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The overall condition of biodiversity in many parts of Australia is poor and declining, despite the establishment of national parks and other reserves, and the adoption of conservation activities on private land. The impacts of climate change add further challenges to sustaining biodiversity. In response to these issues, in December 2009, the State Government of Victoria released a major policy statement that aimed to provide the framework and directions to secure the health of Victoria's biodiversity and associated land and water resources over the next 50 years. Given Victoria's reputation for environmental policy reform and innovation, the question arises as to whether the Victorian approach will provide a model for other Australian jurisdictions to adopt or adapt. Drawing on insights from environmental policy, discourse theory, and ecological theory, this article provides a critique of Victoria's approach, focusing on the way in which biodiversity is conceptualised and governed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the employment experiences of immigrants of African background in the Australian labor market. Drawing on the findings from a qualitative study conducted in South East Queensland, the paper identifies several barriers and challenges faced by Africans to meaningful employment and labor market success. The paper indicates the need to develop targeted policies to eliminate employment discrimination, reduce barriers to meaningful employment for good settlement and successful integration of African immigrants to Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of networks has gained interest in public administration and management. They address concerns such as the coordination of multiple actors within the policy process. Networks take both formal and informal forms. As the integration of formal and informal networks in public service delivery is gaining traction, this paper uses the example of diabetes care in Australia and India to provide an analytical framework to examine one of the ways such integration of networks take place. Diabetes, a chronic long‐term disease, poses to be a global problem with a high rate of diagnosis with implications for public health expenditure. A multi‐disciplinary team, which comprises both formal and informal categories, is required to manage diabetes. This paper highlights the integration of networks in diabetes care in different institutional and cultural settings. For such form of integration of networks to work, collaboration among the various actors is important. Lessons learnt from diabetes care will be relevant for other long‐term chronic conditions to help reduce the human resource and financial burden. The analytical framework developed based on the example of diabetes care will provide useful lessons for examining the mechanics and dynamics of the integration between formal and informal networks in the field of public administration and management. The concept of networks is gaining prominence as a useful model. This paper supports the existing literature on the need for both formal and informal networks using the example of diabetes care. It develops an analytical framework to examine the interactions of formal and informal networks, which will be relevant for similar studies related to other long‐term chronic conditions and for public administration and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to investigate how compatibility between supply chain partners' technological systems, as well as cultural and operational values, enhance supply chain process integration. Additionally, the paper examines whether supply chain capabilities mediate the relationship between supply chain process integration and organizational performance. The contradictory findings on the relationship between supply chain process integration and organizational performance in prior research point to the need for investigating the possibility of supply chain capabilities having a mediating effect on the link between the two factors.Design/methodology/approach The study used survey data from 302 managers and executives responsible for supply chain functions in food and hardware retailing businesses in Australia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses, and then Zhao et al.'s (2010) procedure was used to test for mediation effects.Findings The results indicate that technical, operational and cultural compatibility facilitates supply chain process integration. In support of dynamic capabilities theory, the study reveals the importance of integrating resources among supply chain partners to achieve supply chain capabilities, operational and competitive performance. Additionally, the current study found supply chain capabilities to play a mediating role on the relationships between supply chain process integration and organizational performance.Originality/value The paper contributes to supply chain management literature by identifying technical, operational and cultural compatibility as antecedents to supply chain process integration. By revealing the mediating role of supply chain capabilities, the paper highlights how supply chain process integration enhance operational and competitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks and access to resources are important to refugee integration but there is limited research with people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. This mixed methods paper reports on the social capital of refugees and asylum seekers and relevance to settlement satisfaction and integration. Surveys were completed by 423 adult refugees and asylum seekers living in South Australia. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 participants, purposively sampled from the survey, and analysed thematically. The survey indicated that satisfaction with social networks (neighbourhood, ethnic/cultural and general) was associated with satisfaction with social support, which were in turn associated with a sense of belonging and overall happiness with life in Australia. The interviews illustrated how bonding and bridging ties facilitated access to resources by providing emotional support, a sense of belonging and hope, and safety and security through friendship and connection, and the provision of practical support. However, there were limited linking ties and differing access to social capital across characteristics such as region of origin, immigration status, financial situation, English skills, and time in Australia, which can contribute to inequities over time. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of facilitating access to social capital to assist with resettlement and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of reports show that innovation in Australian manufacturing firms is declining. We propose that better knowledge sharing practices can assist these firms to become more innovative. In this paper, we examine this proposition by empirically testing the relationship between knowledge sharing practices within and between trading partners as a framework for integration, and testing for the effect of these practices on firm performance. Data were collected from 418 organisations in the manufacturing industry in Australia to assess the degree to which innovative knowledge sharing practices provide a competitive advantage to Australian firms. Structural equation modelling approach to data analysis was used. It was found that the three innovative knowledge sharing constructs (internal knowledge integration, knowledge integration with customers and knowledge integration with suppliers) were strongly inter-related, providing a case for knowledge-based integration of firms with their trading partners. Further, these three exogenous constructs collectively explained about a third of the variance in the endogenous construct (firm performance). The relationships identified provide support for the efficacy of knowledge-based collaboration as an innovation promoting higher firm performance levels. Managers of manufacturing firms in Australia specifically, and others more generally, can use this as a way to conceptualise how their firms can develop internal integration and collaborative relationships with their trading partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land as a resource is not currently managed efficiently and effectively as revealed through existing knowledge. The objective of this paper is to determine the level of this inefficiency in order to improve our understanding of the interrelationship between agencies that perform land administration functions. The research methods include a synthesis of past studies and the use of a case study approach. It uses as context Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. This approach involves triangulation of mixed methods: interviews and on-line survey are the data sources. The Paired-Samplest-test procedure and the Pearson correlation between each pair were used for analysis. The results revealed limited integration of processes and collaboration of agencies in the management of land for housing production. The paper concludes that policies are not sufficiently informed by data and there is a noticeable disconnection between agencies and formulated policies. Invariably, land administration processes do not sufficiently drive the type of data that is collected. