The economic and social benefits of increasing Indigenous employment

Using the latest available data and research, this paper provides estimates of the likely economic and social benefits of increasing Indigenous employment to the same level as in the non-Indigenous population. Introduction Relatively low rates of employment are one of the reasons for many of the poor economic and social outcomes experienced by Indigenous Australians. Increases in the rate of Indigenous employment would result in significant economic gains to the individuals who move into employment, and their families and communities, to the government who would receive higher tax revenues and have lower social security outlays, and the economy as a whole via the increases in the effective labour supply. The existing research also finds that there are health and social benefits that flow from paid employment. This paper, using the latest available data and research, provides estimates of the likely economic and social benefits of increasing Indigenous employment to the same level as in the non-Indigenous population (i.e. closing the employment gap). It was commissioned by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to help inform the work of the Indigenous Jobs and Training Review chaired by Andrew Forrest

The geographic distribution of Indigenous disability

The rate of disability in the Indigenous population is substantially higher than for the Australian population as a whole. Despite the relatively high rates of disability experienced by the Indigenous population, there is surprisingly little research which provides basic descriptive information on where those Indigenous Australians with a disability live and what their demographic characteristics are. This paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap by providing an overview of the geographic distribution of disability in the Indigenous population. It has been written for the First Peoples Disability Network of Australia in order to support their aim to work towards better outcomes for Indigenous Australians with a disability. The second section of the paper provides an overview of the data used in the analysis, as well as a picture of the distribution of the Indigenous population. The section that follows gives a comparison of rates of self-reported disability across the Indigenous lifecourse, with data also presented for the non-Indigenous population. The fourth section of the paper gives a summary of the rates of reported disability across 38 Indigenous Regions

Sex, sadism and spain: the spanish horror film, 1968-1977

This project explores how a group of films produced, distributed and exhibited under the crumbling dictatorship of Francisco Franco\u27s Spain can potentially lead us to a better understanding of the political, social and cultural conditions during this contentious period in Spain\u27s long history. Between the years of 1968 and 1977 Spain experienced a boom in horror movie production that rivaled other sectors of production and yielded impressive statistics. This work canonizes these films in relation to their historical genesis, aesthetic characteristics and their social reception

The Optimisiation of the Floating Ball Valve Seat Component Design Methodology

The objective of this thesis is to optimise the design methodology through which the design of floating ball valves seats are designed. The lack of an established and accepted design methodology has led to numerous part-solutions being applied to the design process. The variations in design methodology lead to significant variations in designs produced and significant variations in the performance of these designs. In establishing an optimised design methodology this thesis takes the fundamental functions of a floating ball valve and develops a design methodology which when applied achieves a consistent and robust seat design for floating ball valves. To develop the optimised floating ball valve seat design method this thesis first develops an understanding of the mechanics governing the fundamental features of the seat and its interaction with the ball component. The development of the understanding is started through the establishment of theoretical models describing the mechanics of the seat component based on established works. To further ensure the understanding of the seat component is correct a realistic computational model is developed. Through the evaluation of the data from the computational model the theoretical models can be compared to the realistic function of the seat component. Where there are differences between the results from the theoretical and computational models, the theoretical models are improved to be able to be applied to the computational model and generate representative results. Following on from the validation of the theoretical models, the theoretical models are re-arranged and combined in such a way that the models used to describe the mechanics can be used to determine design parameters. The design equations developed are combined into a complete design methodology through which a floating ball valve seat can be designed. Following the establishment of the floating ball valve seat design methodology, the methodology is applied to a case study to demonstrate the robustness and appropriateness of the methodology to designing floating ball valve seats

Bioanalysis of Small Molecule Pharmaceuticals: Simultaneous Determination in Biological Fluid Samples from Multiple Species by the Management of Matrix Effects

A strategy is described for method evaluation to manage the influence of endogenous compounds to induce bias in pharmaceutical quantification from blood samples of different animal species resulting from ionisation matrix effects. The approach introduces the possibility of simultaneous cross animal species calibration for ethical reasons using a simple indicative test, which also rapidly demonstrates the utility of a test assay in other matrices. A quantitative Turboflow LC-MS/MS assay was evaluated using samples prepared in species matched controlled matrices with deuterated internal standardisation. The method was subsequently tested to assess the analysis of samples from multiple animal species using calibration samples from a single matrix origin. The object of this was to enable the substitution of analytical control samples in rodent plasma, reducing the plasma volume required, therefore the number of rodents used indirectly to support development studies. The method was unsuccessful due to concentration bias in identically prepared test samples. The bias origin was investigated using a fixed ratio solution of the analyte and its deuterated analogue with matrix test aliquots. The investigation identified non equivalent relative ionisation efficiency between compounds. The ratio method is proposed as an evaluation strategy for matrix effects causing non-equivalent response ratios. The origin of this deviation was identified using a post column standard infusion test highlighting a region of ionisation suppression co-eluting with the analyte. Full scan acquisition analysis revealed co-elution of endogenous glycerophospholipids. The relative expression of these compounds between species was investigated, employing a precursor ion scanning method of a common product ion indicative of phosphotidyl choline compounds; the human diversity was also investigated. Distribution was found to differ between animal species, which was further tested by construction of a model using partial least squares regression which correctly identified the species origin of all non-primate species tested. The mechanism of differentiation between compound and deuterated analogue by endogenous phosphotidyl choline was proposed as micellar phase equilibrium following elution from the HPLC column. A new Turboflow LC-MS/MS assay was optimised with attention to the resolution of glycerophospholipid interferences and retested for applicability between species. It was simultaneously applied to the analysis of small volume whole blood samples via dried blood spots on filter paper. Precision and bias were acceptable for the analysis of rat and mouse samples using human control plasma. Analysis of incurred ex-vivo samples from rats was successful in demonstrating equivalence between calibration sources

Measuring and analysing success for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

The Closing the Gap targets feature heavily in the current policy measurement framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians at both the national and state/territory levels. The targets provide concrete measures against which trends in changes in outcomes for the Indigenous population relative to those for the non-Indigenous population can be assessed. Although relative outcomes for the Indigenous population have improved for some of the targets, overall there has been a failure to achieve virtually all of the targets. There are also concerns that the Closing the Gap measures are resulting in an overly negative assessment of progress in improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians, and that they entrench a ‘deficits’ view of the Indigenous population. The aim of this paper is to provide helpful information to consider when assessing alternative frameworks for measuring and targeting success. We consider how to define success for Indigenous individuals, families and communities; what are the key determinants of success for Indigenous Australians; what are some of the areas of success within the seven target areas and more broadly; and what are the implications for frameworks for measuring success

What Happens When Insurers Make the Insurance Laws? State Legislative Agendas and the Occupational Makeup of Government

Do the occupational backgrounds of politicians affect the government’s agenda? Businesses have long thought so. The first occupational data on state legislators were collected by the Insurance Information Institute, an interest group representing major insurance companies. In this paper, we test one potential motive for these kinds of efforts: the idea that the occupational makeup of governments affects the agendas they pursue, an argument that has been largely neglected in research on politicians’ occupational backgrounds. We focus here on the insurance industry. Using original data, we find that state legislatures with more former insurers consider fewer bills regulating insurance (negative agenda control), that former insurers play a disproportionate role in drafting the insurance bills that are introduced (positive agenda control), and that the bills former insurers introduce tend to be more favorable to the industry than those that their colleagues introduce (positive agenda control). The occupational makeup of legislatures may indeed affect their agendas, as industry groups have long suspected