Assessing Data and Modeling Needs for Urban Transport Sector: An Australian Perspective

Managing the transport assets of an urban economy and ensuring that change is in accordance with suitable performance measures requires continuing improvement in analytical power and empirical information. One crucial input in an ongoing review of data and modeling capability for improving planning and policy support in the urban transport sector is a recognition of the role of stakeholders and the impact they can have in supporting the ongoing commitment to implementing a state of practice data and modeling strategy. This paper presents a multi-stage stakeholder assessment of data and modeling needs (primarily in the urban passenger context) in Australia that is required to ensure the continuity of appropriate deliverables to a market of diverse stakeholders. The implementation of the framework of inquiry enables data and modeling agencies to remain current and relevant. Such an exercise should be encouraged from time to time as part of good practice

Geographic labour mobility: research report

This report assesses geographic labour mobility within Australia and its role in a well-functioning labour market. Key points: Geographic labour mobility is an important element of a well-functioning labour market. By improving matches between employers and workers, geographic labour mobility can contribute to economic efficiency and community wellbeing. Advances in transport and communication technologies have broadened the scope of geographic labour mobility. This mobility can take the form of residential moves, long-distance commuting and telecommuting. Geographic labour mobility has been an important mechanism for adjusting to the demographic, structural and technological forces shaping the Australian economy. It has accommodated differences in the pace of economic activity across Australia and enabled wealth to be more widely distributed across the country. Labour appears to be responding to market signals and moving to areas with better employment and income prospects. These movements, together with the increase in long-distance commuting and temporary immigration, have assisted in meeting labour demand in many parts of the country. Gravity (a region\u27s size), distance and economic opportunities are the main determinants of geographic labour mobility at an aggregate level. At the individual level, personal and locational factors interact to influence whether and where people move. Life events and family circumstances appear to be the most important factors in such decisions, but factors related to housing, employment, local infrastructure and a person\u27s level of education also play a prominent role. Areas of high unemployment and disadvantage vary in their mobility — some have high rates of mobility, while others have low rates of mobility. While geographic labour mobility is assisting labour market adjustment, high unemployment is persisting in some regions, and there is room for improvement. There are no simple levers to affect geographic labour mobility. Many policies aiming to influence where people live and work in regional and remote areas have had limited effectiveness. Policies will be more effective if they are highly targeted. In addition to geographic labour mobility, a flexible, accessible and quality education and training system is important for meeting Australia\u27s continually changing workforce and employment needs. The negative consequences of some poorly designed policies, such as taxation, housing and occupational licensing, include reduced geographic labour mobility. Reform in these areas would lessen impediments to geographic labour mobility, and also have broader benefits. The community has been poorly served by the lack of progress in occupational licencing and action should be expedited. Improved access to administrative data would assist better understanding of geographic labour mobility in Australia

A measuring tool for integrated internal communication : a case study of the University of South Africa library