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: There has been a recent focus on resettlement of migrants and refugee in rural settings in Australia and elsewhere. Rural resettlement is seen as an opportunity to revitalise rural communities, to fill the needs of employers in these areas, and to provide a welcoming community within which new arrivals can integrate and settle. However, challenges to rural resettlement have been identified including difficulties securing employment, discrimination and social isolation. These challenges can affect resettlement outcomes including health and wellbeing, though relatively little research has examined these links. In this paper we explored experiences of people from refugee background settling in a rural Australian town, examining interconnections between social determinants of health (SDH) and integration. Methods: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 44 participants from Southeast Asia and Africa in a rural setting in South Australia, covering experiences of resettlement and impacts on health and wellbeing. Participants were recruited through existing connections within the community and snowball sampling. Audio recorded data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework thematic analysis. Results: The study findings revealed a mixture of settlement experiences for participants across a range of elements of SDH and integration. A sense of safety and some elements of social connectedness and support were key enablers for integration and health and wellbeing, with main challenges including limitations in employment opportunities, mismatched education provision, experiences of discrimination and constrained access to services. Conclusions: Challenges experienced by refugees resettled in rural areas can affect integration, health and wellbeing and subsequent onward migration intentions. Attention to broader socioeconomic, cultural and environmental conditions, alongside tailored settlement support policies and practices for individual rural resettlement sites, is required to support integration and health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a new program for the provision of support to people with disabilities in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to explore the early implementation experience of this scheme, with a particular focus on the implications of this scheme for issues of care integration.Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 policymakers in the Commonwealth government charged with the design and implementation of the NDIS.Findings The authors find somewhat of a lack of clarity concerning the boundaries of the NDIS and how it will work with a range of different services in the provision of seamless and consumer-directed care. Many of the same kinds of debates about interfaces with services were detected in this study as have been highlighted in relation to UK individual funding schemes. If the NDIS is truly to support individuals with disabilities to achieve choice and control, important work will need to be undertaken in to overcome organizational and institutional boundaries.Originality/value There is little empirical data relating to the implementation of the NDIS to date. This is the first study to explore boundary issues in relation to care integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of recreational sport as a means and marker of social integration by analysing the lived experiences of Somali people from refugee backgrounds with sport. Drawing on a three-year multi-sided ethnography, the paper examines the extent to and ways in which participation in sport contributes to Somali Australians' bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. It is shown how social bonds and bridges developed in the sports context assist in the (re)building of community networks that have been eroded by war and displacement. Sport's contribution to social capital should however be neither overstated nor over-generalized. Bridging social capital in sport is relatively weak and few bridges are established between Somalis and the host community. Negative social encounters such as discrimination and aggression can highlight and reinforce group boundaries. Access to and use of linking social capital is also unequally distributed across gender, age, ethnic, and socio-economic lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This two-part paper considers the complementarity between adaptation and mitigation in managing the risks associated with the enhanced greenhouse effect. Part one reviews the application of risk management methods to climate change assessments. Formal investigations of the enhanced greenhouse effect have produced three generations of risk assessment. The first led to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), First Assessment Report and subsequent drafting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The second investigated the impacts of unmitigated climate change in the Second and Third IPCC Assessment Reports. The third generation, currently underway, is investigating how risk management options can be prioritised and implemented. Mitigation and adaptation have two main areas of complementarity. Firstly, they each manage different components of future climate-related risk. Mitigation reduces the number and magnitude of potential climate hazards, reducing the most severe changes first. Adaptation increases the ability to cope with climate hazards by reducing system sensitivity or by reducing the consequent level of harm. Secondly, they manage risks at different extremes of the potential range of future climate change. Adaptation works best with changes of lesser magnitude at the lower end of the potential range. Where there is sufficient adaptive capacity, adaptation improves the ability of a system to cope with increasingly larger changes over time. By moving from uncontrolled emissions towards stabilisation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mitigation limits the upper part of the range. Different activities have various blends of adaptive and mitigative capacity. In some cases, high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity may lead to large residual climate risks; in other cases, a large adaptive capacity may mean that residual risks are small or non-existent. Mitigative and adaptive capacity do not share the same scale: adaptive capacity is expressed locally, whereas mitigative capacity is different for each activity and location but needs to be aggregated at the global scale to properly assess its potential benefits in reducing climate hazards. This can be seen as a demand for mitigation, which can be exercised at the local scale through exercising mitigative capacity. Part two of the paper deals with the situation where regional bodies aim to maximise the benefits of managing climate risks by integrating adaptation and mitigation measures at their various scales of operation. In north central Victoria, Australia, adaptation and mitigation are being jointly managed by a greenhouse consortium and a catchment management authority. Several related studies investigating large-scale revegetation are used to show how climate change impacts and sequestration measures affect soil, salt and carbon fluxes in the landscape. These studies show that trade-offs