School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemThe Role of Community in Restorative Justice Conferencing(RMIT Publishing, 2009-02-01)In examining the role of the community in restorative justice conferencing, this article seeks to highlight the critical aspect of conferencing which differentiates it as a mode of restorative justice: the involvement of supportive others of both victims and offenders; the engagement of a restorative community. Reflection on the nature of this community, and its role in the conferencing process, reveals both its functional and symbolic significance. Drawing on the findings of a study of conferencing for young offenders in Melbourne, Australia, between 2000 and 2003, a detailed picture of the role of the restorative community is presented, largely from the perspective of those most closely involved: young offenders and their families.
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ItemMeasuring emotional and social wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations: an analysis of a Negative Life Events Scale.(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2007-11-14)Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience widespread socioeconomic disadvantage and health inequality. In an attempt to make Indigenous health research more culturally-appropriate, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have called for more attention to the concept of emotional and social wellbeing (ESWB). Although it has been widely recognised that ESWB is of crucial importance to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, there is little consensus on how to measure in Indigenous populations, hampering efforts to better understand and improve the psychosocial determinants of health. This paper explores the policy and political context to this situation, and suggests ways to move forward. The second part of the paper explores how scales can be evaluated in a health research setting, including assessments of endorsement, discrimination, internal and external reliability.We then evaluate the use of a measure of stressful life events, the Negative Life Events Scale (NLES), in two samples of Aboriginal people living in remote communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. We argue that the Negative Life Events Scale is a promising assessment of psychosocial wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Evaluation of the scale and its performance in other samples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations is imperative if we hope to develop better, rather than more, scales for measuring ESWB among Indigenous Australians. Only then will it be possible to establish standardized methods of measuring ESWB and develop a body of comparable literature that can guide both a better understanding of ESWB, and evaluation of interventions designed to improve the psychosocial health of Indigenous populations and decrease health inequalities.
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ItemFront-line work in employment services after ten years of New Public Management reform: Governance and activation in Australia, the Netherlands and the UK(Sage Publications, 2010)This study examines the impact of administrative reforms upon the work of front-line staff in the employment services of three reform-oriented countries – Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. These changes have involved greater use of private agents, more detailed performance contracts, clearer expectations about outcomes for job-seekers, and increased competition between agencies seeking government work. The study compares the work characteristics and strategies of front-line staff in agencies in the three systems in 2008 and a decade earlier, using surveys. The results show that there are substantial differences in the level of tailoring and investment in these countries. There are three relatively stable modes of governance in these cases and the most stable of these types across countries and across time is what we term the corporate-market mode – more generally labelled New Public Management (NPM). Despite the expectations of theorists and of reformers, the role of network governance proves neither as stable nor as generalised as expected.
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ItemDecentralization, Horizontal Inequalities and Conflict Management in Indonesia(Informa UK Limited, 2009-03)The impact of decentralization on conflict dynamics is as important as its impact on service delivery and growth, as violent conflict can undo development gains. This paper argues that the impact of decentralization has been twofold. It has relieved centre-periphery tensions around longstanding grievances towards nationalist agendas in Indonesia. The evidence suggests, through examining the case of conflict affected Central Sulawesi, that decentralization has also to some extent addressed long-standing inter-group tensions and horizontal inequalities at the local level, particularly where geographically concentrated ethno-religious groups have previously been marginalised from government. It has also reduced grievances by increasing local autonomy and participation in decision making through direct elections of district heads, now a hotly contested arena of local politics. However, significant structural and institutional change can result in new tensions, particularly when poorly planned for or monitored. Decentralization has stimulated changes in population demographics in some areas in Indonesia resulting in ethno-religious segregation through splitting of sub-national administrative units into increasing numbers of regions. Groups with previous minority status have found safe-haven as majorities, setting the scene for how future rights of access and representation play out. Tensions run high when high-stakes local elections are contested along sensitive identity lines, or when district governments are not inclusive of minorities in their regions. This is not to say that the demographic, structural, and institutional changes with decentralization will necessarily lead to violent conflict, but rather due attention should be given to ensuring appropriate conflict management mechanisms are in place.
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ItemOlder workers and the labour market: Lessons from abroad(American Society on Aging, 2007)This article is based largely on research completed recently for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, which considered recent trends in public policy toward older workers in eleven Member States of the European Union and developments in workplace policy in approximately 120 organizations, primarily larger and operating in the private sector. The article summarizes and evaluates the European public policy response to economic challenges resulting from population aging, before going on to discuss the response of businesses, particularly as they wrestle with increasing competition. The article concludes by asking questions about the future place of older workers in the labor markets of the industrialized nations, and how they will experience efforts to make them work for longer.
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ItemPopulation ageing in a globalizing labour market: Implications for older workers(Informa UK Limited, 2010-07-01)
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ItemEmployees, employers and the institutions of work: The global competition for terrain in the ageing workforce agenda(Emerald, 2008-03-03)Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess risks and prospects for older workers and to provide a number of recommendations designed to marshal the interests of employees, business and government. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the terrain of competing interests and dynamic complexities of workforce ageing, by elaborating on the topic of economic globalisation, the policy approaches adopted by government, the actions taken by industry and the working and life preferences of older workers. Findings In the absence of a deep understanding of the current relationship between demographic ageing, the labour market and economic globalisation, the policy aspirations of government face the prospect of limited success. The currently popular premise, that ageing populations go hand‐in‐hand with ageing workforces, appears to be contradicted by much of the available evidence, which points to rather more complex scenarios, in which outcomes are uncertain, but clearly where late career workers may not necessarily fare well. Originality/value The paper brings analysis to the area of ageing populations and the labour market in the context of globalization – a complex and important topic that is usually dealt with far too simply.
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ItemOlder workers, government and business: Implications for ageing populations of a globalising economy(John Wiley & Sons, 2008-03)Though there is a consensus surrounding the importance of people working at older ages – and in a more flexible way – trends in employment and trade patterns mean that existing policies are not as effective as they need to be.
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ItemOlder workers and organizational change: corporate memory versus potentiality(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LIMITED, 2010-01-01)Purpose Drawing on the recent work of Sennett and others who considered the position of older workers in dynamic economies subject to rapid change, this paper aims to examine the perceived fit between employees of different ages and their employing organizations in four Australian workplaces. Design/methodology/approach Analysis of qualitative data, collected among workers and managers in four Australian organizations, was performed. Findings Results suggests that potentiality tended to be prized as an asset over corporate memory. While managers were frequently paternalistic towards their older employees, ageing human capital was often devalued as managers tried to balance operational budgets and organizations sought to remain responsive to changing market demands. Originality/value The paper discusses the implications for the prolongation of working lives.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableNorth by North West Cape: Eyes on China(Nautilus Institute, 2010)