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The recent deployment of new satellite-based hyperspectral imaging sensors, along with advances in classification methods, has enhanced the acquisition of information on the spatiotemporal patterns of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC).. With this context, the study presented in this paper seeks to assess the combined utilization of the Pixxel's technology demonstrator hyperspectral satellite mission with the Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) machine learning classifiers for LULC mapping in an agricultural area located in Queensland, Australia. Accuracy assessment of the resulting LULC maps has been done based on relevant classification accuracy metrics. It has been observed that SVMs outperformed RF in terms of both overall classification and urban vegetation cover mapping accuracy. An overall accuracy of 92.34% with kappa of 0.90 was reported for the SVMs' results, whereas for RF, the accuracy was 89.65% with 0.89 kappa, respectively. Both classifiers produced similar results for the classes of mango tree and sugarcane crops, whereas minor differences were observed in the depiction of water bodies and artificial surfaces. Our study findings provide insightful perspectives on the potential of Pixxel datasets for delineating the spatiotemporal distribution of LULC in agricultural landscapes, showcasing Pixxel's hyperspectral sensors' promising potential in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, surveillance data establish that there are higher rates of late HIV diagnoses among heterosexual migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men (GBM) from Southeast and Northeast Asia and Latin America. Together, these groups are identified as priority migrant communities in current efforts to eliminate HIV transmissions. HIV health literacy is recognised as a key means of improving access to services and health outcomes. This qualitative paper explores critical HIV health literacy among priority migrant communities in Queensland, Australia. To foreground community voices, peer researchers from priority migrant communities participated in the project design, data collection and analysis, with 20 interviews completed. The findings demonstrate how participants' engagement with HIV health information and services is highly relational and situated within the framework of sexual health and wellbeing. Participants strategically selected where to seek information and who they trusted to help them appraise this information. They further demonstrated reflective capacities in identifying the contextual barriers that inhibit the development of their HIV health literacy. The findings highlight the need for HIV health promotion strategies that embrace a sex positive approach, promote cultural change, and involve collaboration with general practitioners (GPs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents Indigenous Traditional Owners' water values, rights, and interests from the Mitchell catchment in North Queensland. It is the first analysis of the catchment that links Indigenous water values, rights and interests with specific water resource assessment and development considerations. The paper highlights how relational and reciprocal values frame Traditional Owner responsibilities and obligations through water across generations, across geography, to places, and with the non-human and spiritual entities living on their traditional lands. This ethos of relatedness shapes the way Indigenous peoples want to be engaged in water assessments and planning processes – such processes must focus first on local and regional relationships, where Indigenous actors are central to the coordination of a wider multi-interest governance process. Relatedness relies on building trust, continuous learning, and communication to encompass different values amongst people who are inter-dependent in their use of and relationship with water. Traditional Owners are seeking new platforms that bring multiple knowledges to water resource assessments and planning processes – where Indigenous ways of knowing are included with science, policy, industry, conservation, and community knowledges into an adaptive process focused on long-term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cavendish banana is Australia's most popular fruit and marketed as emblematic of Australian nationalisms. In July 2017, the disease-causing fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense was confirmed present on Australia's largest Cavendish banana farm, in the worst disease incursion that Northern Queensland Cavendish monocrop plantations have yet faced. Confronted with the potential collapse of the industry, banana growers and Biosecurity Queensland officials have deployed a biosecurity response centred on measures of border control and containment. This paper examines the othering of the disease vector Panama Tropical Race 4, revealing biosecurity attempts as embroiled in cultural preoccupations with invasion. In so doing, this paper establishes that the biosecurity concerns regarding Northern Queensland bananas are not just with the economic and biological productivity of nature, but entangled in post-colonial anxieties over who belongs within the landscape. Following the entangled relations between the disease and Cavendish bananas reveals cultural nuances and multispecies relations. These shape and are shaped by industry and government efforts as experts attempt to maintain governance over entities as they appear to slip from human control. This paper finds that the anxieties and narratives of Australian post-colonial politics are deeply imbricated with the logics of ecological protection, agricultural productivity and the banality of everyday nationalisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergenerational programs that bring the young and old together are known to facilitate social connections. However, benefits of intergenerational programs cannot be achieved by simply bringing the two generations together. We need to understand the factors which enhance intergenerational engagement. This paper specifically explores barriers and enablers for improving engagement of older people in an intergenerational program conducted within four research sites in South East Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Video ethnography was used to examine the intergenerational environment and observe patterns of engagement between older people and children. Findings reveal the type of activity, group structure and length of activity to increase engagement of older people in an intergenerational program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, production scheduling for rotomoulded plastics manufacturing in a multi-machine environment is considered. The objective is to minimise total tardiness. The problem has some commonality with hybrid flow shop scheduling with batching, where additional constraints are needed to control which machines may be used at each stage. The problem is shown to be NP-hard and is formulated as a mixed integer program. Given consequently large solve times to obtain optimal solutions, simulated annealing and tabu search algorithms were developed alongside a constructive heuristic to obtain near-optimal solutions within a practical time-frame. The solution algorithms were tuned and tested using randomly