between these interactions will have to be carefully managed to maximise their relative benefits. The paper concludes that when managing climate change risks, there are many instances where adaptation and mitigation can be integrated at the operational level. However, significant gaps between our understanding of the benefits of adaptation and mitigation between local and global scales remain. Some of these may be addressed by matching demands for mitigation (for activities and locations where adaptive capacity will be exceeded) with the ability to supply that demand through localised mitigative capacity by means of globally integrated mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the implementation experience of a child and family policy with ambitious integration goals. The questions to be addressed here focus on the factors that facilitated integration, those that hindered it, and the meanings in practice of integration at the levels of service delivery, planning, and management. The policy is Families First, implemented in New South Wales, the largest state in Australia, beginning in 1998. Families First is an ambitious state-wide initiative that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children aged from birth to eight years, by supporting parents and carers. This is to be achieved by the development of a coordinated network of prevention and early intervention services that identifies children and families who require further assistance and links them to appropriate support early, before problems become entrenched. Based on the process evaluation of Families First's implementation, this paper argues that successful implementation of Families First as an integration policy was characterized by high levels of participation from a range of actors. We found a number of factors facilitated integration: inclusive practice; building relationships; empowerment; and time and resources. These findings also, however, raise larger questions about the application of integration policies in an early childhood context, where these facilitators are known to be in short supply. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight how application integration and project collaboration is being used to support the development of newly established university electronic presses and institutional repositories. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a summary of a number of projects that have been established within the Australian university environment. These projects are used to illustrate models of collaboration that can be used to assist the establishment of small or new scholarly publishing projects. Findings – Suggests that in instances where universities are exploring new models for dissemination of their scholarship, collaboration between institutional projects may assist in the ongoing development of content and in the provision of access to this content. Originality/value – This is a reflection based on current projects being developed within Australia. It provides an overview of projects that illustrate cooperative development as a means to assist in access to scholarship produced from Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a town centre management programme for Sunshine Town Centre, a traditional high street or main street centre in Metropolitan Melbourne, 11 kilometres west of Melbourne city centre. The programme was initiated in 2010 by the City of Brimbank - the local government authority that covers the suburb of Sunshine. At its core, the programme has pursued an integrated whole-of-local-government approach to the centre and has sought to forge strong partnerships with private-sector businesses and property owners. This paper identifies the issues, processes, achievements, challenges and lessons learned from the programme over its first six years of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses two key strategies detailing how "relationship-focused" and "trauma-informed" intervention practices, which form the basis of an Australian therapeutic program called Treatment and Care for Kids (TrACK), made a difference in the lives of highly traumatised children. The TrACK program fosters highly traumatised children who, due to the complexity of their trauma needs, cannot be placed in traditional generalist foster care. Case files of 48 children were reviewed. Children were either current or former clients over a period of 18 years since the program was initiated. In analysing the data, we noticed that children who were once highly dysregulated in the domains of foster care placement, education, arousal regulation and peer relationships were now enjoying an enhanced level of stability in their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial diplomacy has been of interest to researchers in the context of export development due to the many empirical studies indicating that the international economic integrations provide more growth and employment for the governments and internationalization for the enterprises. Unlike the strict and/or regional economic integrations, MIKTA was created as an informal and cross-regional group of 'middle powers' bringing together Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, and Australia in 2013. Being distant apart from each other geographically and having many differences besides their similarities, each of the member states is considered influential in their regions and of high importance for the paradigm shift to a new world order. This paper aims to figure out if MIKTA has been utilized as a powerful advocate for enhancing exports of the member states while also resuming sustainable economic growth. For this reason, it is analyzed to what extent the members' exports were and have become sophisticated, meaning capital intensive or labour intensive, over the past 20 years and how the members' economic growth rates were contributed. For the analysis, PRODY and EXPY indices are calculated representing the sophistication levels of, respectively, product groups and the total exports of the states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implementation of sustainability into urban communities that includes the use of sustainability assessment tools such as Green Star Communities (Green-Star). The literature is reviewed regarding the role that these types of tools play, including their challenges, implementation issues and suitability that may support the need for possible alternative processes. An analysis of the Green-Star rating tool was undertaken on the master-planned $8 billion City to the Lake (C2L) urban infill project in Canberra, Australia. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview process to gain an 'insiders' view of Green-Star. The analysis helped shed light on the performance of Green-Star on the C2L project and suggested that there is a need for an alternative process. The C2L analysis showed that whilst Green-Star had benefits, there were some perceived weaknesses that included a scoring system that may not reflect real project outcomes, point chasing mentality of designing to a list, implementation issues due to complexity and size of the project, localisation issues, difficulty in innovating and cost implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Structural changes are commonly undertaken to achieve gains, such as enhanced efficiency and performance. In this paper, we explore the cultural issues associated with a structural change in the Australian Public Service. We argue that cultural differences across merged functions were disruptive and challenging to overcome. We posit, however, that these challenges were exacerbated by the lack of systemic effort to integrate cultures, thus impeding synergy realization. Our findings are consistent with the private sector literature that warns mergers and acquisitions undertaken with too much haste and without adequate planning can lead to cultural issues when not managed appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the ways in which the conception of social integration and its practical realization have developed over time in Australia, and the various pathways that models of integration have followed. It makes a distinction between the approaches to inclusion of the indigenous population, the Australian Aborigines in broader Australian social life and social institutions, and those dealing