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The closure of the Australian passenger vehicle industry in 2017 ended an important phase in the nation's economic history. Closure affected up to 100,000 employees working across the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the supply chain, with the impacts concentrated in two Australian states. This paper examines both the processes and the outcomes of this closure, making use of a Just Transitions lens to assess the wider impacts of this change. It reviews the measures put in place to assist workers displaced by plant closure, while also drawing on three waves of data from a survey of retrenched workers. The paper argues the process of transition for former employees was shaped by the distinctive characteristics of Australia's system of industrial relations and the ambition of its governments to have as many affected workers find employment as possible. This objective was prioritised over quality of employment or the emerging skill needs of industries. The paper finds that while former auto workers have been able to re-establish themselves in the labour market, the management of this major change does not meet the expectations of a Just Transition as too little attention was directed to the wider societal impacts of this transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of theological beliefs and practices in the analysis of domestic violence is needed, hence this paper explores how Christian theological framings shape men’s perpetration of domestic violence. Through engagement with the Lutheran Church of Australia, interviews and a survey with Pastors found that gender was dominant in the themes and provided a framework for how Pastors understood domestic violence and how they articulated their explanations for why they perceived a denial of domestic violence in their religious contexts. The interviews in this study brought out the capacity of gendered theological discourse and the truth valency of scripture to both inform domestic violence and potentially be part of the solution, while at the same time the narratives express the inherent tensions and the resistance to change in the religious culture. The paper argues for the coming together of sociological, feminist, theological and spiritual understandings of gender identity to shape responses to domestic violence in Christian contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "boy turn" in research on gender and education has sought to understand how social practices and schooling contribute to the process of orientation to particular identities. This paper applies the theories of affect to explore the story of an underprivileged, low-achieving Samoan boy, as he engaged with learning Chinese in an Australian primary school classroom. Through an ethnographic lens, observational, journal entry and interview data reveal that learner identity is not a fixed thing; rather, it is contradictory in nature and constantly impacted by curricular and pedagogic regimes. In this paper, I argue that pedagogic practices, which appear to generate affects and open up spaces for embodying a desire to learn, need to be brought to the fore in classrooms. Research on the affective dimensions of boyhood can add to our understanding of boys' experiences with learning and learner identity, so as to positively influence educational practice today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Places outside the city have continuously been characterised by received knowledge about decline, youth outmigration, lifestyle discourses and a lack of opportunities for young people. This paper argues that greater clarification of young people's place-making practices counteracts received knowledge about the decline of the regions, discourses about the 'idyllic' communities and lack of access commonly understood to impact young people beyond the city. This paper further seeks to contribute to the academic discussion about non-urban spaces by focusing on regional places specifically, a key geography in the discussion about place. A focus group study with 62 individuals aged 16–28 years was designed to capture young people's place-making practices. Using Harris, A., and J. Wyn. (2009. "Young People's Politics and the Micro-Territories of the Local." Australian Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 327–344) concept 'micro-territories of the local' as a framework, the analysis draws on gender and social class to interrogate young people's place-making projects. The findings indicate that regional towns represent a unique constellation of people, resources and history that highlights the specific place-making projects of young people in their teens and into their 20s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops and applies the emergent concept of institutional transphobia to explore the barriers to transgender research in early years education. It argues that institutional processes embed and disguise the logic of transphobia by drawing on dominant, taken-for-granted claims of the inappropriateness or irrelevance of gender-focused education interventions that challenge cis-normativity and heteronormativity. Drawing on the barriers and difficulties experienced through a PhD journey, the paper explores how institutional transphobia was evident in the seemingly neutral reasons for denying site access and ethics approvals, divergent institutional ethics requirements, the tensions between individual support and institutional processes, and the expectations on research higher degree students. The paper concludes that current processes and priorities must be challenged and replaced with an institutional mandate that explicitly values and welcomes transgender research as a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The affinity for tech-driven solutions of 'smart cities' has been critiqued at length, as has the gender disparity in technology firms. This paper draws these literatures together along with our own data on Australia's innovation economy – one that includes its spaces (incubators, accelerators and co-working hubs), events ('hackathons'), and places (innovation districts). These three components are ubiquitous among smart city strategies across all levels of government. In this paper we examine the gendered landscape of the innovation economy and the strategic urban agenda to which it is tied. The paper