generated problem instances. The best results in terms of solution quality were generally obtained by simulated annealing. The problem instances were generated to be representative of a real production environment located in Queensland, Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore the lived experiences of teacher educators working in the midst of the current tumultuous and highly regulatory policy landscape. The paper will briefly outline the politics and policies that have profoundly shaped teacher educators' work in Australia over the past 10 years. We write from our own experiences, as three actively-teaching teacher educators, working with a diverse and nontraditional student population in regional Queensland. We seek to illuminate these experiences through a series of narrative (re)presentations, drawing attention to what we see as important questions regarding the enactment of policy reforms, paying particular attention the impacts on teacher educators and preservice teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Ficotarsonemus bancroftisp. nov., is described from female and male mites from within the syconium of the sandpaper fig Ficus coronata Spin collected from southeast Queensland, Australia. We summarize records of fig mites (Tarsonemidae: Tarsonemellini) to date and provide a key to genera and species. Paper LSID: Species LSID: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers play a critical role in the implementation of inclusive education in their schools. In this paper, we report on a study that investigated teacher perceptions of their capabilities to implement effective inclusive practices in their classrooms at an urban, primary (elementary) school in south-east Queensland, Australia. Participating teachers (n = 48) responded to an online survey that contained two open-ended questions that focused on understandings and beliefs about inclusive practices, together with the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale Sharma, Loreman, and Forlin [2012. "Measuring Teacher Efficacy to Implement Inclusive Practices." Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 12 (1): 12–21]. Responses to the open-ended questions revealed that teachers were positively disposed towards the enactment of inclusive practices in their school. Teachers also reported high levels of efficacy across items on the TEIP scale, indicating that they were mainly confident in implementing inclusive practices in their classrooms. They showed highest levels of uncertainty for items related to involving parents in school activities and informing others about inclusion legislation and policies. Implications for targeted teacher professional learning at school and systemic levels are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharing personal teaching stories provides opportunities for enhanced wellbeing and learning for both experienced and pre-service teachers. This paper shares the results of a qualitative pilot study that used narrative inquiry to collect and share teacher stories. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase collected humorous stories from experienced teachers recalled from the first years of their teaching career. Thematic data analysis investigated the wellbeing and learning impact on those teachers when sharing their stories. The second phase invited pre-service teachers to read and evaluate the impact of humorous stories when preparing for their first school placements. Thematic data analysis investigated the wellbeing and learning impact on pre-service teachers reading these stories. The analysis from both phases demonstrated recurring themes regarding the importance of teacher-student relationships for teacher wellbeing. The results also showed that the sharing and reading of stories had beneficial outcomes such as enhanced wellbeing and enhanced learning for both the teacher storytellers and the pre-service teacher readers. This study provides evidence that the inclusion of real-life stories offers a valuable addition to Initial Teacher Education programs as a way of developing professional and reflective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The leaders of governments in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Queensland recently created “implementation” or “delivery” units at the centre, ostensibly to advise, monitor, and ensure better implementation of policy initiatives. This collection of papers seeks to explore the emergence, roles, functions, and accomplishments of policy implementation and delivery units, as well as their prospects. This overview paper provides a framework for analyzing and assessing the work of these units to date, beginning with a synopsis of the evolution of thinking on implementation, and turning to the new environment for governance, policy development, and implementation. It casts policy implementation and delivery units as one of several “adhocracies” that populate the centre of government, which may take on quite different roles. The paper provides an overview of the case studies and key findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between technology and fatal intimate partner violence has been previously thought of as distinct and separate. This research paper suggests, however, that online abuse that is considered "spaceless" in fact is intrinsically linked to the perpetration of "real world" and fatal violence. This study examined 100 cases of intimate partner femicide to determine the frequency of technology-facilitated intimate partner violence in Queensland, Australia. Findings indicate that risk factors of intimate partner femicide, including coercive control and stalking are closely associated with technology-facilitated intimate partner violence. This suggests that technology allows offenders to enact an omnipresent violence. Implications highlight the need for future research, policy, and practice to acknowledge the interconnectedness of offline and online abuse in responding to fatal intimate partner violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising number of students in schools identified as being on the autism spectrum has placed pressure on school leaders and staff to gain knowledge and take on new practice. A school-wide autism competency (SAC) approach utilises the research on elements of effective practice to build the capacity of school leaders and staff to create inclusive school cultures, implement evidence-based strategies, and improve outcomes for students on the autism spectrum. This paper reports on the experiences of three schools as they implemented the SAC approach in Queensland, Australia. A multiple case study design was utilised to examine the factors that influenced the implementation process and outcomes achieved at each school. Factors that influenced each school's ability to transform their practice for students on the autism spectrum included engagement of leaders, support from an external coach, involvement of parents, realignment of resources and staff, and the ability to manage change and competing priorities. Findings revealed that although all three schools increased staff's knowledge of students on the autism spectrum, the engagement and actions of leaders and the underlying culture of the school influenced the degree to which changes were implemented and outcomes were realised for students on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frank