with populations of incoming migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. Although there are similarities in the models of integration mobilized in both arenas, the differences and interactions are also significant and characteristic of what is specific about settler-colonial societies. The central models in both fields are assimilation, integration and multiculturalism, and the paper will sketch briefly how each model has operated both in theory and in practice, how they have succeeded and interacted with each other, how they have intersected with other types of concerns, such as citizenship, civilization and security, as well as what might be distinctive about the Australian approach to social integration in comparison with other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While multiculturalism has been central to the Australian political and social landscape since the 1970s, it has been recently challenged, with the (re)emergence of discourses of ‘social cohesion’ and ‘integration’. In this paper, we engage with these contests by focusing on newspaper coverage of Sudanese Australians around the time of the 2007 Federal Election. We ask: how did the Australian print media represent Sudanese people during this period? In addition, what do such representations suggest about contemporary media discourses around multiculturalism? Drawing on a content analysis of 203 newspaper articles published in The Age, The Herald Sun and The Australian, we argue that dominant media discourses are both influenced by and contribute to integrationist agendas that situate Sudanese Australians as outsiders to the Australian mainstream, thereby providing a significant challenge to contemporary multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiculturalism has gradually retreated as a meaningful concept for Australian identity and has, instead, been replaced by principles of equal citizenship and a commitment to the core values of Australian national identity. This paper firstly locates these shifts in broader theoretical debates underpinning democratic governance and equal citizenship. Secondly, and given that local government is a key constituent of Australia's democratic system, the paper seeks to explore the attitudes of local government representatives towards multicultural services and cultural citizenship in contemporary Australia. The empirical findings of this study show that a minority of local government representatives hold a negative outlook on cultural diversity and multicultural policies. The paper argues that it is important to ensure opportunities for intercultural understanding at the local level are optimised as a way of enhancing full and equal citizenship for all and thus creating greater possibilities for successful integration among religious and cultural minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is becoming an increasingly multicultural country, yet the relationship of Muslims and Islam with Australia is a relatively long-standing one, reaching further back than actual European presence and settlement in Australia. Research shows that the Macassan and Bugis traders from Indonesia had already established a relationship with the indigenous people of northern Australia approximately 200 years before the arrival of any European settlers. However, the first group of Muslim settlers were the Afghan camel drivers who came in the1860s to assist with interstate transportation. In the 1960s, Muslims began to arrive in waves. With the advent of the first Gulf War Muslim migration took a different turn, and especially after September 11, the issue of Muslim migration received increasing attention from policy makers, media and the general public. The events of September 11 and other terrorist acts also contributed to the 'othering' of Muslims in Australia. The emergence of the over-emphasised Muslim 'other' is deemed to be undemocratic and 'clashing' with the wider Australian cultural standards and norms. This paper will therefore examine the place of Muslim immigrants in Australian society by examining three aspects: a) how Muslims view Australia and their contribution to the Australian economy and multicultural society, b) the role of Islam in the lives of Muslims in Australia - a threat as some critics suggest or a positive factor for integration and for building bridges between Australia and the Muslim world, and c) What lessons might Japan learn from Australian Muslim immigrants' experience? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether foreign direct investment between countries fosters stock market integration. Empirical tests demonstrate that both the flow and the level of bilateral foreign direct investment between countries explain country-pair stock market integration. More specifically, higher bilateral foreign direct investment levels and flows increase Australia's stock market integration with its major trade partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many Western nations with high numbers of immigrant intake there are public debates casting doubt on the § The levels and success of integration of newly arrived migrants § The success or failure of multicultural policies § The threat that migrants from different cultures and religions pose to national identity, national values and social cohesion This paper explores the linkages between immigrant integration and social cohesion in light of current questioning of multiculturalism, immigration intake programs in the context of a climate of war on terror, racial profiling and racism. Drawing on her own research from Australia, the author excavates the preconditions for successful integration of immigrants and unpacks the relationship integration to social cohesion. The paper will examine the key settlement and issues facing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Australia; identify the role that 'fear' plays in preventing successful integration of immigrants (both from the point of view of the newly arrived immigrant and also host society); examine what impact racism, racial profiling, stereotyping directed at particular groups that are deemed as being a 'risk' (e.g. Muslims, Africans or asylum seekers) on this groups' inability' to integrate; analyse the impact of the discussion on national values and national identity on the creation of a socially cohesive society; and review the role of government in creating social cohesion. The paper will conclude with an exploration of good practice in communities to build social capital, resilience and capacity and a discussion of possible ways forward to develop strategies to build social cohesion in multicultural societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current decision-making in natural resource use and management aims at delivering ecologically-sustainable development to achieve conservation and economic benefits. The process of guiding natural resource use requires the integration of social, economic and biophysical information on which to base management decisions. This paper discusses the integration of socio-economic information for natural resource management (NRM) planning and decision-making in the Australian context. A comprehensive resource of socio-economic data is the Census, which is undertaken every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the whole of Australia. Unfortunately there are qualitative and quantitative issues stemming from the use of ABS census data maps for NRM decision-making, as they are at a different scale to and the boundaries do not coincide with biophysical information. These issues include the variable shape of collection districts, the use of enumerated data for population-based statistics, the large size of collection districts in low populated areas, and the averaging of socio-economic information over the collection districts. Examples highlight these issues and show a way forwards in improving data integration, which includes simple spatial overlay methods and regression modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The losses associated with exile often leave refugees with limited resources to face the challenge of adjusting to a new society. To enhance the successful integration of refugees, it is important to assist them in their efforts in rebuilding and extending their support systems. By matching refugees with volunteers, Befriending