Search

In Australia, the nominate subspecies of the Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles miles usually occurs in northern Australia. There have been only two reports of this taxon in Victoria: at Mildura, in 1968; and at the Eastern Treatment Plant at Bangholme, from 1 January to 24 May 1981. This paper details, with a photograph and field notes, the latter record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Recent coastal legislative and policy reform in Australia reflects the changing focus of coastal management studies in the international scientific literature indicating a move towards systems perspectives, cross-boundary management strategies and an integration of marine and terrestrial environments. Significant global and national reports on integrated coastal management and climate change set the stage for a 21st Century wave of coastal reform in Australia. Given the absence of Australian national coastal legislation or coastal policy the reforms were initiated by a number of state governments such as in New South Wales and Victoria where new pieces of state-based coastal legislation came into law in 2018. This paper examines new coastal legislation, policies, manuals, and government documents and the rationale and triggers behind these reforms. These are discussed in the context of Australian governance structures and the international coastal management literature. The paper concludes that the latest wave of coastal reform in Australia represents a non-uniform stateled push for a more integrated approach to coastal management including, adaptation to climate change, sustainable development, a systems-based approach to coastal processes and inclusion of both marine and terrestrial environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with onomastic palimpsests in Victoria, Australia, focusing in particular on the 1870s, when the deliberate erasure of colonial names and their replacement with Indigenous names was at the forefront of government policy. In contextualizing this reinstatement of Indigenous toponyms, the paper highlights the agency of parliamentarian and government minister Hon. Robert Ramsay. The primary sources of data are newspaper articles and official government reports. The methodology used is “thick description”. The findings reveal that the government’s efforts were grounded in the collection and collation of place names and vocabulary from Aboriginal people in the previous decade by district surveyors and other local officials. Consistent with recent campaigns in Victoria, the sustained efforts by governments in the 1870s were driven by a desire to remove duplication, erase inappropriate non-Aboriginal place names, and preserve Aboriginal place names. The campaign is unparalleled in the history of Victoria’s toponymic administration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia's rural health services face chronic workforce shortages. To help address these shortages, the Australian Government funds a range of programs to support university students to undertake placements in rural areas with the aims of improving understanding of rural practice and encouraging rural careers. This study investigated the lived experiences of nursing and allied health students on placement in rural and regional Victoria. Its purpose was to identify the enablers and barriers most strongly affecting placement satisfaction and personal wellbeing. The intended outcome was to identify modifiable factors to improve the rural placement experience. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were undertaken with students on placement in public hospitals operating in northeast Victoria. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Three enablers were identified: 1) enjoyment of the rural environment and community; 2) working in a positive, friendly and supportive workplace; and 3) exposure to broad practice and enhanced learning opportunities. Five barriers were identified: 1) increased financial stress; 2) travel and accommodation challenges and concerns; 3) study-work-life balance and isolation issues; 4) encountering stressful work situations and/or personal events while on placement; and 5) communication issues with universities. The findings were strongly consistent with the extant literature. The authors considered the following factors as modifiable: negative financial impacts, inflexibility in the rural placement allocation process, and low levels of psychosocial support on offer to students in stress/distress and make suggestions for their amelioration. Given the similarities with teacher education, it is considered likely this paper has utility for the development of positive rural placements for student teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Assessment of policy mobilities across the lifetime of a policy. • Policy inflows and outflows are examined across five different policy stages, from agenda setting to evaluation. • We draw on quantitative analysis of reports, as well as qualitative interview data. • Identification of a peak in policy mobilities during the policy implementation stage. • Learning from elsewhere (policy inflows) continue even in later policy stages. This paper adds to scholarship on policy mobilities by borrowing a typology and set of ideas from political science about the different stages of the policy making process, namely agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. To date policy mobilities scholarship has mostly not been explicit about which stage of the policy process is being examined. We therefore provide a structure for analysing mobile policy inflows to, and outflows from, a policy over time, across the different stages, allowing the analysis of policy mobilities to be aligned more closely with government decision making processes. To test out our ideas we trace the policy mobilities associated with two Australian smart grid policies over their lifetime, i.e. in the lead up to the policy being implemented, and subsequently. The policies are the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program in the State of Victoria, Australia (2009–2013) and the Australian federal government Smart Grid Smart City program (2010–14). We analyse a combination of codified and tacit forms of knowledge sharing, including through policy and industry reports, and interviews with policy practitioners. Key findings include a peak in policy mobilities during the implementation stage, and policy mobility inflows (learning from elsewhere) continuing even in later policy stages. In conclusion we advocate for greater attention to policy mobilities at different stages of the policy process, in order to broaden the scope of policy mobilities research and to develop a stronger understanding of the temporal dimensions of policy mobilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a 3D geomechanical modelling study of the Iona gas storage facility in the state of Victoria, Australia. The results provide important information pertaining to gas storage, which can then be used to understand certain geomechanical aspects of CO2 storage. A key finding in this paper is that significant changes to the horizontal stress magnitudes are imparted by changes to the fluid pressure due to gas injection or withdrawal. This effect, known as the reservoir stress path, significantly influences fault stability by counteracting the changes to effective stress. In the case of Iona, pressurisation of the field results in a stress path which is parallel to the failure criterion rather than towards it, as would be expected in a classical treatment which does not incorporate complex poro-elastic effects. Another output of interest relates to reservoir deformation, which would be manifested at the ground surface as heave or subsidence. During periods of peak gas withdrawal and injection, surface ground movement is predicted to be on the order of −9mm and +2.5mm, respectively. These numbers are similar to the surface deformation observed at the In Salah CO2 injection project, but much smaller than the subsidence observed in some producing hydrocarbon fields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the nature and causes of vulnerability to bushfires in the Wulgulmerang district of East Gippsland, Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. In 2003 bushfires devastated the small population of this isolated farming district, destroying homes, agricultural assets and public infrastructure. The fires also adversely affected the health, livelihoods and social lives of many local people. The paper examines: (i) how and why people were exposed to hazards during the bushfires; and (ii) how and why people were differentially capable of coping and adapting to the fires'' impacts. Qualitative methods were primarily used to investigate these questions, including semi-structured interviews with residents and landholders of the district and others who responded to the fires in an official or unofficial capacity. Vulnerability is shown to arise from the circumstances of people''s everyday lives, which are shaped by factors both within and beyond their control. Local pressures and challenges – such as drought, declining farm incomes, depopulation, and the inaccessibility of essential services – are shown to increase people''s exposure to hazards and reduce their capacities to cope and adapt. The paper demonstrates the fundamental importance of sustainable livelihoods and regional economic vitality to the long-term goal of vulnerability reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article offers a conference paper on the function of the Victorian Ombudsman in the implementation of the human rights protections. It is inferred that the paper was presented at the 2010 Australian Institute of Administrative Law (AIAL) Forum held in Sydney, New South Wales on July 22, 2010. The adoption of express human rights protections without compromising the ability to act independently to redress defective government decision-making is highlighted.

Many urban and regional areas of Australia have been facing severe drought over the past decade. This is particularly the case for most areas in the state of Victoria (located in the south east of the country). The management response to this situation has often been reactive with little thought about subsequent and long-term impacts. This paper reviews the water cartage industry in regional Victoria Australia which has developed in response to drought, suppling water in drought affected areas of the state. The review involved the survey of six water cartage businesses, and interviews with local government and water authority officers. The review found that the cost of the carted water is up to thirty-four times higher than the cost of the delivery of mains water in Australian cities and towns. Formal review of the water cartage industry and associated regulations is recommended to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of water cartage. Secondly, and the paper benchmarks willingness to pay values for recycled water in a specific market segment of regional Victoria—Bendigo office workers (n =305). The contingent valuation method was used to elicit maximum willingness to pay for recycled water. The study found that participants were willing to pay on average A$7.66/kL for recycled water delivered to their homes (on January 18 2009, A$1.00=€0.50.US$0.68). This was an amount significantly greater than the A$1.33/kL charged to Bendigo residents for the delivery of potable mains water which is subject to water use restrictions. The results of this study indicate that individuals facing prolonged restrictions to the use of water may be willing to pay a higher price for recycled water than policy makers may anticipate. The established water cartage industry which services the Bendigo area may have influenced the high willingness to pay for recycled water which was evident in the particular segment of the population surveyed. Lessons learnt from this research will be beneficial for catchment (watershed) management globally. An important component of sustainable water management is consideration of impacts across catchments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Passive surveillance is the principal method of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and blood-borne virus (BBV) surveillance in Australia whereby positive cases of select STIs and BBVs are notified to the state and territory health departments. A major limitation of passive surveillance is that it only collects information on positive cases and notifications are heavily dependent on testing patterns. Denominator testing data are important in the interpretation of notifications. Objective: The aim of this study is to establish a national pathology laboratory surveillance system, part of a larger national sentinel surveillance system called ACCESS (the Australian Collaboration for Coordinated Enhanced Sentinel Surveillance). ACCESS is