary prevention strategies. The objective of such strategies is to change how Australians perceive, acknowledge, and respond to domestic violence as a gender-based problem. Recognising the value of these efforts to address oppressive cultural practices, we draw attention to limitations inherent in shifting culture as a means to prevent domestic violence. We demonstrate how governments may improve policy approaches by addressing the structural inequalities that have historically forced women into positions of subordination. This will help us move toward more effective and long-term solutions to domestic violence.

IMPLICATIONS

• Australian domestic violence policy must include structural and systems changes prioritising women’s equal rights in addition to equal opportunities.

• To change cultural attitudes and behaviours, we must alter the environment in which oppressions and opportunities are located.

• Social workers can shape the debate to ensure that changing culture to prevent domestic violence is conceptualised as part of a wider social and policy change agenda.

     

Paperbark and pinard: A historical account of maternity care in one remote Australian Aboriginal town

Background and aimMaternity care in remote areas of the Australian Northern Territory is restricted to antenatal and postnatal care only, with women routinely evacuated to give birth in hospital. Using one remote Aboriginal community as a case study, our aim with this research was to document and explore the major changes to the provision of remote maternity care over the period spanning pre-European colonisation to 1996.MethodsOur research methods included historical ethnographic fieldwork (2007–2013); interviews with Aboriginal women, Aboriginal health workers, religious and non-religious non-Aboriginal health workers and past residents; and archival review of historical documents.FindingsWe identified four distinct eras of maternity care. Maternity care staffed by nuns who were trained in nursing and midwifery serviced childbirth in the local community. Support for community childbirth was incrementally withdrawn over a period, until the government eventually assumed responsibility for all health care.ConclusionsThe introduction of Western maternity care colonised Aboriginal birth practices and midwifery practice. Historical population statistics suggest that access to local Western maternity care may have contributed to a significant population increase. Despite population growth and higher demand for maternity services, local maternity services declined significantly. The rationale for removing childbirth services from the community was never explicitly addressed in any known written policy directive. Declining maternity services led to the de-skilling of many Aboriginal health workers and the significant community loss of future career pathways for Aboriginal midwives. This has contributed to the current status quo, with very few female Aboriginal health workers actively providing remote maternity care.     

Extending the Pillars of Social Policy Financing to Aged Care

Against the background of a recent resounding rejection of substantial increases in user contributions for funding long-term residential care in Australia, and especially of measures that could require realization of housing assets, this paper examines the scope for extending to long-term care the "pillars" approach to financing of retirement incomes and health care. The two latter areas are funded through pillars of general revenue, private insurance, social insurance by way of compulsory levies, and direct user contributions, whereas long-term care is financed only by a large pillar of general revenue and a smaller pillar of user contributions which are themselves drawn largely from transfer payments. Examination of the various pillars in each area suggests that there is limited scope for extending private insurance and user contributions in long-term care, but that there are several social policy grounds for incorporating a social insurance pillar. However, while discussion of social insurance options is growing in several quarters, the current political climate offers little prospect for the adoption of such a scheme.     

澳大利亚职业教育对我国高职旅游专业人才培养的启示

澳大利亚职业教育在国际上享有很高的声誉。结合澳大利亚职业教育特色和我国高职旅游专业人才培养现状进行分析,可以在转变教育观念、专业课程设置必须适应企业需要、重视实践教学、要与企业紧密合作、职业性师资队伍建设等方面得到了一些新的启示和一些新的认识。     

Student-workers and tourist-workers as urban labour: temporalities and identities in the Australian cosmopolitan city

ABSTRACT

Ethnic and cultural difference have long been regularly encountered and produced in Australian cities. However, these processes have predominantly been understood through the lens of permanent ‘settler’ migration. Recent migration policies are seeing increasing numbers of transnational workers residing in Australia with various noncitizen statuses and uncertain temporal horizons. Among these are student-workers and tourist-workers, who, although constructed through transient mobilities of education and leisure travel, play increasingly important roles in Australian cities as migrant labour. Drawing on fieldwork with student-workers and tourist-workers in Melbourne and Sydney, this paper seeks to examine how the temporal and legal status of these mobile subjects is entangled in complex ways with particular sites of production, consumption and labour within the cosmopolitan urban environment. It looks in particular at how the identities of student-workers and tourist-workers are constructed through specific temporal and spatial boundaries within urban space as well as how they are implicated within hierarchies of labour and spaces of cosmopolitan consumption. This highlights some of the complex socio-spatial relationships between and citizen and noncitizen subjects both within and across ethnic boundaries in the cosmopolitan city.     

Smoking cessation care during pregnancy: A qualitative exploration of midwives’ challenging role

ProblemThe majority of South Australian pregnant women who smoke do not quit during pregnancy. Additionally, the prevalence of smoking is higher among pregnant women living in socially disadvantaged areas.BackgroundUnderstanding challenges in midwives’ provision of smoking cessation care can elucidate opportunities to facilitate women’s smoking cessation.AimWe aimed to understand midwives’ perspectives on current practices, perceived barriers and facilitators to delivery of smoking cessation care, and potential improvements to models of smoking cessation care.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative research methodology and thematic analysis was used to understand the perspectives of midwives in five focus groups.FindingsFour themes were generated from the data on how midwives perceived their ability to provide smoking cessation care: Tensions between providing smoking cessation care and maternal care; Organisational barriers in the delivery of smoking cessation care; Scepticism and doubt in the provision of smoking cessation care; and Opportunities to enable midwives’ ability to provide smoking cessation care.DiscussionA combination of interpersonal, organisational and individual barriers impeded on midwives’ capacities to approach, follow-up and prioritise smoking cessation care. Working with women living with disadvantage and high rates of smoking, the midwife’s role was challenging as it balanced delivering smoking cessation care without jeopardising antenatal care.ConclusionProviding midwives with resources and skills may alleviate the sense of futility that surrounds smoking cessation care. Provision of routine training and education could also improve understandings of the current practice guidelines.