Programs aim at creating a supportive environment. Based on information provided by twenty-five organizations that offer befriending programs in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, this paper explores obstacles they face in the recruitment and retention of befrienders as well as their strategies in overcoming challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age at arrival is one factor that could influence the integration of humanitarian migrants, especially for children and teenagers. Previous research has focused on the influence of the age at arrival on education, employment, social and language learning outcomes, but there is limited research, especially for longitudinal study, on other important measures of integration. Moreover, young adult and adolescent refugees, and the relationship between age and integration outcomes are under-studied. To address these gaps, this study examined the relationships between age at arrival and different dimensions of integration of young refugees in Australia, using five years' panel data from the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) longitudinal study from 2013 to 2018 (282 individuals). Our findings indicate that age at arrival is significantly correlated with multiple integration outcomes. Old entrants tend to have a higher probability of having a paid job but have poorer mental health and English proficiency. On the other hand, older entrants were more likely to know their rights well compared to younger entrants at arrival. However, younger entrants' knowledge of their rights overtook older entrants four to five years after their arrival. These findings suggest that a shorter assessment process and enabling earlier entry especially among refugee youth and young adults could effectively improve their future settlement outcomes under the current humanitarian policies and system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study intends to analyze the relationship between military culture, masculine norms, attitude toward women, and workplace aggression. By using a paper-pencil survey in the Austrian Armed Forces, we show that overall 6.5 percent of all soldiers in the sample suffer from severe, long-term collective aggression (bullying). The detailed analysis suggests that systematic workplace aggression is associated with a culture with high power orientation and adherence to traditional (masculine) military norms. It occurs most often within socialization processes in training centers as well as in combat units. Conversely, culture in support units has high levels of task orientation with a comparably positive attitude toward female soldiers and less reported workplace aggression. The data reveal the gender dimension of workplace aggression in the Austrian Armed Forces: women are significantly more vulnerable to bullying. Almost every second soldier declares to have observed and every tenth soldier admits to have conducted aggressive acts against women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australian multiculturalism – an integrative policy strategy aiming at managing cultural diversity – was adopted as government policy in Australia in the 1970s. In its original rendition, Australian multiculturalism was embedded in classical sociological theory, integrative, reciprocal, egalitarian and respectful of the majority. However, it has also been confused with ethnic pluralism and assimilationist ‘melting pot’ approaches, and these confusions are apparent in the recent European and domestic criticisms. The article outlines the principles of Australian multiculturalism, identifies its theoretical foundations, and highlights some of the popular confusions about its meaning, focus and objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This paper reports the integration experience of ethnic Chinese business people as they search for a sense of place in their host country, Australia. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 30 ethnic Chinese business owners in the city of Brisbane. The respondents collectively represent 12 types of businesses (e.g., retail, trade, and hospitality). Findings indicate that the two dimensions of Berry''s acculturation model, the heritage culture and the host culture, are not necessarily creating incompatible demands on immigrants as they integrate into the host country. Instead, the two dimensions complement one another in the integration process. This paper challenges the dual majority–minority conceptualization, which treats home culture and host culture as existing entities, and it provides further support for viewing cultural identity as performance, always flexible, changing, situational, and being shaped by the immigrants’ interactions with their co-ethnics and the host nationals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Teaching family therapy to clinical psychology trainees is not common practice in Australian clinical psychology training programs. There is sparse discussion in the literature. Family therapy is an evidence based intervention that complements a diversity of established theories and psychotherapies and would complement the intervention skills of trainee clinical psychologists. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how family therapy training may be integrated into a postgraduate clinical psychology course. The literature on core family therapy knowledge, skills and training methods will form the backdrop to a review of specific family therapy training courses for clinical psychology trainees. This will then be mapped against a consideration of accreditation requirements of clinical psychology courses in Australia and suggestions made for integrating family therapy into their training curriculum. Anecdotal feedback from students provides an initial step toward evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broadening out of environmental assessment to also consider social and economic dimensions poses some unique challenges, not the least of which is understanding exactly what such a process might entail. This paper outlines the spectrum of possibilities and explores the issue of when and how environmental, social and economic considerations can be integrated in sustainability assessment. The integration issue is also relevant to the practice of strategic environmental assessments (SEA).A new way of conceptualising these types of assessment is put forward based on: (i) what is being assessed — the "question" that is being asked; and (ii) what approach is being used — the type of assessment selected from the spectrum of possibilities. The latter ranges from impact minimisation for each of the three sustainability pillars through to sustainability considered as an integrated concept. The combination of the question and assessment approach determines the level, extent and timing of integration of environmental, social and economic considerations that can be achieved. Additional thought needs to be given to who is performing the integration role as well as the nature of a particular proposal or its setting. This approach to thinking about SEA and sustainability assessment is illustrated with examples from Australia and the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of catchment-scale stream rehabilitation programmes in many parts of the world marks a shift from the application of reach-based engineering principles towards an adoption of ecosystem-centred, adaptive and participatory approaches to river management. From a biophysical viewpoint, this represents recognition of the importance of the inherent geodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and the benefits that are gained through enhancing natural recovery mechanisms. As this approach to river management matures, it is important that its key elements and assumptions are subjected to critical appraisal. In this paper, the main features of contemporary catchment-wide programmes are examined through a review of pertinent literature and through examination of various case studies from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Emerging challenges and tensions include those of generating an authentic and functional biophysical vision at the catchment scale, of developing a proactive adaptive management approach, of achieving genuine community participation and of integrating biophysical and social