draws on data collected through interviews conducted with women entrepreneurs around their experiences in Australia's innovation economy. Drawing from policy documents and further interviews, our discussion mirrors their vignettes with an examination of the three innovation economy components using case studies from Australian smart city planning. In doing so, we illuminate how the gendered experiences of women in the innovation economy are entwined with the smart urbanism imperatives of high-growth, technology-focus, and the attraction of 'talent'. Existing attempts to grapple with discrimination in the innovation economy are shown to reinforce gendered hierarchies, resulting in 'smart cities' designed for men. We argue that the gendered nature of the tech industries that underpin the innovation economy has implications for who the smart city is for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing respect, gender equity and gender-based violence in schools has a long history. Renewed government efforts to address gender-based violence in schools through a whole school approach have commenced under the umbrella 'respectful relationships education'. The research presented in this paper is nestled within a larger project aimed to evaluate the implementation and impact of a whole school approach to respectful relationships education across two Australian states (Our Watch, forthcoming). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a six-month respectful relationships education program on the gender awareness and bias of early primary school students. Using a single group pre-post test research design, students from two primary schools in Australia completed a survey before (n = 202) and after (n = 217) completion of a respectful relationships education pilot program. A modified version of the Children's Occupation, Activities, and Traits-Attitudes Measure (COAT-AM; Liben and Bigler, 2002) and the Children's Occupation, Activities, and Traits-Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler, 2002) were used to assess students' views about gender. After the pilot, boys and girls were significantly less likely to consider stereotypically masculine occupations and activities as only for boys and stereotypically feminine occupations and activities as only for girls. Results indicate that ongoing respectful relationships education could be an effective way to disrupt gender stereotyping in early primary school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asylum-seeking women's liminal citizenship in home countries is a contributing factor to their irregular migration. In this paper, we examine how conditions of gendered citizenship, specifically family violence, exert additional pressures on women to undertake irregular journeys. In examining the narratives of refugee and asylum-seeking women from Iran and Afghanistan, women spoke of multiple instances of family violence in home countries, in addition to the more traditionally understood factors of insecurity associated with irregular migration, such as conflict, torture and war. Using the concept of lived citizenship to examine women's experiences, we contribute to the nexus of knowledge on global mobility, gender and family violence. These findings are important to ensure women who seek asylum have supports and services tailored to them that address these issues within the broader family violence schema in affluent host nations, including within the Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite ongoing attempts to disrupt the white cis-hetero-masculine nature of the literary canon the secondary school English curriculum remains tethered to its lineage. In conversation with feminist new materialist scholars who argue that the stories we read and write have material affects on who we are becoming, this paper argues that in order to mobilise change in the secondary years of schooling, interventions into the canon must move beyond (re)forming text lists or providing teachers with readymade pedagogical resources. Drawing on the Australian context, the authors outline some of the contemporary challenges teachers face in diversifying and decolonising the curriculum. Drawing on their Literary Linking Methodology the authors discuss a pilot project that seeks to unsettle the canon by supporting teachers to undertake extended immersion with both contemporary literary texts and archival research. Accordingly, this paper contributes to understandings of the tensions and challenges teachers face in introducing contemporary Australian texts into the curriculum and offers insights into the ways in which professional learning might be (re)imagined so that English teachers might draw on available cultural resources as researchers and literary knowledge producers in the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluate the utility of brief online training for facilitating mental health professionals' perceived knowledge, confidence, and comfort in working with non-binary clients, and building positive attitudes. Baseline participants were 79 Australian registered mental health professionals, of whom 38 completed online training and a one-week follow-up assessment. Participants completed an assessment of attitudes, comfort, confidence, and perceived knowledge pertaining to non-binary people before and after completing online training. The training (30-minute average completion time) provided information on non-binary people's lives using text, images, embedded video, and links to optional resources. Follow-up measures completed one-week post-intervention indicated engagement in the training may lead to increased perceived knowledge, confidence and comfort. Attitudes were positive at baseline and were not significantly different at follow-up. Providing brief online training for working with non-binary people in mental health might improve practitioner perceived knowledge, confidence and competence at low cost and with easy access. Future research is required to account for limitations and build on current outcomes. Key Points What is already known on this topic: Little is known about the effects of brief online training regarding non-binary genders on mental health practitioner's attitudes, confidence, comfort, and perceived knowledge. Previous research has shown that brief training can increase positive attitudes for, knowledge of, behavioural intent, and cultural competence