The job network and underemployment

The paper notes how long-term unemployment has been replaced with long-term underemployment and examines the role of the Job Network in this new environment. The paper discusses how the structure of unemployment has changed, how the Job Network has evolved and comments on its performance. It is noted that the Job Network has become more and more driven by tightly specified processes and services supported by an ever tighter compliance regime. This business model has much in common with franchising and this analogy is used to interpret the observed outcomes and the concerns expressed by providers and other interested parties. The paper concludes that there are some inherent problems with the franchising model and suggests that less prescriptive arrangements may be preferable

The citizen scholar in developing global perspectives

The citizen scholar encapsulates the idea that the role of universities is to promote scholarship as well as active and engaged citizens—both national and global. That is, beyond the disciplinary knowledge students develop during their studies, universities must inculcate a set of skills and cultural practices that prepare students for a turbulent and constantly changing world. We argue that at the core of the citizen scholar is a set of graduate proficiencies that promote internationalization, which includes interdisciplinarity learning environments, cross-cultural understanding, a series of new literacies, internationalization, and inclusivity. These proficiencies are underscored by the frame of “cultural humility”; that is, a lifelong commitment of both self-evaluation and self-critique as one seeks to engage and understand the many complex cultures we interact with

Class and career choice

This article explores the significance of class for women’s participation in paid care work. It draws on in-depth interviews with female nurses and social workers in order to understand what motivates women to pursue paid caring careers. Using the theoretical tools of Bourdieu, this article explores the career motivations, mobility experiences and aspirations of differently classed nurses and social workers. The research reveals some significant differences between the women who self-identify as coming from working-class backgrounds and those who self-identify as coming from middle-class backgrounds. The article therefore provides a gender/class analysis of women’s participation in the paid caring field and moves beyond gender analyses of caring work

The restructuring of WA human services and its implications for the not-for-profit sector

Western Australia provides an interesting case study of the outsourcing of human services to the not-for-profit (NfP) sector. This article presents and discusses some of the key themes that emerged from a recently completed research project examining one large NfP in Western Australia. Key themes included the recruitment and retention of staff linked to pay and changing funding arrangements, and the sector becoming increasingly corporatised in outlook and goal orientaiton. Despite evidence that the shifting policy and funding environment within the NfP sector has had some negative consequences, the research findings highlight a degree of agency within which organisations can resist or counterbalance these changes. Efforts to avoid this trend, however, are reliant upon a number of factors; for example, a strong commitment to vision and mission supported by skilled leadership and adequate resourcing. Significantly, these factors are unlikely to be readily available, particularly for smaller NfPs. This discrepancy in organisational capacity is set to become more conspicuous with the potential introduction of ‘Big Society’ policies derived from the United Kingdom, and funding cuts proposed by the Coalition government