factors in a transdisciplinary framework. Issues of scale, natural variability and complexity must be addressed in meeting these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe problems of fragmented policies and uncoordinated implementation undermine natural resource management in Australia. There have been promising signs of progress through activities such as the National Forest Policy, Council of Australian Government water reforms, National Land and Water Resources Audit, the Murray- Darling Basin initiative and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality to integrate resource policies. There have also been some notable successes at State and local level. But fragmentation endures. This paper provides evidence of the enduring problem of fragmentation and presents a framework to analyse Australia's experience in natural resource management. The analysis reveals the multi-dimensional character of the problems and identifies a diverse set of actions that need to be taken to improve integration in policy and implementation. Particular attention is given to the potential for regional programs to contribute to improved integration and NRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In Australia, mental health services are delivered by a complex web of public- and private-sector providers. There is a growing recognition that linkages between these groups are not optimal, and a concern that this may lead to poor outcomes. This paper illustrates a conceptual framework for developing, implementing and evaluating programmes concerned with linkages. Method: Drawing on theoretical and practical literature, this paper identifies different levels of integration, issues in evaluating programmes to address poor linkages, and features of useful evaluations. Within this context, it describes the method by which the Public and Private Partnerships in Mental Health Project (Partnership Project) is being evaluated. Conducted by St Vincent’s Mental Health Service and The Melbourne Clinic, this is one of several Demonstration Projects in Integrated Mental Health Care funded under the National Mental Health Strategy. Results: Collaboration is hard to conceptualize and collaborative programmes usually have many players and components, and tend to operate within already-complex systems. This creates difficulties for evaluation, in terms of what to measure, how to measure it, and how to interpret findings. In spite of these difficulties, the illustrative example demonstrates a model for evaluating collaborative programmes that is currently working well because it is strongly conceptualized, descriptive, comparative, constructively sceptical, positioned from the bottom up, and collaborative. Conclusions: This model, or aspects of it, could be extended to the evaluation of other mental health programmes and services that have collaborative elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The integration of Mental Health services is a prominent feature of government health policies. Whilst there is a substantial literature promoting the benefits of rural integrated mental health services, there is little detail of how those services function, or how and to what extent those services are integrated. This research described a rural Nurse Practitioner (NP) led primary healthcare mental health service within the context of rural mental health (MH) service policy in Australia and the literature on integrated mental health services. Theory/Methods: Data were collected from documentary evidence and quantitative evidence in one small town with a Mental Health NP. Qualitative individual and group semi structured interviews, and a 'stakeholder meeting' were conducted. A case-study design was used. Results: The NP mental health service was regarded by most participants as a viable solution to address the drug and alcohol and mental health needs of a high needs community. The service showed some evidence of government and non-government organisations working effectively together to provide a service to the community over the duration of the NPs employment. Integration was described at several levels including at the organisational level, between the mental health and other health and non-health related services and within the community. Discussions: The study provided a detailed description of how integration is demonstrated in a primary healthcare NP-led service. It illustrated the potential benefit to small communities and the significance of the role of a NP in leading this service. The NP service in this primary care setting provided an innovative solution to the fragmented MH and drug and alcohol service that was previously provided by visiting mental health and drug and alcohol services to this small rural town. It reduced the numbers of mental health and/or drug and alcohol related crises and provided links with other services enabling better continuity of care and improved capacity for early intervention. Conclusions: This service demonstrated key features of local integration which was community driven, led by a number of government and non-government agencies, supported by a steering committee as well as a partnership agreement. It also highlighted the substantial challenges to integration of a rural NP-led MH service. Lessons learned: This study is relevant to health care planners and policy makers and to small rural towns. This paper identified and described a NP role in a primary health care setting. It has the potential to influence the development of NP roles in similar settings. Limitations: The case is not necessarily representative of similar cases and therefore the results of the research are not generalisable. Suggestions for future research: Further research in other services such as child and family health could enhance knowledge of the key components of integration and further studies representing the clients' perspective of receiving integrated services. Further areas for research have been identified in the literature to inform integration of mental health services, particularly in a primary health care setting. This research should focus on the scarcity of evidence around qualified NPs coordinating care within this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest is growing in how to integrate spirituality into family therapy. Closely related to this development are efforts to include spirituality in marriage and family therapy training. Students in various fields are expressing interest in spirituality and the desire to have it integrated into their training programs. However, not all family therapy training incorporates spirituality as part of rigorous academic inquiry while considering the personal and cultural components of spirituality in the curriculum. This article examines approaches to integrating spirituality in a Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education ( COAMFTE) accredited program at Christian Theological Seminary ( CTS). A review of research on spirituality in training programs is offered as well as current approaches that address spirituality. The pedagogical approach at CTS is then explicated. The curriculum includes courses in religion and others that integrate spirituality/theological reflection with family therapy. 'Integration of Self, Systems, and Spirit' and a Capstone Presentation that showcases an integrative method are described. Finally, implications for training in secular universities and agencies are articulated, with suggestions for future exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