Text in English, abstract in English, Afrikaans and VendaThis study developed and tested an integrated internal communication audit (IICA) tool to evaluate the communication strengths and weaknesses of the Unisa Library. The existing communication audit instruments were explored, namely: the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) and the International Communication Association (ICA) audit were adapted and complemented by the Organisational Culture Survey (OCS) and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The current trends and the trends in South Africa were also explored. The sequential mixed method design consisting of the semi-structured qualitative interviews and the quantitative surveys were used to collect data. The ATLAS.ti and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software packages were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data. The results revealed the IICA as an appropriate tool for measuring the integrated internal communication of the Unisa Library. The IICA identified the communication needs of employees; the active and preferred communication channels; and the positive and negative communication experiences of employees.Hierdie studie het ʼn geïntegreerde interne kommunikasie-oudit (IICA)-hulpmiddel ontwikkel en getoets om kommunikasie-sterkpunte en -swakhede van die Unisa-biblioteek te evalueer. Die bestaande kommunikasie-oudit-instrumente was ondersoek, naamlik: die Kommunikasietevredenheidsvraelys (CSQ) en die Internasionale Kommunikasievereniging (ICA) se oudit is aangepas en gekomplementeer deur die Organisasiekultuur-opname (OCS) en die Kritiese-insident-tegniek (CIT). Die sekwensiële gemengdemetode-ontwerp, bestaande uit die halfgestruktureerde kwalitatiewe onderhoude en die kwantitatiewe opnames, is gebruik om data in te samel. Die ATLAS.ti-programmatuurpakket en die Statistiese Pakket vir Sosiale Wetenskappe (SPSS)-programmatuur is gebruik om kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data te ontleed. Die resultate gewys die IICA as ʼn geskikte hulpmiddel was in die meting van die geïntegreerde interne kommunikasie van die Biblioteek. Die IICA geïdentifiseer die kommunikasie behoeftes van werknemers; die aktiewe en voorkeur kommunikasie kanale; en die positiewe en negatiewe kommunikasie ervarings van werknemers.Ngudo iyi yo bveledza na u linga tshishumiswa tsha u Sedzulusa Vhudavhidzani ha nga ngomu ho Ṱanganelaho (Integrated Internal Communication Audit (IICA), u ṱola vhuḓi na vhuvhi ha vhudavhidzani kha Ḽaiburari ya Univesithi ya Afrika Tshipembe. Zwishumiswa zwa u sedza vhudavhidzani zwi re hone zwo sedzuluswaho zwi katela: Mbudzisambekanywa dza Vhudavhidzani dzine dza fusha ṱhoḓea (Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire) (CSQ) na tshishumiswa tsha u sedzulusa vhudavhidzani tsha Dzangano ḽa Dzitshaka ḽa Vhudavhidzani (International Communication Association) (ICA). Zwishumiswa izwo zwo ḓadziswa nga tshishumiswa tsha Ṱhoḓisiso ya Mvelele ya Tshiimiswa (Organisational Culture Survey) (OCS) na Tshikalo tsha u ela Maitele a Zwithu zwa ndeme (Critical Incident Technique) (CIT). Pulane ya thevhekano ya maitele o ṱanganelaho o vhumbwaho nga maitele a ṱhoḓisiso ane a shumiswa kha saintsi dza matshilisano (qualitative) na maitele a ṱhoḓisiso ane a shumisa zwiṱatisiṱika na mbalo (quantitative) zwo shumiswa u kuvhanganya mawanwa. Phakhedzhi ya Sofuthiwea ya ATLAS.ti na phakhedzhi ya Siṱatisiṱika ya Saintsi dza Matshilisano (Statistical Package for Social Sciences - SPSS) dzo shumiswa u saukanya mawanwa a ṱhoḓisiso dza matshilisano na a ṱhoḓisiso dza zwiṱatisiṱika na mbalo. Mvelelo dzo bvisela khagala uri IICA ndi tshishumiswa tsho teaho u ela vhudavhidzani ho ṱanganelaho ha nga ngomu Ḽaiburari ya Univesithi ya Afrika Tshipembe. Tshishumiswa itshi tsho bvisela khagala thoḓea dza vhashumi dza vhudavhidzani, zwishumiswa zwa vhudavhidzani zwine zwa khou shumiswa na zwi takalelwaho; na tshenzhemo ya vhashumi kha vhudavhidzani havhudi and vhu si havhudi.Communication ScienceM. Comm (Communication Science