for working with sexual and gender minorities, though has not specifically focused on non-binary people. Previous literature has highlighted positive associations between practitioner knowledge and the well-being of non-binary people accessing health services. What this paper adds: This paper adds to the ongoing genesis of options for training mental health practitioners about non-binary people and relevant issues. Findings suggest beneficial outcomes from both prior professional training in this area and the brief training used in the study. The brief online training used in the study was associated with higher perceived knowledge, confidence, and comfort for working with non-binary clients, but further research is needed to understand reasons for change in these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) Australians are vulnerable to religion-based attempts to change or suppress their sexuality and/or gender identity, including conversion ideology messaging in school-based sex education. Conversion bans are currently being debated across the country. This paper reports on a critical survivor-driven study which retrospectively explored Australian LGBTQA+ youth exposure to conversion practices both within and outside of education settings. It privileges the perspectives of self-titled 'survivors' of conversion ideology and practices through the use of a reference group and constructivist grounded theory. Qualitative data were collected 20 from Australian LGBTQA+ conversion ideology and/or practice survivors aged 18 years and over, using focus groups and 35 individual interviews between 2016 and 2020. In conversion-promoting religious contexts including education institutions and groups, messages concerning sexuality and gender changed as individuals grew older and were drawn into more/enclosed settings in which core conversion messages of LGBTQA+ 'brokenness' were prevalent. While individuals progressed through the conversion experience in different ways, their experience was characterised by the absence of any form of affirming LGBTQA+ education – enabling conversion itself to become their LGBTQA+ (mis)information source. School policy addressing conversion, alongside enhanced provision of affirmative age-appropriate gender and sexuality education, may mediate this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathway to aging well is not always clear for older migrants living in a foreign country, who must navigate a range of challenges resulting from differences between the cultural expectations of aging in their country of origin and the realities of aging in their country of residence. Transnational migration scholars indicate that digital media are important resources for maintaining relationships and support networks across 'here' and 'there'. They say relatively little, however, about the experiences of maintaining a sense of home, particularly for older migrants. In this paper, we draw on ethnographic interview data with older migrants from Sri Lanka and Burma (Myanmar), who live in Australia, to examine how their practices of 'digital homing' help them to manage the challenges of aging well in a foreign land. Three key findings are proposed. First, older migrants are active and skilled in using digital devices to create spaces of belonging and home. Second, older migrants' access to and uses of digital media are structured by gendered, ethnic and generational roles, expectations and obligations. Third, the practices of digital homing that enhance migrant experiences of aging well tend to simultaneously reinforce and reproduce gendered inequalities within families and communities. We conclude by arguing that it is the very capacity of digital homing practices to reproduce ethnic and generational selves in host societies that simultaneously contributes to the reproduction of unequal gendered obligations and expectations, including in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the place of gender in relation to labour and transition in regional development. A 'gendered lens' is applied to planning documents relating to the region of Gippsland, Australia. While previous research highlights the importance of accounting for gender in regional development, gendered analyses outside Europe are scarce. We argue that an apparent gender neutrality in planning documents in effect privileges masculinised elements of the economy. It means that current approaches to regional development, at best, reproduce the gendered status quo and, at worst, further re-entrench gender inequality in the region, with consequences for regional labour policy. Our findings have flow on effects for gender relations, and specifically for women, and economic policy in regions undergoing transition in Gippsland. We conclude that any regional policy that does not account for gendered realities and the lived experiences of women, ultimately fails the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data from a large-scale sample survey conducted in 2016 within the contemporary ethnic Japanese migrant community in Sydney, Australia, this article focuses on demographics and the political culture of this community to determine the context for Japanese migrants' attitudes, with a focus on gender. Findings suggest that the Japanese community is statistically less politically involved than the wider Australian population, possibly reflecting general attitudes towards politics in Japan, and unique social profiles within the Australian community. Superficially, the lack of interest in political commitment appeared to signify less integration into Australian society. However, our triangulation of the data, combined with follow-up interviews found a new form of political engagement within the Japanese community in contemporary Australia. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of the Japanese ethnic community in Australia and overseas, as well as broadening scholarship about the political awareness and activities of ethnic communities in settler societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada and Australia, two liberal welfare states whose market-based ECEC systems consistently rank poorly on international measures, embraced similar short-term childcare policy responses to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: widespread closures, reduced capacity of centers, establishment of publicly funded emergency childcare programs for essential workers, and short-term wage subsidies for essential workers (sometimes including educators). Rooted in a feminist political economy (FPE) theoretical framework and using a what-is-the-problem-represented-to-be (WPR) methodological approach, this article explores the extent to which the first and second "waves" of the COVID-19 pandemic policy responses in Canada and Australia framed childcare as a concern about gendered, reproductive labor within political representations of the policy problems to be solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patient self-advocacy is valued and promoted; however, it may not be readily accessible to all. This analysis examines the experiences of women in Australia who had cardiac disease in pregnancy or the first year postpartum through the lenses of self-advocacy and gender, specifically seeking to elaborate on the contexts, impacts, barriers, and women's responses to the barriers to self-advocacy. Method: A qualitative study design was used. Twenty-five women participated in semistructured in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Analysis of findings generated the following themes: 1) Silent dream scream, 2) Easier said than done, 3) Crazy-making, and 4) Concentric circles of advocacy. Regardless of women's personal attributes, knowledge and experience, self-advocating for their health was complex and difficult and had negative cardiac and psychological outcomes. Conclusion: While the women encountered significant barriers to self-advocating, they were resilient and ultimately developed strategies to be heard and to advocate on their own behalf and that of other women. Findings can be used to identify ways to support women to selfadvocate and to provide adequately resourced and culturally safe environments to enable healthcare professionals to provide person-centred care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shares findings from a small, largely qualitative empirical study of elite Australian boys' school alumni's perspectives on feminine gender and gender justice. The article focuses on the purported absence in these men's memories of learning about gender at school and the paradox that the research interviews are full of gender-related memories. Using the metaphor of the '(w)hole' to guide feminist poststructuralist analysis of data, the study considers how these interviews and playful, multiple forms of analysis and representation of data might provide resources for thinking differently about gender in schools and societies of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Studies of Aboriginal young people have often followed a deficit approach depicting them as 'risky' and in need of help. In contrast, this study took a strengths-based approach and focussed on what Aboriginal young people value, how they stay safe and how their culture impacts their lives. 16 Aboriginal men aged 16 to 24 years were interviewed in Sydney, Australia. We examined Aboriginal young men's perspectives about relationships, sex and gender. Interviews were conducted by young Aboriginal men in 2019 and 2020. Overall, four features of positive sexual and romantic relationships were discussed: (1) love, connection and support; (2) enjoyment and fun; (3) responsibility, safety and consent; and 4) honesty, respect and trust. Additionally, three topics related to gender roles: (1) becoming a man; (2) sex as a masculine achievement; and (3) inequality and gender stereotypes. Our study suggests that Aboriginal young men are exploring sexual and romantic relationships, and although they value enjoyment and fun, they are aware of broader issues such as consent and respect. The young men acknowledged gender stereotypes faced by young women. Our results could be used by future school safe sex education programmes to better meet the needs of Aboriginal young men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's prosperity in the twentieth century relied on economic growth to lift incomes, and a tax and welfare state to share the wealth. Australians became rich, and social expenditures equalised wealth and income. This success also relied fundamentally on a gender-unequal care economy, primarily focused on care of children by women. Wage growth accrued to men, while women bore the economic cost of care. Since the 1960s, prosperity led to increased longevity and a population boom. Fertility gradually declined as women pursued education and work during second wave feminism, yet gender inequality in income and wealth persists. Today, in Australia's long-lived and ageing population, economic growth has slowed, wages have stagnated and wealth inequality has increased. As demographic and economic conditions become increasingly unlike the conditions of the mid-twentieth century, tensions in the gendered distribution of wealth and care have come to the fore. This article explores Australia's gendered wealth inequality and considers what should be done to re-orient policies to ensure a gender-equal and sustainable sharing of the wealth in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a sustained public policy focus on the governance of superannuation funds in Australia due to the compulsory nature of the superannuation system established in 1992. Much of the attention on governance relates to the independence of directors on the trustee board companies of profit-to-member funds. Little consideration has been given to the gender diversity of these boards. This article explores changes to gender diversity on the trustee boards of 59 profit-to-member superannuation funds between 2010 and 2019. It shows a steady increase in the proportion of females appointed to these boards over this ten-year period. It draws out some important differences in female representation on public offer and non-public offer superannuation funds. It also reveals differences in the rate and extent of female representation among member and employer representatives on these trustee boards. Finally, it shows that there is a widening pool of females appointed to superannuation trustee boards rather than a shallow pool of women who serve on multiple boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is unique among Western nations in that it does not have a national bill of rights; in lieu, rights protections have proceeded in a piecemeal fashion, with some jurisdictions developing their own systems