McFadden, L. and Green, C., 2007. Defining 'vulnerability': conflicts, complexities and implications for Coastal Zone Management. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 120 – 124. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 This paper argues that important insights for improved coastal management can be gained by examining complexities involved in defining vulnerable coastal environments and communities. 'Vulnerability' has emerged as an important concept in understanding and managing coastal environments: yet a significant degree of conflict has been associated to the use of the term. Definitions of 'vulnerability' have been contested in terms of the nature of, and the driving forcing underpinning, vulnerable environments. However, conflicts also surround the very concept itself, in particular efforts towards identifying a 'true' definition of the term. The paper suggests that such conflicts highlight the fact that the definition of a coast as vulnerable is not a neutral act. Conceptualising 'vulnerability' must be considered not only as a technical matter but in terms of social relationships between those involved in coastal management. This necessitates that scientists, policy-makers and other stakeholders involved in managing the coast, consider vulnerability analysis a comprehensive systems assessment of coastal environments and communities. The learning process, through which such a comprehensive assessment is achieved, is critical to creating new and more useful insights into the behaviour of the total coastal system. Simplifying vulnerability for coastal management has occurred at the cost of the essential complexity of coastal systems. If vulnerability analysis is to make a significant contribution to sustainable management of 21st Century coasts, we must be certain to retain this complexity in our approaches to understanding the term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: As global events impact the way organizations operate and innovate in response to regional, workforce and consumer needs, the concept of intrapreneurism is attracting growing interest from policymakers and executives, particularly within the healthcare sector. The aim of this study was to capture the key learnings from the implementation of a telementoring pilot, to understand how intrapreneurship can embed innovation within an established organization to effect more integrated healthcare. Purpose: A qualitative approach was used with a phenomenological lens to explore the key learnings of the Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) pilot implementation to provide an understanding of what the project team's strategies and tactics were during the process of embedding a new business innovation. The implementation and piloting of Project ECHO®, a telementoring model, in a large-scale public healthcare organization in Queensland, Australia, was investigated as an exemplar of integration intrapreneurship. Findings: Through an inductive approach, this qualitative study found the implementation of the Project ECHO® pilot had specific dimensions and strategies/tactics which were exemplars of intrapreneurism. The organizational context and workforce characteristics described in this study presented new knowledge of how intrapreneurs implemented an innovation to address fragmentation of healthcare service delivery, professional isolation and instances of low-value care. This research contributes to a better understanding of the strategic and tactical approaches to implementing intrapreneurial innovations within a public healthcare organization, with learnings that can be adapted by intrapreneurs in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of SPCC (solar-assisted post-combustion carbon capture) at a coal power plant near Sydney, Townsville and Melbourne for implementation in 2020. A review of Australia's carbon and renewable energy policy is performed first, after which the merits of application of each incentive for SPCC are compared. Incentives such as subsidies, preferential discount rate, carbon tax and RECs (renewable energy certificates) are evaluated. No single incentive on its own, and within reasonable limits, is able to provide a favourable economic performance for power plant based renewable powered CCS (carbon capture and storage). However, once the compounded effect of carbon tax and electricity price increase is taken into account, a carbon price as low as A$ 25/tonne-CO 2 and a REC price as low as A$ 35/MWh e is able to produce a positive net benefit in Townsville, while a slightly higher carbon price and REC price is required for Sydney. Melbourne performs poorest amongst the three locations, where substantially higher incentives would be needed for economic feasibility. The level of incentives required for SPCC to become feasible are found to fall in the range of current Australian policy incentives accessible to renewable energy technologies for stand-alone power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment monitoring, tracing and modelling are widely used to identify suspended sediment sources. Although each method has inherent limitations and uncertainties, their integration provides opportunities to form collective knowledge and encourages robust management strategies. This paper presents a Weight-of-Evidence approach to integrate multiple Lines-of-Evidence for identifying suspended sediment sources. Three sources of evidence were used: i) stream flow and suspended sediment monitoring at river gauges; ii) geochemical sediment tracing at river junctions; and iii) catchment-scale suspended sediment modelling of hillslope, gully, streambank and unsealed road erosion. We applied this approach on two data-poor catchments in Australia. Some reaches were consistently identified as major sources of sediment from all Lines-of-Evidence. However, inconsistencies between the types of evidence in other areas highlighted the high uncertainty in identifying suspended sediment sources in these areas and the need for further investigation. The integration framework maximised the use of scarce information, enabled explicit consideration of uncertainties for catchment management and identified where future monitoring and research should be targeted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Salinity Investment Framework (SIF3) is designed to help environmental managers make better policy decisions about protecting key assets under threat of dryland salinity, a major degradation problem in Australia. This study reports results from applying SIF3 in partnership with two regional organizations (in the states of Victoria and Western Australia) with contrasting institutional powers and structures. We also engaged relevant policy makers with a view to influencing national policy. Available knowledge, science, and data were used to develop region-specific recommendations for public investment in salinity management. SIF3 proved easy to apply, requiring minimal changes from its original version. Establishing trust and credibility with stakeholders was extremely important. More time was required to be spent on communicating what SIF3 was and what it would mean for stakeholders than in applying it in the catchments. In both regions, recommendations included making a clear distinction between localized assets (such as a particular wetland) and dispersed assets (such as agricultural land as a whole); more targeted investment in spatially identified localized assets; using a broader range of policy tools; basing recommendations on the levels of public and private net benefits; anticipating the adoptability of sustainable land-management practices; and formally integrating relevant scientific, economic and social information with community values. The differences between current action and recommendations were significant in both regions, particularly in Victoria. As a result of our work both regions have decided to implementing a similar asset-based approach covering various environmental threats in addition to dryland salinity. The research indicates that it is feasible to use decision frameworks such as SIF3 to improve the rigour of decision making by community-based environmental management organizations. A broader range of policy tools are needed for dryland salinity, with less reliance on extension and small grants, and more emphasis on intervention around key assets and investment in technology development. We have influenced policy makers to some extent at state level and nationally through discussion of SIF3 in a national inquiry, preparation of a policy paper for peak multi-government policy committees, briefings and provision of advice on policy design. Despite this, achieving significant policy change at the state and national levels remains difficult for a number of reasons. Governments give limited signals to environmental managers to achieve environmental outcomes, being more concerned with community participation objectives and political considerations. We hope for significant policy change with increased scrutiny about sound decision making and public accountability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Within Education