Howard’s Australia – How foreign policy decisions shaped a nation

Unlike liberalism, the realist theory of International Relations leaves very little space for individual leaders or other domestic factors to influence the direction of a state’s foreign policy. It therefore provides an insufficient explanation for the enormous influence former Australian Prime Minister John Howard had on Australian foreign policy-making. When considering potential domestic influences on a state’s foreign policy, such as public opinion, Australia’s political institutions and societal structure, John Howard’s influence far outshone them all. Howard claimed to be a realist and indeed his actions generally confirmed that. Yet the fact that he was able to shape Australian foreign policy in his mould, from the more liberal internationalist bipartisanism of the previous few decades, ironically demonstrates the importance of domestic factors in the making of foreign policy over international ones. While in Australia the Prime Minister has always had far more influence in this field than any other factor, this is a trend which Howard consolidated. Howard’s influence was so great not only because of the centralised nature of the Australian foreign policy-making structure he inherited upon winning office in 1996, but because of conscious decisions made during his prime ministership. These decisions included the establishment of the National Security Committee, the promotion of the Australian Federal Police at the expense of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the increased prominence of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Howard was then able to use his influence in Australian foreign policy-making to shape Australia in his own image. The case studies of the 1999 peace-keeping operation in East Timor and the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of the United States-led “Coalition of the Willing” demonstrate this argument. Not long after Australian troops entered East Timor – Howard’s first real intervention in foreign affairs – Howard outlined to parliament what quickly became known as the Howard Doctrine. This speech foreshadowed the full expression of Howard’s vision of Australia, a vision that was: … centred upon the Anzac tradition; mateship; military valour; mourning; remembrance; the martial defence of Western values [and] the most intimate association with Australia’s two wartime great and powerful friends, the United Kingdom and the United States (Manne, 2004, 50). The War on Terror, especially Australia’s contribution to the invasion of Iraq, represented the most extreme expression of the Howard Doctrine, and demonstrates most clearly Howard’s dominance of the foreign policy-making arena

Proceedings of the Desert Fishes Council Special Publication 2021

Integrative Biolog

Interprofessional collaborative project for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of contracted (frozen) shoulder

Contracted (frozen) shoulder (CFS) is a condition characterized by decreased active and passive shoulder range of motion and pain. The etiology of CFS is unknown and even the diagnostic terminology has evolved. Some risk factors for developing this condition include diabetes, as well as, several other endocrine, cardiac, and neurologic disorders. The incidence of this condition is approximately 2% of the population; however, the diagnosis may have been overused for other painful and stiff shoulder conditions such as shoulder dislocation, glenohumeral osteoarthritis, and rotator cuff tears. The historical symptomatic distinction of three clinical phases may be less clinically useful than simply a “pain predominant� and “stiffness predominant� shoulder. With a gradual onset, an accurate diagnosis and appropriate intervention may accelerate pain relief. While there are non-operative and operative treatment options, the focus of this review is primarily non-operative treatments. The purpose of this project is to review up-to-date clinical practice guidelines for CFS with an inter-professional, collaborative work group of orthopaedic and physical therapy providers. The goal of this project is to develop and implement a treatment standard based on best practices for this condition.D.N.P

A Stranger Amongst Strangers: An Analysis of the Freedmen's Bureau Subassistant Commissioners in Texas, 1865-1868

This dissertation is a study of the subassistant commissioners of the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas from late 1865 to late 1868. Its focus is two-fold. It first examines who these men were. Were they northern born or southern? Did they own slaves? Were these men rich, poor, or from the middle-class? Did they have military experience or were they civilians? How old was the average subassistant commissioner in Texas? This work will answer what man Freedmen's Bureau officials deemed qualified to transition the former slave from bondage to freedom. Secondly, in conjunction with these questions, this work will examine the day-to-day operations of the Bureau agents in Texas, chronicling those aspects endemic to all agents as well as those unique to certain subdistricts. The demand of being a Bureau agent was immense, requiring long hours in the office fielding questions and long hours in the saddle inspecting subdistricts. In essence, their work advising, protecting, and educating the freedmen was a never ending one. The records of the Freedmen's Bureau, both the records for headquarters and the subassistant commissioners, serve as the main sources, but numerous newspapers, Texas state official correspondences, and military records proved helpful. Immense amounts of information arrived at Bureau headquarters from field personnel. This work relies heavily on reports and letters in the Bureau agents' own words. This dissertation follows a chronological approach, following the various Bureau administrations in Texas. I believe this approach allows the reader to better glimpse events as they happened

