Pathways to apprenticeships and traineeships for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Western Australia is experiencing a substantial shortage of skilled labour. The State Government is committed to increasing participation in the workforce across the board, through schemes such as the Plans 4 Jobs, especially because of the current severe skills shortage in the economy. The State Government is also committed, through the four principles of civic values, fairness, equality, and participation enshrined in the WA Charter of Multiculturalism, to promoting the full participation of all groups in all aspects of our community – social, economic, and civil – and to removing any systemic barriers to full participation. This commitment is also embodied in the multi‐departmental Policy Framework for Substantive Equality. Aside from equity, denying equal opportunity also engenders resentment and hostility within our community, diminishes human value, and denies the state the full benefits of all its members’ talents. The cost of discrimination accrues to those who are denied opportunity and to the society which tolerates discrimination. Members of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) communities in this state, in particular those from new and emerging communities, do not currently participate in apprenticeships and traineeships in significant numbers; this is regrettable and it is recommended that measures be taken to remedy this. The Western Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) commissioned this report to investigate barriers to apprenticeships and traineeships confronting people from CaLD backgrounds, and to recommend strategies to improve their participation in apprenticeships and traineeships. The project was undertaken by the Australian Academy of Race Relations (AARR) at Murdoch University, for DET, during the period July – November 2005. DET has many good programmes to promote apprenticeships and traineeships, including to members of CaLD communities. However, the array and complexity of these can be daunting, resulting in a lack of awareness of all the programmes available

Perspectives

2014 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.We see what we want to see. We perceive the world around us in our own way and sometimes our perception is far from how others might perceive it. We have got used to rely on our feelings and emotions when we see or judge something and sometimes this leads to the misinterpretation of the things around us, because feelings and emotions can't be objective. Perspective projection distortion is the inevitable misrepresentation of three-dimensional space when drawn or projected onto a two-dimensional surface. It is impossible to accurately depict 3D reality on a 2D plane. The main focus of my body of work is to apply my research on how the new technologies pushed the boundaries of perspective projection distortion in the digital art world. I use perspective projections in my work not only as a technique, but also as a philosophy. Being able of looking at the world from a different perspective, being able to challenge stereotypical perspective is a powerful way to fight inequality in our society: income inequality, gender inequality. Diversity can be as simple as a different point of view. I believe in the power of data, and in my work I always look for inspiration in different terrain: politics, economics, anthropology, psychology are my bread and butter. I believe that any modern artist needs to push the art forward, inventing, defining new paradigms of expression with powerful meanings. It can be done using new technology, or researching new techniques with old media. It is about the experience the artist delivers to the public - whether it is provocative, whether it changes how the viewer thinks, feels and views the world. This is what really matters, and it has nothing to do with the techniques that the artist chooses to use. Just as the development of acrylic paints in the 20th century did not mean that oil paints or even the practice of creating one's own paint from pigments fell out of practice, so it is with technology. Just as some artists paint in oils only or acrylics only, some create their work digitally. Image editing and graphic design software programs are yet another tool to add to the artist's palette. This is why in my work I try to use a wide range of media: from printmaking to digital fabrication, from graphic design and typography to motion graphic and projection

Developing an Intervention Toolbox for the Common Health Problems in the Workplace

Development of the Health ↔ Work Toolbox is described. The toolbox aims to reduce the workplace impact of common health problems (musculoskeletal, mental health, and stress complaints) by focusing on tackling work-relevant symptoms. Based on biopsychosocial principles this toolbox supplements current approaches by occupying the zone between primary prevention and healthcare. It provides a set of evidence-informed principles and processes (knowledge + tools) for tackling work-relevant common health problems. The toolbox comprises a proactive element aimed at empowering line managers to create good jobs, and a ‘just in time’ responsive element for supporting individuals struggling with a work-relevant health problem. The key intention is helping people with common health problems to maintain work participation. The extensive conceptual and practical development process, including a comprehensive evidence review, produced a functional prototype toolbox that is evidence based and flexible in its use. End-user feedback was mostly positive. Moving the prototype to a fully-fledged internet resource requires specialist design expertise. The Health ↔ Work Toolbox appears to have potential to contribute to the goal of augmenting existing primary prevention strategies and healthcare delivery by providing a more comprehensive workplace approach to constraining sickness absence

Victimizing the Abused?: Is Termination the Solution When Domestic Violence Comes to Work?

Part I of this article will discuss domestic violence, explaining the dynamics of domestic violence in an effort to shed light on why it is so difficult for a battered woman to leave the abusive relationship. This understanding is necessary for a sensitive and informed decision-making process. This Part will also discuss the magnitude of the effect that domestic violence has on the workplace. Part II will discuss a company\u27s potential legal liability for: (a) wrongfully terminating the employee-victim and (b) failing to protect other employees (including, perhaps, the employee-victim herself) if the company does not terminate the employee-victim and violence ensues. This part will explore the many possible causes of action that the terminated employee may or may not bring, and will also explore an employer\u27s obligation to protect its employees against workplace violence. Part III will explore the decision from a normative perspective, and will seek to answer such questions as: Can an employer justify its decision to punish the victim of domestic violence? Should it matter if the female employee was unwilling to help herself or take help from the employer? Are there other less severe alternatives an employer could take? Finally, perhaps the most important question: whose rights should trump? In other words, is it the right decision to sacrifice one woman\u27s employment in order to protect the rest of the workforce against the potential risk of harm? If so, how significant should the harm be before such a decision is made? Finally, Part IV will offer this author\u27s solutions to dealing with these very difficult issues. Even though there are circumstances where termination is justified (a conclusion that will be supported below), in this hypothetical, termination was unwarranted. My conclusions draw analogies to the law of the Americans with Disabilities Act to support my proposal that employers should use a direct threat analysis as well as concepts such as reasonable accommodation and undue burden to analyze the conflict between a company\u27s interest in having a safe workplace and the spillover of domestic violence into the workplace. Because, as I conclude, there was not a significant threat of harm to the workplace in the hypothetical, termination cannot be justified

Epistemic Exploitation

Epistemic exploitation occurs when privileged persons compel marginalized persons to educate them about the nature of their oppression. I argue that epistemic exploitation is marked by unrecognized, uncompensated, emotionally taxing, coerced epistemic labor. The coercive and exploitative aspects of the phenomenon are exemplified by the unpaid nature of the educational labor and its associated opportunity costs, the double bind that marginalized persons must navigate when faced with the demand to educate, and the need for additional labor created by the default skepticism of the privileged. I explore the connections between epistemic exploitation and the two varieties of epistemic injustice that Fricker (2007) identifies, testimonial and hermeneutical injustice. I situate epistemic exploitation within Dotson’s (2012; 2014) framework of epistemic oppression, and I address the role that epistemic exploitation plays in maintaining active ignorance and upholding dominant epistemic frameworks