Adapting the community sector for climate extremes

Abstract People experiencing poverty and inequality will be affected first and worst by the impacts of climate change to infrastructure and human settlements, including those caused by increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events and natural disasters. They have the least capacity to cope, to adapt, to move and to recover. Community service organisations (CSOs) play a critical role in supporting individuals, families and communities experiencing poverty and inequality to build resilience and respond to adverse changes in circumstances. As such, the services they provide comprise a critical component of social infrastructure in human settlements. However, very little is understood about CSOs own vulnerability to – or their role in managing and mitigating risks to their clients and the community from – climate change impacts to physical infrastructure. The Extreme Weather, Climate Change and the Community Sector – Risks and Adaptations project examined the relationship between physical and social infrastructure (in the form of CSO service provision). Specifically, the ways in which the climate-driven failure of CSO service delivery worsens risks to the individuals and communities they serve and, on the other hand, how preparedness may reduce vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to human settlements and infrastructure.The research comprised a comprehensive and critical scoping, examination and review of existing research findings and an audit, examination and judgment-based evaluation of the current vulnerabilities and capacities of CSOs under projected climate change scenarios. It employed three key methods of consultation and data collection. A literature review examined research conducted to date in Australia and comparative countries internationally on the vulnerability and climate change adaptation needs of CSOs. A program of 10 Community Sector Professional Climate Workshops consulted over 150 CSO representatives to develop a qualitative record of extreme event and climate change risks and corresponding adaptation strategies specific to CSOs. A national survey of CSOs, which resulted in the participation of approximately 500 organisations, produced a quantitative data set about the nature of CSO vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to infrastructure, whether and how CSOs are approaching the adaptation task and key barriers to adaptation.While the methods employed and the absence of empirical data sets quantifying CSO vulnerability to climate change impacts create limitations to the evidence-base produced, findings from the research suggest that CSOs are highly vulnerable and not well prepared to respond to climate change and extreme weather impacts to physical infrastructure and that this underlying organisational vulnerability worsens the vulnerability of people experiencing poverty and inequality to climate change. However, the project results indicate that if well adapted, CSOs have the willingness, specialist skills, assets and capacity to make a major contribution to the resilience and adaptive capacity of their clients and the community more broadly (sections of which will be plunged into adversity by extreme events). Despite this willingness, the evidence presented shows that few CSOs have undertaken significant action to prepare for climate change and worsening extreme weather events. Key barriers to adaptation identified through the research are inadequate financial resources, lack of institutionalised knowledge and skills for adaptation and the belief that climate change adaptation is beyond the scope of CSOs core business. On the other hand, key indicators of organisational resilience to climate change and extreme weather impacts include: level of knowledge about extreme weather risks, past experience of an extreme weather event and organisational size.Given its size, scope and the critical role the Australian community sector plays in building client and community resilience and in assisting communities to respond to and recover from the devastating impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters, the research identifies serious gaps in both the policy frameworks and the research base required to ensure the sector’s resilience and adaptive capacity – gaps which appear to have already had serious consequences. To address these gaps, a series of recommendations has been prepared to enable the development and implementation of a comprehensive, sector-specific adaptation and preparedness program, which includes mechanisms to institutionalise knowledge and skills, streamlined tools appropriate to the needs and capacity of a diverse range of organisations and a benchmarking system to allow progress towards resilience and preparedness to be monitored. Future research priorities for adaptation in this sector have also been identified

"Quality of Life", Road Pricing and the "Level of Service" of Urban Roads

This paper addresses the definition of the “level of service” of urban roads in the context of developments in road pricing. It investigates the measurement of the “level of service”, technological developments in road tolling, drivers acceptance of road pricing, and the impacts of road pricing on the “quality of life” of urban areas

Designing Transport & Urban Forms for the Australia of the 21st Century

Papers presented at workshop on “Designing Transport & Urban Forms for the Australia of the 21st Century” on Tuesday 30 April 1996 at the Institute of Transport Studies (Sydney), University of Sydney. Four papers critically review the direction of current Australian policies for transport and urban form and make recommendations for the development of affective policies for the Australia of the 21st Century

Essays in energy-finance markets

This thesis consists of three stand-alone studies in the field of energy finance market and household finance. The first study investigates the demographics and socio-economics factors influencing individuals’ decision to choose working from home before and after the coronavirus outbreak. I find that all factors impact the working from home choice before the coronavirus outbreak. However, the number of children becomes an uninfluenced factor, and female employees are more likely to work from home after the outbreak. Thus, I further report that female employees who work from home are less likely to have been promoted and received lower wages before the coronavirus outbreak. However, after the outbreak, they have a higher probability of job promotion and higher wage premium of working from home. This points to higher bargaining power with employers for females after the outbreak due to the changing in cultural norms and advanced working from home technologies. In the second study, I aim to analyse the impact of financial literacy on energy poverty in Australia and to explore important mechanisms of influence. The result shows that financial literate individual is less likely to face energy poverty. I also address the potential endogeneity by employing the mathematically skills as instrument variable. Additionally, I examine the channels that contribute to the relationship between financial literacy and energy poverty by focusing on the role of wealth and consumption. The result shows that wealth is the important channel through which financial literacy influences energy poverty while consumption could not classify as important channel. The third study investigates the macroeconomic effects of extreme weather in Australia by employing the index, Australian Actuaries Climate Index (AACI), to measure the extreme weather conditions. I find that the extreme weather shocks have a negatively impact on gross domestic product (GDP) and consumer price index (CPI). To provide better understanding of CPI, I analyse the CPI component and find that energy and food price are increased after extreme weather shock because higher energy demand for cooling and heating and lower agriculture output, respectively. In addition, the extreme weather shocks have the negative effect on interest rate while the positive impact on unemployment rate and energy consumption