designed to utilize denominator testing data to understand trends in case reporting and monitor the uptake and outcomes of testing for STIs and BBVs. Methods: ACCESS involves a range of clinical sites and pathology laboratories, each with a separate method of recruitment, data extraction, and data processing. This paper includes pathology laboratory sites only. First established in 2007 for chlamydia only, ACCESS expanded in 2012 to capture all diagnostic and clinical monitoring tests for STIs and BBVs, initially from pathology laboratories in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, to at least one public and one private pathology laboratory in all Australian states and territories in 2016. The pathology laboratory sentinel surveillance system incorporates a longitudinal cohort design whereby all diagnostic and clinical monitoring tests for STIs and BBVs are collated from participating pathology laboratories in a line-listed format. An anonymous, unique identifier will be created to link patient data within and between participating pathology laboratory databases and to clinical services databases. Using electronically extracted, line-listed data, several indicators for each STI and BBV can be calculated, including the number of tests, unique number of individuals tested and retested, test yield, positivity, and incidence. Results: To date, over 20 million STI and BBV laboratory test records have been extracted for analysis for surveillance monitoring nationally. Recruitment of laboratories is ongoing to ensure appropriate coverage for each state and territory; reporting of indicators will occur in 2019 with publication to follow. Conclusions: The ACCESS pathology laboratory sentinel surveillance network is a unique surveillance system that collects data on diagnostic testing, management, and care for and of STIs and BBVs. It complements the ACCESS clinical network and enhances Australia's capacity to respond to STIs and BBVs. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/13625 We help JMIR researchers to raise funds to pursue their research and development aimed at tackling important health and technology challenges. If you would like to show your support for this author, please donate using the button below. The funds raised will directly benefit the corresponding author of this article (minus 8% admin fees). Your donations will help this author to continue publishing open access papers in JMIR journals. Donations of over $100 may also be acknowledged in future publications. Suggested contribution levels: $20/$50/$100 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the last decade, numerous attempts have been made to improve child protection services in Australia. One of these is a recent inquiry into the Victorian child protection system that recommends, among other changes, that the Children's Court Cilnic of Victoria serving the Children's Court of Victoria be abolished. This recommendation, as the inquiry admits, lacks empirical evidence and is instead based on anecdotal claims and submissions about the clinic's inability to provide independent, high quality, evidence to the court. As a response to the general shortage of empirically-driven practice in children's courts, the aim of the current paper is to address the need for systematic evidence about court outcomes. In doing so, we present analyses of 138 clinic assessments and court decisions in statutory child protection proceedings in Victoria and suggest how research about actual outcomes can be used to in form the best practice in court-based child protection. This is the first set of analyses of data belonging to the children's court, using information from the court and the clinic electronic databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As a consequence of local population ageing, which is more pronounced in rural areas, the issue of maintaining a positive quality of life for rural older people is attracting significant attention. While environmental psychology theory has advocated the role of place identity in defining the self, there has been little applied research exploring how this occurs in later life. This exploratory, qualitative study (n =16) utilises Breakwell’s (1986, 1992) identity process theory to investigate how rural older Australians (retirement migrants and long-term residents) use place to sustain and build a sense of self at a time when many are susceptible to age-related loss. The paper draws on the concepts of distinctiveness, continuity, self-esteem and self-efficacy in order to explore how place identity is supported and maintained. Findings suggest that rural places are beneficial in terms of identity maintenance, with differences between long term and more recent rural residents. Furthermore, findings also highlight that place-related change or growth can potentially threaten older people’s identification as a ‘rural’ person. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Commissioned in 2009, the CO2CRC/H3 Capture Project is demonstrating post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) on a lignite fired power plant in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia. The facility is located within International Power’s Hazelwood Power Plant and uses three different CO2 capture technologies — solvent, adsorption and membrane processes. This project, addressing the PCC issues specific for Victorian brown coal fired power stations, was initiated in July 2007 as a three year research project by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) under the Victorian State Government’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) program. The project is part of the Latrobe Valley Post Combustion Capture (LVPCC) Project — a multi site, multi scale, multi technology PCC trial. The integrated research and development program includes an evaluation of these technologies for commercial scale application. This paper describes the technologies used, how they have progressed from laboratory to pilot demonstration, the main outcomes, and plans for future developments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While various attempts have been made to establish strategic environmental assessment (SEA) processes and institutions in various jurisdictions within Australia, the success of these often short lived attempts at institutional approaches for managing public land use conflict has been patchy. The experience in the State of Victoria has been somewhat different, with