Costello's long career represents a series of illuminating encounters with the development of Australian planning, design practice and education. His career stretched from the 1920s to the 1970s, first in Sydney and subsequently in Brisbane where he was the senior architect-planner at Brisbane City Council between 1941 and 1952. He also worked for a decade in the Queensland Department of Works. He had a parallel career as an educator, commencing part-time at Sydney Technical College in 1937 and from the mid-1940s at what is now the Queensland University of Technology where the final phase of his career came as a senior lecturer in architecture with special responsibility for town planning. Post-war Brisbane gave him the opportunity to put into practice much of the modernist ‘organic’ theory that he had accumulated from his extensive studies and travels abroad. This paper recounts Costello's life and times as a journeyman planner whose life stories and professional philosophy is illuminatingly representative of the evolution of mainstream Australian planning values and the limits to practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning and the development system are mechanisms that can provide affordable housing and alleviate the cost of housing. This paper explores the use of a specific response to housing affordability and delivery of affordable housing in Queensland through the introduction of a statutory land authority, the Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA). It provides a narrative review of an important time in Queensland’s planning and development history. The introduction of the ULDA was significant as it represents the first time that Queensland planning saw the introduction of planning-related legislation that could require affordable housing. Even more extraordinary was that the deliverables (affordable housing) sat outside the mainstream planning legislation of the time. Additionally, the establishment of the ULDA represents the first statutory land authority responsible for planning and development in Queensland. While similar authorities have been operational in many States since at least 1974, this was never the case in Queensland, but the Queensland response of the ULDA was unique in Australia in terms of its powers and structure. This paper considers that despite such extraordinary powers, the outcomes of the ULDA were not as effective as originally anticipated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Children in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities often do not access follow-up eye care services when referred from vision screenings; whether this is due to lack of availability is not known. This paper highlights the need for vision and eye care for vulnerable children with practicing clinical optometrists well placed to provide vision care. Vision impairments develop from a young age and may inhibit learning experiences and impact life outcomes. Vision screening to detect and refer vision abnormalities supports children in their education and prevents minor vision impairments from worsening. This research describes outcomes from a vision screening programme for 4– to 5-year-olds delivered in Queensland, Australia. The programme involved all prep children from participating schools in Queensland. Vision screening was conducted with the Parr 4 m Visual Acuity Test and Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screener. A cross-sectional study design was adopted. Descriptive data analyses explored the frequency of vision screening and referral outcomes. Inferential analyses examined associations between vision screening and referral outcomes with socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA) scores. Of 71,003 prep students screened, 4,855 (6.8%) received a referral recommendation. A higher proportion of children who received a referral recommendation was from more disadvantaged locations (?2 = 109.16, p < 0.001). Of the students referred, 3,017 were seen by an eye health professional. Further vision assessment of students by an eye health professional revealed that 43.3% of the referred children were diagnosed with a vision abnormality, 18.9% had no vision abnormality and 37.7% had an 'undetermined' diagnosis. A higher proportion of children confirmed with a vision abnormality were from more disadvantaged locations (?2 = 52.27, p < 0.001). It is important that vision screening programmes target disadvantaged populations and support families of children who require further health assessment to access health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the knowledge of climate-change impacts on water-resources is a priority. This article goes a step further with the main objective of this study to explore water-practitioners' viewpoints regarding the water supply-side and water demand-side management measures in coping with future climatic impacts to achieve urban water security. Interviews were conducted with water-professionals from regional urban water authorities of Queensland, Australia. From a water-practitioner's viewpoint, surface water is perceived to remain a high-priority water resource for the region, although climate-change is projected to make this resource more vulnerable in the area. Climate-change risks have rarely been considered as a selection-criterion when long-term water solutions were investigated by water-practitioners. Although non-pricing water demand management policies were used to reduce water demand in the region, pricing-based water demand management tools are perceived by the water-professionals to be the most effective at reducing water demand in the study area, if implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School absenteeism has been concerning educators in the Global North (including Australia) as research suggests a relationship between school attendance, academic achievement and subsequent life chances. This paper focuses on the perspectives of 50 school leaders in Queensland, Australia about approaches to improving attendance. Strategies reflected the cultural, economic and social diversity of their school communities. In general, quality curricula and pedagogies were considered important, but were not explicitly linked to attendance. This suggests the need for schools to develop strategies to enhance student engagement in meaningful learning through quality curricula and pedagogies within a positive school environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of interstitial space and everyday housing practices at the domestic scale. Interstitial space is often framed as “empty” or “in-between” space located in the shadows of conventional built form and everyday practices. In this paper, we focus on interstitial space as a site of often undervalued or taken-for-granted housing possibility. We begin the paper by outlining the contours of interstitial space as a theoretical concept before highlighting two cross-cultural examples of domestic housing storage practices within the Australian context: (1) “under the house” in the Queensland vernacular and (2) “close to the wind-break” in a remote Aboriginal community in the centre of Australia. We conclude by drawing attention to the importance of interstitial spatial practices for housing theory and practice and offer suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political processes are shaped