Exploring Novel Associations Between Psychosocial Work Factors, Obesity, and Energy Balance-Related Behaviours

In many parts of the world, including Australia, the majority of the adult population is overweight or obese – presenting a significant risk to health and wellbeing. The positive energy balance hypothesis states excess weight is caused by consuming greater dietary energy than is required for functioning and physical activity. While this hypothesis describes the main biological mechanism for weight gain, it does not explain why individuals engage in excess dietary intake and/or insufficient physical activity. The biopsychosocial model advocates the additional consideration of psychological and social factors within various settings. The aim of this research was to provide a better understanding of how psychosocial work factors may be associated with overweight and obesity, as well as two important energy balance-related behaviours: leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and habitual diet. The Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model is most prevalent in the study of psychosocial work factors, yet there is considerable inconsistency in how it has been operationalised. Previous research suggested equivocal associations between psychosocial work factors and obesity – with some studies reporting associations and others not. Concomitantly, evidence emerged to suggest the two subscales of job control (skill discretion and decision authority) may hold differential associations with some health outcomes, but no previous research had considered the potential for these to hold differential associations with obesity. In study one, cross-sectional analyses of data from 450 South Australian employees revealed the two subscales of job control were the only components of the JDCS model associated with measures of obesity. Notably, these associations were in opposite directions. Higher levels of skill discretion were associated with reduced waist circumference and body mass index (BMI), while higher levels of decision authority were associated with elevated waist circumference. It was important to consider the behaviours that may underpin these associations. Study two comprised a systematic review of studies that consider the associations of LTPA and/or habitual diet with psychosocial work factors within the JDCS model. After screening records (n = 6,863), 31 studies meeting inclusion criteria were summarised. There was general support for a negative association between various conceptualisations of work stress within the JDCS model and LTPA; particularly lower job control and lower LTPA. There was some suggestion of an association between work stress and poorer diet, but insufficient studies to draw strong conclusions. Study two revealed no previous studies had considered the potential for the two subscales of job control to hold unique associations with LTPA or diet. As such, study three employed a similar methodology to study one, but with LTPA (3 categories: no activity, activity but not sufficient, sufficient activity) and dietary energy intake (kJ/day) as the outcomes. Analyses suggested higher levels of skill discretion were associated with increased LTPA, but not associated with diet. Conversely, decision authority was not related to LTPA, but higher levels of decision authority were associated with reduced dietary energy intake. Surprisingly, higher coworker support was associated with increased dietary energy intake. The findings of this thesis suggest the two subscales of job control may be uniquely associated with obesity and energy balance-related behaviours. As such, future research should consider operationalising the JDCS model at the subscale level, since this may reveal novel associations with obesity and other health outcomes – presenting new opportunities to improve employee health and wellbeing. Further implications of this research, as well as limitations and recommendations for future research, including the need for replication, are discussed in the final chapter.Thesis (Combined Ph.D. and MPsych (Hlth)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201

Helicopter Location and Tracking using Seismometer Recordings

We use frequency domain methods usually applied to volcanic tremor to analyse ground based seismic recordings of a helicopter. We preclude misinterpretations of tremor sources and show alternative applications of our seismological methods. On a volcano, the seismic source can consist of repeating, closely spaced, small earthquakes. Interestingly, similar signals are generated by helicopters, due to repeating pressure pulses from the rotor blades. In both cases the seismic signals are continuous and referred to as tremor. As frequency gliding is in this case merely caused by the Doppler effect, not a change in the source, we can use its shape to deduce properties of the helicopter and its flight path. We show in this analysis that the number of rotor blades, rotor revolutions per minute (RPM), helicopter speed, flight direction, altitude and location can be deduced from seismometer recordings. Access to GPS determined flight path data from the helicopter offers us a robust way to test our location method