Queensland's recent 'new basics' curriculum initiative, Education Queensland developed 20 transdisciplinary learning and assessment tasks for Years 1 to 9, called 'rich tasks'. This paper critiques two of the rich tasks that were most closely aligned to knowledge and skills within the health and physical education learning area. To do so we draw on Bernstein's (1996) theory of the social construction of knowledge. Through this framework we analyse how two rich tasks recontextualise the discourses from the primary field in the production of the highly-valued healthy citizen. We argue that these particular rich tasks do not fully realise the tenets of the new basics agenda and, more broadly, of contemporary physical activity and health discourses. We conclude that, for curriculum artefacts to be meaningful, curriculum makers must be informed by closer attention to the primary field of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles played by professional frontline service providers in the implementation of refugee settlement policy in Australia have not been researched in depth. Australia plays a leading part in settling 18,740 refugees annually. This qualitative investigation interviewed 20 professionals engaged in this activity in Launceston, Tasmania and employed Lipsky's concept of 'street-level bureaucrats' to explicate their decision-making processes as they implemented public policy. The findings suggest that the majority of participants contextualised and individualised the delivery of benefits and services. In doing so, their worldviews, values, and professional experience led them to 'turn a blind eye', 'bend the rules', or even engage in bureaucratic versions of guerrilla warfare to achieve what they believed to be the best outcome for their clients. This research is significant because it demonstrates that street-level bureaucrats may escape the constraints of neoliberal managerialism by exercising creative beneficent discretion that aligns with policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Three peak organisations in Queensland, Australia partnered with consumers and other health and social sector partners to co-design and pilot the first known integrated, health navigation model to improve outcomes for children and young people in care in Australia. Description: An Organisational Learning theoretical lens has been used to present a narrative case study of findings structured as key learnings from the Navigate Your Health pilot to inform quality improvement, scalability and program sustainability. A developmental evaluation was completed whereby semi-structured interviews, focus groups, surveys, chart reviews, database excerpts and economic modelling was completed alongside project documentation analyses to create an evaluation framework. Discussion: Findings highlighted the agency partners' drive to foster a more integrated and person-centred approach to care. The pilot's aim of improving health outcomes for a vulnerable population were achieved through a co-designed process which provided additional insights regarding partnerships, improvement, scalability and sustainability. Conclusion: Inter-agency responses to system fragmentation provide significant organisational learning opportunities. System integration is achievable through strengthened partnerships that can be sustained beyond a pilot phase to improve health outcomes for vulnerable/priority populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated teachers' purposes and approaches to communication for connectivity and integration of learning, informed by two research questions which examined teachers' approaches to connecting with those responsible for students' learning and integration when they are in the workplace; and what outcomes teachers expected to achieve through such communication. An online survey was completed by 95 vocational education and training (VET) teachers from Queensland, Australia, and the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. The findings show that teachers are well-connected and achieve multiple purposes when communicating with industry supervisors. Their main purposes of communication are to coordinate and cooperate to improve arrangements for students' learning, and to a lesser extent, to co-construct curricula. Communication to co-design learning activities and scenarios would further enhance the connectivity and integration. This research contributes to a gap in literature on teachers' purposes for communicating for connectivity and integration of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research literature indicates that skin colour is still a great divider in Australia despite the dramatic social changes following post WWII migration [Australian Human Rights Commission. (2010). In our own words. African Australians: A review of human rights and social inclusion issues. ; Blair, K., Dunn, K., Kamp, A., & Alam, O. (2017). Challenging racism project 2015-16 (National Survey Report). Western Sydney University; Mapedzahama, V., & Kwansah-Aidoo, K. (2017). Blackness as burden? The lived experience of Black Africans in Australia. SAGE Open; Ndhlovu, F. (2013). Too tall, too dark to be Australian: Racial perceptions of post-refugee Africans. Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, 9(2), 1–17]. This study explores the experiences of a group of young African–Australians and their perceptions of everyday life in Australia. It draws on individual and focus group interview data from a broader study that investigated negotiation of cultural identities of recently arrived former refugees. The key finding is that, although all participants had undergone multiple prior migrations, moving to a dominant white society was much more difficult. The study found that, in everyday life, the visible difference, markedly their Black skin, brought a reaction, both positive and negative, indicating the predominant assumption that Australia still sees itself as a 'white space'. The article examines how Australia's retreat from multiculturalism has created greater delineation between what is seen as the 'white Anglo-Celtic core' and others on the 'periphery' [Stratton, J. (2011). Uncertain lives: Culture, race and neoliberalism in Australia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN (10) 1-4438-3301-0]. Of interest in this study is how the African-Australians responded the research process to negotiate deeper insights into how to belong in what was reported as such a contested space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study analyses collaborative practice in offsite manufacturing (OSM) housing supply chains, focusing specifically on supply chains driven by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study's analysis builds on previous work where we argued that collaboration in OSM housing construction comprises nine elements. In this study, the authors demonstrate empirically that SMEs enact these collaborative practice elements in distinct ways, foregrounding key elements over others. One core model and two sub-models of collaboration emerge from our two case studies. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyses two SME-driven supply chains using qualitative case study techniques. Data were gathered through 12 semi-structured interviews conducted in two housing construction supply chains: one in South Australia, Australia, and another in Tasmania, Australia. Findings: A comparative case study of SMEs shows that collaboration in OSM supply chains has a number of common elements, including a champion for innovation, investment in long-term relationships, resourceful use of limited assets and physical co-location. However, SMEs can also enact these elements through a range of diverging collaborative strategies that can be distilled into different models: stable relationality and dynamic innovation. Originality/value: Findings provide a compelling empirical basis for arguing that SMEs can successfully lead OSM supply chains if key collaborative practice elements are strategically mobilised in ways that are suited to their strengths and limitations. The study therefore interrogates the widely held and often limiting assumption that OSM can only be driven by large organisations with access to capital assets, capacity to invest and undisputed bargaining power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]