by the gendered ways in which women and men are selected to run for political office. This paper examines the increase in women entering the parliamentary arena and employs a feminist historical institutionalism approach to understand how and why change in female representation occurs. We examine the interplay between formal rules and informal practices on candidate selection through the case of Queensland, Australia. Drawing on policy developments and analysis of election reports, we explore the difficulties in changing the gendered nature of political parties, the formal and informal processes, the pace of change and the political struggles and opportunities along the way. Factors supporting increased representation included leadership, sanctions, placement mandates, as well as vacancies and a 'glass cliff' political environment. Support for formal rules and quotas – despite resistance at the informal level – has gradually improved opportunities for women in one political party in this jurisdiction and achieved very positive outcomes. In contrast, the other major party has opposed quotas relying instead on informal practices and rules, which result in less positive outcomes for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dwellings become home through the social, emotional and psychological meanings that dwellers attach to them. These meanings often revolve around home as a haven, a site of autonomy and a vehicle for the expression of social status. Yet, homes can also be unmade, not only through external acts of 'domicide', but also through networks of local social relations in which homes are embedded, such as those with neighbours. This paper explores the role of "unneighbourliness" in home unmaking as recounted by clients of neighbourhood mediation services in Queensland, Australia. It shows that disputes with neighbours can undermine one's sense of home as haven, autonomy and status. But it also reveals how home (un)making occurs as a dialectic in the context of physical proximity and shared boundaries between residential dwellings where the homemaking practices of one neighbour spill over into, and impede, the sense of home of another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of a Teaching and Learning Audit of all government schools in Queensland, Australia. This audit has a concern with the extent to which schools ‘differentiate classroom learning’. We note that in England, since September 2012, one of the standards that teachers have been expected to demonstrate is an ability to ‘differentiate appropriately’, and thus the lessons of how this particular audit was implemented in Queensland have relevance outside of Australia. The paper draws on data collected from Red Point High School, one of the State’s 1257 schools and education centres audited in 2010. We suggest that this requirement to differentiate classroom learning was implemented without appropriate clarity or support, and that it increased teacher surveillance in this school. However, we also argue that some spaces were opened up by this audit, and its concern with differentiation, to articulate a social justice agenda within the school. We conclude that differentiation is a complex concept which is not easy to shift from a policy to a classroom context, and requires more careful explication at policy level and more support for teachers to enact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Installation of essential infrastructure can challenge not only its specialized supply professionals but also property developers and homeowners. This article investigates these stakeholders' appraisal of high voltage overhead transmission lines (HVOTLs) in Queensland, Australia. It first assesses risk surrounding developers' operations and then relays the chief perceptual models applying to the public at large. Investigated next are the two subject groups' outlook on HVOTLs, their orientation to several categories of infrastructure, and developers' tolerances when prospecting for sites near electricity facilities. Planning pointers permeate the analysis and discussion of results, leading to the summary and conclusions to the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speeding in work zones is common and poses significant safety hazards to motorists and workers. Previous studies have demonstrated that speeding is reduced when workers are visible to the drivers, suggesting that concern for the safety of workers influences drivers' speed choice. Conversely, the extent of speeding when workers are not visible suggests that drivers underestimate the increased risk of crashes or other damage to their vehicles associated with the poorer road conditions common at roadworks (loose surfaces and debris, narrower lane width and drop-offs etc.). To better understand the factors influencing drivers' speeds in work zones, this paper examined the extent to which drivers' speed choices are influenced by their perceived likelihoods of injuring workers and damaging their own vehicles. Driver-nominated speeds and perceived likelihoods of worker injury and vehicle damage were collected in an online survey of 405 drivers from Queensland, Australia, by showing photographs of 12 real-world work zones. The data were analyzed using regression techniques to examine the factors influencing driver-nominated speeds and likelihood of speeding. The results supported the hypothesis that both drivers' perceived likelihood of injuring workers and damaging vehicles strongly influence their nominated speeds (p < 0.001). Young and middle-aged drivers nominated 2.5–6.3 km/h higher speeds than older drivers (p < 0.001). Car drivers who also held truck licenses nominated 4.5 km/h higher speeds (p < 0.001) and 81% higher odds of nominating speeds higher than posted limits (p < 0.001) than car-only licensed drivers. Drivers nominated lower speeds at road curves (12.1 km/h lower speed and 53% lower odds of speeding, p < 0.001), if adjacent areas of travel lanes were unpaved or had loose materials (11.5 km/h lower speed and 66% lower odds, p < 0.001), and when workers were visible in work zones (1.4 km/h lower speed, p = 0.004, and 27% lower odds, p = 0.041). In addition to driver demographic and work zone characteristics, drivers' perceptions of safe speeds depend on their perceptions of the likelihood of worker injury and vehicle damage at work zones. These findings suggest that interventions to heighten drivers' perceptions of the likelihood of damage to their vehicles may be useful in moderating speeds at roadworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the perceptions of police who work in Queensland's discrete Indigenous communities. Given the strong relationship between policing practices and the environments in which police work, we examine how 'place' and 'space' – particularly the environmental context of Queensland's discrete Indigenous communities – can inform policing. Interviews with fifteen police officers who work in Indigenous communities across Queensland found that police felt like strangers in Indigenous communities; they were acutely aware of their status as a (predominantly) white minority in a (predominantly) non-white space, which had implications for their policing practices. This also contributed to their perceptions of discrete Indigenous communities as strange lands – spaces in which their own (settler) social norms did not necessarily apply, and within which the work of policing had to be adjusted and reshaped. Overall, police found it difficult to reconcile their experiences of policing in discrete Indigenous communities with their experiences of policing elsewhere in Australia. In many ways, they were not trained nor prepared for policing in these distinct contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of retirement on police officers. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 police retirees from Queensland, Australia, we explore the impacts of retirement on police officers' sense of wellbeing as well as the coping strategies utilised by retirees in the transition from paid employment to retirement. We found experiences of retirement varied amongst participants depending on the role they had whilst policing, the type of social interactions they had pre and post retirement and their financial position. Common themes include conflicting emotions, relevance deficit, anger and disappointment, financial issues and the loss of social networks. Coping mechanisms involved psychological counselling, expanding external social networks and seeking out other interests and hobbies in the lead up to/upon retirement. We suggest these findings can enable policing organisations to provide improved support for police officers leading up to retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2006, “welfare-to-work” policies were introduced for single parents in Australia. These policies require most single parents with school-aged children to be employed or seeking employment of 15 to 25 hours per week in return for their income support payment. The changes represented a sharp increase in the obligations applying to single parents on income support. This paper is concerned with how the wellbeing of single mothers who are combining income support and paid employment is being influenced by these stepped-up activity requirements. The paper draws on data from semistructured interviews with 21 Brisbane single mothers. The analysis explores participants’ experiences in the new policy environment, utilising the theoretical framework of “relational autonomy”. Relational approaches to autonomy emphasise the importance of relations of dependency and interdependency to the development of autonomy and wellbeing in contrast with more individualistic approaches that privilege independence and self-sufficiency. Findings indicate that in their dealings with the welfare bureaucracy, participants experienced a lack of recognition of their identities as mothers, paid workers, and competent decision makers. These experiences have negative consequences for self-worth, relational autonomy, and ultimately the wellbeing of single parent families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes 15 principles of educational intervention for developing vocationalised moral values for workplaces. The principles are drawn from a study of 14 construction workers in Queensland, Australia and draws from their understanding and perception of vocational moral development. The paper proposes these principles as a basis for lifelong learning. This concept of lifelong learning is summarised in terms of educational outcomes and engagements within institutional and industrialised regulatory contexts and contrary experiential social and personal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of Australian local government reform almost invariably focuses on systemic changes that can be wrought by the application of various policy instruments, like the structural reform of the scale of local councils or changes to the enabling legislation governing local government. Scholars typically use this approach and differentiate the efficacy of reform measures according to classifications of council by generic type. While this approach has been exceedingly fruitful in the past, this paper argues that small, remote and isolated Australian local authorities are sui generis in the sense that they are not amenable to standard reform policies because their unique circumstances and special characteristics. The paper considers the case of local shires in the Central West outback region of Queensland that comprise the Remote Areas Planning and Development Board (RAPAD) group of councils and attempts to draw some general lessons for local government policymakers. Despite the recent limited forced consolidation experienced by some RAPAD councils, we find that the 'tyranny of distance' afflicting RAPAD members means that it is not amenable to 'top-down' reform measures, like council amalgamation, and policy makers should instead focus on 'local solutions to local problems' and encourage feasible forms of resource sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper, community-held archival material was used to evaluate the palaeo-biology of dinosaur track-makers from the 'fireclay caverns' of Mount Morgan. With the ensuing interest, community members disclosed additional photographic documentation of Mount Morgan dinosaur tracks. The described theropodan and ornithischian tracks are consistent with the known Mount Morgan ichnofaunal record, while evidence of Anomoepus track-makers walking with the atypical plantigrade pedal posture has not been previously documented in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural, social and more-than-human approaches to nature research are largely held apart in the discipline of human geography. In this paper I argue that these three approaches can be brought together to good effect. The paper presents a situated account of 'water places' in inland Australia—namely the artesian bores, boredrains and boredrain wetlands of the Birdsville Track—in order to demonstrate that together, these three approaches can reveal the complex interactions that form particular places, and comprise a more-than-human world. This account explores the layers of interaction that have formed these water places, including their insertion into the landscape through drilling, and their various roles: in opening the country for stock; in the Australian colonial imagination as means for developing the inland and the nation; as tools for displacing Aboriginal peoples from their country; as a focus for life in the desert; as key to mining and petroleum exploration; and in local controversy. It illustrates their physical and conceptual transformation from 'bores' to 'wetlands'. The paper argues that cultural, social and more-than-human geographies are needed in order to effectively govern human relations with 'nature', and to better understand how to live in and with a more-than-human world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Vehicle crashes in work zones are significantly underreported in official crash datasets of many countries, including Australia. This leads to underestimations of work zone crash frequencies and limited understanding of crash causation factors. To address this important gap in the literature, this paper examines historical data from two different sources - police-reported crash data and organizational Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) records - to understand work zone crashes and their characteristics in Queensland, Australia.Methods: WHS data including text fields were cleaned and coded to match police-reported crash data variables for comparative descriptive analysis of a 45-month period. involvement of a moving vehicle