for rights protection. These systems involve parliaments 'scrutinising' proposed new laws for their compatibility with rights. These processes are sometimes theorised as constitutive, capable of bringing various material-discursive effects into being. For instance, whilst problems such as family and sexualised violence are said to pre-exist legislative and policy practices designed to combat them, alternative approaches can draw our attention to the way these phenomena are made in and through such processes themselves. Drawing on work from Moya Lloyd ("(Women's) Human Rights: Paradoxes and Possibilities." Review of International Studies 33 (1): 91–103) and Karen Zivi (Zivi, K. 2019. "Human Dignity and Human Rights: Lessons from the Fight for Marriage Equality in the United State"s." In Critical Perspectives on Human Rights, edited by B. Schippers, 103–119. London: Rowman and Littlefield International, Zivi, K. 2012. Making Rights Claims: A Practice of Democratic Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.) on human rights as constituting norms, rules, conventions, and worlds, Law's (Law, J. 2011. "Collateral Realities." In The Politics of Knowledge, edited by F. Rubio, and P. Baert, 156–178. London: Routledge) work on collateral realities, and interviews (N = 30) conducted with key stakeholders involved in Australian rights scrutiny processes, we explore how articulations about human rights might shape connections between alcohol, other drugs, gender and social problems. Using a case-based approach, we focus on three accounts that generate relations between alcohol, drugs, gender, and bodies, and consider the possible implications for affected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to an overwhelming focus on Islamist extremism, western strategies to Counter or Prevent Violent Extremism (C/PVE) have largely neglected the growing far-right threat. In this article, we draw attention to the gender blind spot in C/PVE strategies by arguing that misogyny and masculinism go beyond 'anti-women' sentiment and align with the far-right's valorisation of order, hierarchy and traditional values. This blind spot in C/PVE measures has significance for understanding the current limitations of tackling violent extremism and the disconnection between misogyny, masculinism and how we apprehend violent extremism. Therefore, a gender lens must be adopted to understand the nature of far-right extremism and such views within wider societal contexts. We examine the recent C/PVE strategies of select western states to show that they rarely connect far-right ideology and gender, and that gender is mostly represented in terms of women and role type. Australia serves as a case study based on its overt masculinism, where attitudes towards women and misogynistic violence underscore broader political and societal debates which can feed the growth of the far-right, especially when focused on the aspects of masculinism that the far-right shares with mainstream politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low participation rates of students studying science at the secondary level are of international concern. One of the under-researched factors influencing low participation rates in the sciences in Australia is primary school student stereotypes concerning science and scientists. We explore how Year 4 (9–10-year-olds) students perceive science, scientists, and a career in science. Data sources included 45 students (m = 29; f = 16) attending six primary schools in diverse contexts in Queensland, Australia. Analysis indicated that when prompted to consider a career in the sciences 13 students aspired to a career in science, 6 students were unsure, and 25 students indicated no aspirations toward an occupation in the sciences. Findings indicated there were no significant differences regarding aspirations towards a science career based on the location of schools with socio-economic status not a salient influence. Categories and sub-categories identified included (i) Stereotypical views of scientists (non-gendered; paraphernalia), and, (ii) Non-Aspirations (difficulties and pressure; science work as physically dangerous). Outcomes provocate research into tensions between the non-gendered language used by students to describe who can be a scientist, on the one hand, and their reluctance to become a scientist due to the masculine nature and dangers of such work, on the other hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that between 2000 and 2019 Latin American migration to Australia increased by 262%. This percentage does not consider migrants on temporary visas. This article presents a critical review of 59 single publications. The findings suggest, firstly, that while the literature shows qualitative analysis of Latin American cultural practices, communities and gender, the study of migration flows is dominated by quantitative approaches that are focused mainly on permanent settlement. Secondly, while there have been several studies attempting to understand and problematize a homogenous Latin American identity in Australia, there is still little research exploring the heterogeneous cultural, social and economic experiences of migrants from these diverse regions. Finally, this review highlights the need to conduct quantitative and qualitative studies to explore Latin American temporary migration in Australia, examining how the increase of temporary visas is intersecting with the everyday life of these migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettled refugees are an important and growing population in Australia with special health needs. Many are at an increased risk for health problems due to their past and current migration experiences, but how migration shapes refugee health is not well understood. Such information is important to help settlement nations' design services that best meet the needs of refugees. Drawing on a qualitative phenomenological perspective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 adult refugees living in Australia to examine the relationship between their health and migration experiences. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings from this study indicate that the health of participants is influenced by pre-migration violence and loss, and stressors associated with living in transit and settlement countries. Social support, religiosity and future aspirations were commonly reported enablers of health and well-being. Gender appears to play a significant role in the health outcomes of our refugee population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enemy aliens were undesirable migrants in Australia during World War I, right? Yet enemy alien women who sought naturalisation were largely successful. Using the concept of 'desire', this article uses quantitative and qualitative material from women's naturalisation applications to consider why women applied and subsequent state decision-making. The narratives of applicants and administrators reflect wider negotiations over different types of citizenship, where women could challenge their very labelling as enemy aliens, or employ highly gendered notions of vulnerability and respectability. Particular groups were treated favourably, revealing practices which challenge existing historiography about how migration and citizenship laws worked throughout the British empire, especially concerning race and denaturalised women. This is part of a wider need to reassess the relationship between migration law and practice, especially the role of gender and the use of executive privilege. While important to recognise the overlapping push for a 'global color line' in creating the system which developed within the British empire, it was less a legal system and more of a constant negotiation between different actors, based on laws that were often imprecise. In this case they gave space for enemy alien women to circumvent the legislative restrictions on their naturalisation, despite the politics of war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African War of 1899–1902 occurred during Australia's Federation era, a period that defined the future composition of the nation. It also marked a significant site of transformation in the provision of war pensions from charity alone to a coordinated response between charity and the state. During the conflict, pensions and benefits were deemed a privilege bestowed on deserving recipients, an approach in contrast with the inviolable duty felt by Federal authorities towards returned soldiers during and after World War I. This article examines 'acts of grace' within the surviving South African War pension and charity archive to determine how political and military authorities embodied ideas about Australian nationalism and gender in their consideration of those in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender discrepancies persist in Buddhist societies and institutions, linked to cultural and religious beliefs and practices that allocate a lower status to women. In some Buddhist traditions, nuns cannot ordain to the same level as monks, most Buddhist archetypes of enlightenment remain male, and men hold positions of power and privilege within the majority of Buddhist organisations. This article focuses on recent controversy surrounding bhikkhuni ordination in the Thai Forest Tradition in Australia and the role of the Internet in these debates. The authors draw on data collected in interviews with key figures in Buddhism in Australia, including Venerable Chi Kwang Sunim, Ayya Nirodha, Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera, and Bhante Sujato, recorded as part of the "Buddhist Life Stories of Australia" research project. We argue that the international Buddhist women's movement and its allies are creating and using digital counter-publics to advance gender parity in contemporary Buddhism. Online activism has not only accelerated the pace of progressive social change, but it has also been used by more conservative actors to try to thwart these changes and maintain their authority, although less successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historiography of Australia's feminist and sexual revolutions has focused on activists who articulated new claims for rights and protections on the basis of gender and sexuality. Very few scholars have investigated anti-feminist women's groups as part of this history. This article focuses on two anti-feminist women's groups in late 1970s Australia: Women's Action Alliance, and Women Who Want to Be Women. It argues that they adapted the women's movement's slogan 'the personal is political', using their identities as wives and mothers to authorise their political campaigns and contesting structures designed to facilitate women's access to policy-making. Finally, the article argues that while these groups were small, they did influence Federal politics. The rapidly changing economic orthodoxies of the late 1970s exerted particular pressures on women. Feminists and anti-feminists both offered a similar analysis of these economic pressures, even though the solutions they advanced were very different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) provides a measure of verbal learning and memory. The aim of this study was to provide normative performance data on the HVLT-R for community-dwelling older individuals according to ethno-racial group, age, gender, and years of completed education, in Australia and the U.S. The ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study recruited 19,114 generally healthy community dwelling individuals aged 70 years and over (65 years and over for U.S minorities), who were without a diagnosis of dementia and scored above 77 on the modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) examination. Included in the analysis presented here were 16,251 white Australians, and in the U.S. 1,082 white, 894 African American and 314 Hispanic/Latino individuals at baseline. Performance on each of the components of the HVLT-R (trials 1–3, total, learning, delayed recall, delayed recognition, percentage retention and recognition discrimination index [RDI]) differed by demographic variables. In country and ethno-racial stratified analyses, female gender, younger age and higher education were significantly associated with better total recall, delayed recall and RDI. Among white Australians these characteristics were also associated with better retention. Age, education and gender-specific reference values across ethno-racial categories were determined. Ethno-racial, age, gender and education-stratified normative data from this large cohort of community-dwelling older individuals will serve as important reference standards in Australia and the U.S. to assess cognition in older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]