public land use assessment and planning having been informed by a series of independent statutory bodies since 1970 (the Land Conservation Council, Environment Conservation Council, and Victorian Environmental Assessment Council). These SEA bodies have played a major role in mediating environmental conflict over public land use, and have significantly contributed to the increased size and coverage of Victoria''s protected area system. However, while there has always been a statutory body in operation, the roles and responsibilities of these bodies have been subject to significant legislative change, with existing bodies replaced by new bodies in 1997 and 2001. Justifications for these reforms included changing circumstances and new understandings about environmental management, as well as changing views about public administration. As a way of contributing to enhancing the design of institutions and processes for strategic environmental assessment, this paper provides an assessment of Victoria''s approach and discusses possible future directions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines how East Timorese women in Melbourne, Australia view gender relations within the context of their resettlement and integration process in Australia as part of a broader question about gender and the construction of ethnic identities within a diverse community. Based upon a small qualitative study with fifteen East Timorese migrant women, we examine the complexity of the ethnic identity of East Timorese women in Australia, whose community reflects the diversity of their homeland, status divisions used historically within East Timor, different migration experiences and socio-economic and generational differences. The experience of East Timorese women varies according to the circumstances and timing of their arrival in Australia. Although most fled conflict and trauma, for the most part the women interviewed do not describe themselves in terms of a traumatized self-identity and depict their community in terms of engagement, support and resilience. Gender relationships changed with migration to Australia, with women enjoying more 'equality' in their relationships, in contrast to their past lives in East Timor. Yet many women also describe the maintenance of strong patriarchal values within the family, continued expectations of their responsibility to domestic affairs and the importance of maintaining a public face of appropriate behavior as 'good Timorese women.' They maintain Timorese identity through raising children and transmitting the potent cultural markers of food and language skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cosmogenic 21Ne was utilised to determine exposure ages of young subaerial basaltic lava flows from the Newer Volcanic Province, western Victoria, Australia. The ages (36–53ka) determined from co-existing cosmogenic 21Ne and 3He in olivines separated from basalts are consistent within analytical uncertainties with ages previously determined by cosmogenic 36Cl exposure dating. This paper illustrates the potential of cosmogenic neon exposure ages in studying the eruption, surface morphology, and erosion history of young volcanic rocks, which are difficult to date using other conventional methods, such as K-Ar or 40Ar/39Ar dating. The present study demonstrates that combined cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne dating, specifically measured cosmogenic 3He/21Ne ratios, on the same samples, is powerful for evaluating the validity of calculated cosmogenic 3He and 21Ne surface exposure ages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the significance of the Victorian Educational Department in the middle of World War 1. It students and teachers were taught to give focus on the history of Australia. It cites the book "Glorious Deeds of Australians in the Great War," by E. C. Buley, which was used to read by students and teachers has called thousands of men in a day to get enlisted in the department. This book details the significance of the history of Australia. Meanwhile, in the early 1900s, the Victoria's Education Department expected its students in grades III-VIII to purchase its monthly School Paper, a publication in which the department has considered it as a far in advance on any book of the kind issued in the state.

Recent qualitative research confirms that rural and regional Australians do not enjoy equitable access to social care services. This paper discusses the social impacts of class and cultural change on rural communities, drawing upon qualitative data generated during a multi-state study of rural social care provision, undertaken in four Australian states during 2005 - 2006. Participants were drawn from a wide range of professional groups, including social workers; nurses, including Aboriginal health workers; community development and local government officers; teachers, including student welfare coordinators; police; ambulance officers; emergency services workers; and medical practitioners. Findings based on the Victorian data suggest that existing policies are failing to address cultural and institutional barriers to equitable service provision. Further research is needed to identify successful strategies that service providers are utilising to overcome existing cultural barriers and institutional hurdles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing tools for measuring progress toward sustainability has proven a challenging task. Indicators offer an excellent means to explore the success or otherwise of management strategies. They also allow reporting social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. To ensure that the tools developed are effective in measuring the progress toward sustainable futures, an evaluation of the methods and the indicators used must be undertaken so that with progress there is learning and with the new knowledge methods can be redesigned to better advance sustainability. This paper discusses a study carried out in the south west region of Victoria, Australia, using indicators as the basis for developing a tool to measure progress toward sustainability. By evaluating the methods and indicators used in the study this paper provides an insight into the challenges encountered and the lessons learned. Issues explored include selecting indicators, collating data, integrating social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability and using an adaptive approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]