that collided with another vehicle, pedestrian, object, or overturned, at a work zone accessible to public traffic.Results: There were more work zone crashes in the WHS data (N = 820) than the police-reported data (N = 128) and the WHS data offered a deeper understanding of incident causes due to the greater breadth of information available. The two data sets varied in terms of the patterns of crash type, the mixes of road users and vehicles involved, and the contributing factors that were identified, highlighting dangers of relying on single sources for understanding crash characteristics. The WHS data appear relatively consistent with the overall work zone safety literature, but their use has limitations regarding processing and reliability. Conversely, police-reported crash data can be analyzed efficiently but they suffer from underreporting and selective reporting.Conclusions: The WHS dataset is a valuable alternative to police-reported crash data for understanding vehicle crash characteristics in work zones, particularly where restrictive reporting criteria lead to inability to identify these crashes in police data. Reliability and utility of WHS data could be improved through advanced reporting systems and procedures, potentially including development of an app-based system for use on mobile electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on mixed methods research that was part of a larger investigation into the impact of an inclusive, physical activity intervention programme on a broad range of variables including children's enjoyment of, and participation in physical activity, self-perceptions, physical self-efficacy and how this influenced their overall social–emotional health and well-being. A six-month intervention programme based on Traditional Indigenous Games (TIG) was conducted in a total of five schools with 235 children and their seven teachers, in Queensland, Australia. Student reflective surveys used a four-point Likert scale to collect quantitative data relating to enjoyment and inclusion, perceptions of ability and physical self-efficacy. Qualitative data were also obtained through teachers' anecdotal notes and post-intervention semi-structured interviews. Statistically significant differences across time were found for student enjoyment, inclusion, perceptions and physical self-efficacy and were supported by the teacher's qualitative data. Improvements in students' physical self-efficacy through inclusive physical activity occurred as a result of the positive experiences created by the TIG intervention programme. This study demonstrates the huge potential for the inclusive and cooperative approach foregrounded in TIG, to support the development of inclusive physical activity in schools which enhances physical self-efficacy and promotes the social–emotional health and well-being of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines collaborative researcher-practitioner knowledge work around assessment data in culturally diverse, low socio-economic school communities in Queensland, Australia. Specifically, the paper draws on interview accounts about the work of a cohort of school-based researchers who acted as mediators bridging knowledge flows between a local university and a cluster of schools. We draw on the concept of recontextualisation to explore the processes of knowledge mediation in dialogues around student assessment data to design instructional innovations. We argue that critical policy studies need to explore the complex ways in which neoliberal education policies are enacted in local sites. Moreover, we suggest that an analysis of collaborative knowledge work designed to improve student learning outcomes in low socio-economic school communities necessitates attention to the principles regulating knowledge flows across boundaries. In addition, it necessitates attention to the ways in which mediators navigate dilemmatic spaces, anxieties and affects/feelings in order to generate innovative learning designs in the current global context of high-stakes national testing and accountability regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rapid growth of Australia's Muslim population over the past three decades has presented a challenge to local governments to find ways of accommodating their needs, particularly providing spaces to build mosques. Yet in many parts of Australia, mosque applications have been opposed by local communities and consequently such applications are usually declined by local councils. Many Muslims believe that Islamophobhia and racism are behind such refusals. This paper examines the role of urban planning policies in determining the location, architectural form, and the use of mosques, and their impact on the local community, through a case study of the Masjid Al Farooq in South-East Queensland. It seeks to understand whether urban planning policy as well as urban planners can become a tool of integrating the community and, if so, how. This case study reveals that there is no provision in urban planning policies specifically for places of worship. Such applications are treated the same as all others even though they have a very different purpose. Places of worship form an integral part of community and can be crucial at a time when political leaders seem to be placing emphasis on family and social cohesion. Marginalising places of worship will continue to disenchant segments of the population and make them feel like “outsiders”. Given the contemporary global political climate, there are no easy solutions. This paper makes policy suggestions that government, planners, and community leaders can embrace so that mosques and those who worship in them are seen as part of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores how the strong policy push to improve students' results on national literacy and numeracy tests - the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) - in the Australian state of Queensland influenced schooling practices, including teachers' learning. The paper argues the focus upon improved test scores on NAPLAN within schools was the result of sustained policy pressure for increased attention to such foci at national and state levels, and a broader political context in which rapid improvement in test results was considered imperative. However, implementation, (or what this paper describes more accurately as 'enactment') of the policy also revealed NAPLAN as providing evidence of students' learning, as useful for grouping students to help improve their literacy and numeracy capabilities, and as a stimulus for teacher professional development. Drawing upon the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, the paper argues that even as more political concerns about comparing NAPLAN results with other states were recognised by educators, the field of schooling practices was characterised by a logic of active appropriation of political concerns about improved test scores by teachers, for more educative purposes. In this way, policy enactment in schools is characterised by competing interests, and involving not just interpretation, translation and critique but active appropriation of political concerns by teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the findings from interviews with thirteen parents of students with severe vision impairment who attend mainstream schools in Queensland, Australia. Participants were interviewed about their experiences in advocating for their children in a range of educational contexts. These experiences varied greatly depending on a number of factors, such as attitudes to inclusivity and ableism, perceptions of vision impairment, school culture, teacher-parent communication, and competing agendas. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the authors provide illuminating data on three broad themes: parents' experiences of advocating for their children, parents' experiences of utilising support networks and funding, and parents' suggestions for schools and teachers. Important recommendations for teachers, schools, parents, students, and service providers are offered, with specific advice to develop a community of care, collaboration, and high expectations for students with vision impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over many years, Health and Physical Education curriculum initiatives have provided a notable site of contestation and debate regarding the optimum approach to educating students for ‘good citizenship’. While similarly motivated, the contributions of a range of stakeholders of varying degrees of proximity to the site of teaching and learning have been made from somewhat diverse positions, with subsequently diverse implications for the content and pedagogical imperatives of the subject. Hunter proposed that these contributions and contestations over the purpose and content of subjects are the inevitable consequence of principled positions cohering around the notion of an ideal formation of the person. Purpose: Drawing on an Australian genealogy of subjectification study and current debates in Australia regarding the constitution of a proposed national (health and) physical education (HPE) curriculum, this paper serves to demonstrate the principled bases for former and contemporary curriculum development contributions, contestations, and critique. Furthermore, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the influence of principled bases for the operations and interactional outcomes of curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy. Implementation: To demonstrate the pervasive presence and influence of two notable principled positions in HPE curriculum development – ‘healthy citizenship’ and ‘sports performer’ – we present findings from a genealogical analysis of curriculum reform in Queensland. The enduring influence of these principled positions is then demonstrated through contemporary advocacy initiatives for a national HPE curriculum in Australia. Conclusion: The concept of principled positions persuades curriculum stakeholders to remove themselves from arguments of right and wrong concerning schools, subjects, curricular principles, and innovations, to understand these elements as strategies which service different principled positions in relation to the same or similar educational projects. Moreover, it promotes a more circumspect and reflexive commentary on HPE and its constitution from the academic community, in the recognition that such contributions are no less shaped by certain principled views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that languages, increasingly marginalised in schools in English-speaking countries, are gaining ‘elitist’ ground as part of the ‘value-added’ marketisation of schools and parents’ desire for their children to gain ‘positional goods’ through schooling. In arguing our case, the paper draws on survey and other data derived from second-language immersion programmes in two Queensland secondary schools, where key learning areas such as mathematics and science are taught through the medium of another language. As a corollary, we also argue that some schools – in our case, government schools – are using their immersion programmes as markers of distinction in a period of post-comprehensive schooling and emerging school markets, which includes both government and non-government schools. There is also a global policy context to such programmes in respect of countries such as Spain, China and Germany supporting the teaching of their respective languages in nations around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the planning literature, the distinction between regulatory planning and strategic spatial planning has exposed a recurring dichotomy that exists between the idea of ‘conforming’ (regulative certainty) and ‘performing’ (strategic flexibility) plans and planning systems. This paper critically examines the divergent trajectories of land-use policy and regulation in two Australian states, Queensland and New South Wales. This paper concludes by arguing that the flexibility/certainty dilemma is something of an artifice—a land-use planning shibboleth—that serves to distract professional and scholarly attention away from substantive issues such as how planning might better engender more sustainable urban settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Queensland University of Technology badges itself as 'a university for the real world'. For the last decade the Law Faculty has aimed to provide its students with a 'real world' degree, that is, a practical law degree. This has seen skills such as research, advocacy and negotiation incorporated into the undergraduate degree under a university Teaching & Learning grant, a project that gained international recognition and praise. In 2007-2008 the Law Faculty undertook another curriculum review of its undergraduate law degree. As a result of the two year review, QUT's undergraduate law degree has fewer core units, a focus on first year student transition, scaffolding of law graduate capabilities throughout the degree, work integrated learning and transition to the workplace. The revised degree commenced implementation in 2009. This paper focuses on the 'real world' approach to the degree achieved through the first year programme, embedding and scaffolding law graduate capabilities through authentic and valid assessment and work integrated learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than passively accepting development, some Indigenous communities have forced their demands into corporate decision-making. Accordingly, recognising and responding to community expectations becomes a matter of prudent strategy and 'enlightened self-interest'. This paper examines the case of Century Zinc Mine in Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria where the miner undertook negotiations and reached agreement with local Indigenous communities. It was later held to account by communities concerned about insufficient implementation of this agreement. Discussion then explores the campaign against Jabiluka uranium mine in Australia's Northern Territory, especially why multinational miner Rio Tinto deferred to local community wishes surrounding development. These experiences show that Indigenous communities are most effective in bringing leverage over mining companies when they impact upon profit or future profit (often related to reputation with specific audiences). The parameters and consequent limitations of a company's responsiveness to community demands reinforce fundamental roles for the state as ultimate regulator and provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocational education and training outcomes for Indigenous Australians have remained below expectations for some time. Implementation of Indigenous Standpoint Theory (IST) presents the opportunity to further enhance Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous people in Australia. This paper briefly discusses this theory, the concept of Indigenous knowledge and its integration to enhance Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous learners. It presents a case study on the experiences and challenges of a non-Indigenous Technical and Further Education (TAFE) teacher who has been working with Indigenous learners and communities in regional Queensland for over eight years. The paper highlights issues and challenges and identifies three binaries in integrating this theory to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners and their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today we accept that football in its various forms is the predominant winter sport in Brisbane; in fact, it is reasonable to state that this is true globally. This paper examines the construction of identity of Brisbane and its people through football in the colony of Queensland during the 1880s. It demonstrates the centrality of sport in this process. The struggle over the choice of football code illustrates how sport was a feature of contested social and cultural terrains and how support for a game was a source of the construction of the identity of initially Brisbane and later Queensland. The paper further illustrates the centrality of the role of sport in the cultural hegemony of British imperialism and of the predominance of the ideology of athleticism in the public schools of colonial Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A goods and services tax (GST) was introduced in Australia on 1 July 2000. It was hailed by a commentator as one ‘of the most radical revenue reforms in half a century’ (Surry 2000) requiring businesses, both small and large, to comply with new tax regulations. The introduction of this government mandated scheme provided an excellent opportunity to understand how small business operators learned to implement new practices. This paper reports the findings of an investigation into how 30 small businesses in Queensland, Australia, learned about and came to implement the GST. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with small business operators during 2001–2002 and case studies were prepared that described each of the small businesses' readiness for and process of implementation of this initiative. This paper identifies and discusses factors influencing small business operators' readiness to learn about the GST and the activities and interaction undertaken by them that assisted their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information from a conference by the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH), titled Sporting Traditions X. When and where conference was held; Acceptance of sports history in Australia, North America and Western Europe; Theory presented by sociologists; Demonstration of several sessions; Details of the keynote speaker.

For First Peoples across Australia, birds have important connections to kin and Country. We draw on a recent analysis of all Australia's threatened bird taxa to identify on whose traditional Country they occur. Of the 201 imperilled (threatened or Near Threatened) bird taxa facing threats within Australian territory (including Commonwealth waters and offshore islands), 64% occur on lands and waters to which at least 463 First Peoples' groups have a connection. Fourteen bird taxa occur only on Country of a single First Peoples' group while 15 taxa occur on Country of over 50 First Peoples' groups. Four First Peoples' groups, in north Queensland and south-eastern Australia, have over 20 imperilled bird taxa on their Country. Taxa on First Peoples' Country face 78% of the total national threat load on imperilled birds and have 75% of both the research and management needs for relieving threats. All the threats are a consequence of colonisation, suggesting that supporting First Peoples to manage the threats to birds is a moral, and potentially legal, responsibility. Many First Peoples have chosen to engage actively in the conservation of imperilled species but there are numerous additional opportunities for monitoring and active management of Country that will yield benefits. Our analysis can help First Peoples identify which birds on their Country are listed as threatened under western conventions and that they may wish to help conserve; and assist conservation managers to identify First Peoples who might wish to lead or become more involved in imperilled bird management. The Global Biodiversity Framework strongly supports maximising the involvement of First Peoples in environmental management. There are at least 460 First Peoples' groups on which imperilled birds occur, which provides a wide range of opportunities for management if people so choose. The Countries of many First Peoples' groups supports 10 or more imperilled bird taxa, suggesting that support for Country management will often benefit many taxa. The depth and longevity of First Peoples' connection to Country provides them with a perspective lacking in much management. Because all threats to imperilled birds on First Peoples' Country are derived from settlers, there is a moral, and possible legal, case for supporting First Peoples to manage them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the differences in school (NAPLAN) outcomes between New South Wales and Queensland. It shows that there are pronounced differences in Year 3 NAPLAN results between these states, though these dissipate when later class years are considered. The reasons for these state effects in school outcomes are explored using an empirical framework grounded in the regression discontinuity literature. There is no systematic evidence of school-specific unobservables that are linearly related to the distance of schools from the New South Wales–Queensland border that account for this state effect. In other words, the lower outcomes of schools in Queensland relative to schools in New South Wales appear to be a pure institutional phenomenon. This conclusion carries over to the various sensitivity tests undertaken based on the partition of the sample by school sector and by distance from the border. Accordingly, the border effects are expected to be eroded by the recent reforms to the school starting age in Queensland and by the national curriculum currently proposed for implementation in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Australian government's push to develop northern Australia identified water security as crucial in underpinning any new agricultural developments. Compliance of the current water resources planning frameworks in the three northern Australian jurisdictions – Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory – with the National Water Initiative is reviewed. An updated approach to water resource development in northern Australia is then proposed that could involve the Australian government taking a greater coordinating role. Four key requirements of this new approach are then discussed: new coordinating legislation (for example, a Northern Australia Water Act); greater involvement of First Nations communities; a more coordinated and integrated water resource planning process; and improved and more transparent processes for water infrastructure funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]