Industrial relations reform in Australia: implications for the agricultural and mining sectors

A major transformation in the processes that underpin industrial relations arrangements in Australia appears to have occurred during the last decade. The tribunal‐based systems of conciliation and arbitration that have shaped labour‐management relationships now play a far less pivotal role, and the system of awards is far less central to the determination of wages and conditions. Greater scope now exists for employees and employers to tailor their industrial relationship to the needs of the enterprise. This article provides an overview of the development of both collective and non‐collective bargaining within the formal framework, and the likely impacts of such developments.International Development,

The impact of the welfare state on the economic status of Indigenous Australian women

This paper uses census data and Department of Social Security (DSS) administrative records to examine the role of social security income in explaining the growth and relative improvement in the income status of Indigenous Australian women. The real median income of Indigenous women was 81 per cent of that of non-Indigenous women in 1991 compared with 74 per cent in 1976. Much of the change has come from an improvement in the position of Indigenous women who were not in employment. The paper argues that much of this improvement can be attributed to increased access to social security benefits for Indigenous women and therefore needs to be qualified by the circumstances in which Indigenous women live. A mid-term review of the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy (AEDP) has recently been completed. While much of the associated policy rhetoric and assessment of policy outcomes has been aimed at the national level, the fiscal environment in which AEDP goals are to be achieved is invariably one of regional labour markets and administrative systems operating in the economic context of States and Territories. In view of this reality, this paper responds to a need for regional-level analyses of change in the economic status of Indigenous people compared to that of non-Indigenous people in each State and Territory. Using 1986 and 1991 Census-based social indicators for the Northern Territory, attention is focused on relative shifts in population growth and intra-State distribution, labour force and income status, and levels of welfare dependency (measured as non-employment income). A major finding is that while the gap in labour force status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people has narrowed, the relative income status and level of welfare dependency of Indigenous people has worsened. This suggests that increased emphasis on the quality of AEDP outcomes, and not just quantity, will be necessary if the overall aims of the AEDP are to be accomplished

Full- and part-time work and wages : an application to two countries

This thesis investigates the extent of the wage differentials between females working full- and part-time in Australia and the United States, the causes of these differentials and the effect these differentials have on the aggregate ratio of female to male wages in both countries. The thesis contributes to existing knowledge in three ways. Firstly, it documents the magnitude and sign of the male/female wage ratio and the full/part-time wage ratio for countries which include Australia and the United States. For both Australia and the United States, the average male wage per hour was estimated to exceed the average female wage per hour. For the United States, consistent with evidence from other international evidence, wages of full-time workers were estimated to exceed those of part-time workers. However, for Australia, part-time hourly wages were estimated to exceed full-time hourly wages by around 20 percent. Secondly, this thesis draws upon the theories of human capital, segmented labour markets and efficiency wage to develop a model which explains individual's wages. From this model, the roles of human capital endowments, sample selection, occupations and institutions in determining the wage differential between full- and part-time workers was estimated. For Australia, differences in the endowments were not found to be an important factor in determining the causes of the wage differential between full- and part-time workers. For the United States, however, differences in the level of endowments were estimated to be important in explaining the wage differential between females working full- and part-time. Sample selection effects were estimated to be important in explaining the wage differential between females working full- and part-time in both countries. This effect was interpreted as indicating that in Australia, higher hourly wages are inducing ’better' quality workers into the part-time labour market. Unexplained differences (such as discrimination and productivity differences) were also found to be important in explaining the wage differential between females working full- and part-time in the United States, but not in Australia. This finding lead us to examine the role of occupations and institutions in explaining the full- and part-time wage differential. Thirdly, an estimate of the effect of part-time work and wages on the overall wage ratio between males and females was undertaken. For Australia, including part-time workers explicitly into the gender wage analysis decreased the gender wage differential estimate derived for full-time workers by 5 percentage points to 19 percent. For the United States, explicitly including part-time workers into an estimate of the gender wage differential increased the estimate from the full-time gender wage analysis by 4 percentage points to 40 percent

The effects of estradiol on mood and behavior in human female adolescents: a systematic review

Mood disorders and health risk behaviors increase in adolescence. Puberty is considered to contribute to these events. However, the precise impact of pubertal hormone changes to the emergence of mood disorders and risk behaviors is relatively unclear. It is important that inappropriate attribution is not made. Our aim was to determine what is known about the effect of endogenous estradiol on human adolescent girls’ mood and behavior. The databases searched were MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Pre-MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus for all dates to October 2014. For inclusion, contemporaneous hormone and mood or behavioral assessment was required. Data were extracted following a template created by the authors. Fourteen studies met our inclusion criteria. There was some consistency in findings for mood and estradiol levels, with associations between estradiol and depression and emotional tone and risk taking. Results were less consistent for studies assessing other mood and behavioural outcomes. Most studies were cross-sectional in design; assay methodologies used in older studies may lack the precision to detect early pubertal hormone levels. Conclusion: Three longitudinal and several cross-sectional studies indicate potential associations between estradiol and certain mood or affective states, especially depression and mood variability though there are insufficient data to confirm that the rise in estradiol during puberty is causative. We believe that it is important for health professionals to take care when attributing adolescent psychopathology to puberty hormones, as the current data supporting these assertions are limited.Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC

Cognition and Educational Achievement in the Toronto Adolescent and Youth Cohort Study:Rationale, Methods, and Early Data

Background: Both cognition and educational achievement in youths are linked to psychosis risk. One major aim of the Toronto Adolescent and Youth (TAY) Cohort Study is to characterize how cognitive and educational achievement trajectories inform the course of psychosis spectrum symptoms (PSSs), functioning, and suicidality. Here, we describe the protocol for the cognitive and educational data and early baseline data. Methods: The cognitive assessment design is consistent with youth population cohort studies, including the NIH Toolbox, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Wechsler Matrix Reasoning Task, and Little Man Task. Participants complete an educational achievement questionnaire, and report cards are requested. Completion rates, descriptive data, and differences across PSS status are reported for the first participants (N = 417) ages 11 to 24 years, who were recruited between May 4, 2021, and February 2, 2023. Results: Nearly 84% of the sample completed cognitive testing, and 88.2% completed the educational questionnaire, whereas report cards were collected for only 40.3%. Modifications to workflows were implemented to improve data collection. Participants who met criteria for PSSs demonstrated lower performance than those who did not on numerous key cognitive indices (p &lt; .05) and also had more academic/educational problems. Conclusions: Following youths longitudinally enabled trajectory mapping and prediction based on cognitive and educational performance in relation to PSSs in treatment-seeking youths. Youths with PSSs had lower cognitive performance and worse educational outcomes than youths without PSSs. Results show the feasibility of collecting data on cognitive and educational outcomes in a cohort of youths seeking treatment related to mental illness and substance use.</p

Cognition and Educational Achievement in the Toronto Adolescent and Youth Cohort Study:Rationale, Methods, and Early Data

Background: Both cognition and educational achievement in youths are linked to psychosis risk. One major aim of the Toronto Adolescent and Youth (TAY) Cohort Study is to characterize how cognitive and educational achievement trajectories inform the course of psychosis spectrum symptoms (PSSs), functioning, and suicidality. Here, we describe the protocol for the cognitive and educational data and early baseline data. Methods: The cognitive assessment design is consistent with youth population cohort studies, including the NIH Toolbox, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Wechsler Matrix Reasoning Task, and Little Man Task. Participants complete an educational achievement questionnaire, and report cards are requested. Completion rates, descriptive data, and differences across PSS status are reported for the first participants (N = 417) ages 11 to 24 years, who were recruited between May 4, 2021, and February 2, 2023. Results: Nearly 84% of the sample completed cognitive testing, and 88.2% completed the educational questionnaire, whereas report cards were collected for only 40.3%. Modifications to workflows were implemented to improve data collection. Participants who met criteria for PSSs demonstrated lower performance than those who did not on numerous key cognitive indices (p &lt; .05) and also had more academic/educational problems. Conclusions: Following youths longitudinally enabled trajectory mapping and prediction based on cognitive and educational performance in relation to PSSs in treatment-seeking youths. Youths with PSSs had lower cognitive performance and worse educational outcomes than youths without PSSs. Results show the feasibility of collecting data on cognitive and educational outcomes in a cohort of youths seeking treatment related to mental illness and substance use.</p

The Toronto Adolescent and Youth Cohort Study:Study Design and Early Data Related to Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms, Functioning, and Suicidality

BACKGROUND: Psychosis spectrum symptoms (PSSs) occur in a sizable percentage of youth and are associated with poorer cognitive performance, poorer functioning, and suicidality (i.e., suicidal thoughts and behaviors). PSSs may occur more frequently in youths already experiencing another mental illness, but the antecedents are not well known. The Toronto Adolescent and Youth (TAY) Cohort Study aims to characterize developmental trajectories in youths with mental illness and understand associations with PSSs, functioning, and suicidality.METHODS: The TAY Cohort Study is a longitudinal cohort study that aims to assess 1500 youths (age 11-24 years) presenting to tertiary care. In this article, we describe the extensive diagnostic and clinical characterization of psychopathology, substance use, functioning, suicidality, and health service utilization in these youths, with follow-up every 6 months over 5 years, including early baseline data.RESULTS: A total of 417 participants were enrolled between May 4, 2021, and February 2, 2023. Participants met diagnostic criteria for an average of 3.5 psychiatric diagnoses, most frequently anxiety and depressive disorders. Forty-nine percent of participants met a pre-established threshold for PSSs and exhibited higher rates of functional impairment, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and suicidality than participants without PSSs.CONCLUSIONS: Initial findings from the TAY Cohort Study demonstrate the feasibility of extensive clinical phenotyping in youths who are seeking help for mental health problems. PSS prevalence is much higher than in community-based studies. Our early data support the critical need to better understand longitudinal trajectories of clinical youth cohorts in relation to psychosis risk, functioning, and suicidality.</p

Neuroimaging and Biosample Collection in the Toronto Adolescent and Youth Cohort Study:Rationale, Methods, and Early Data

BACKGROUND: The Toronto Adolescent and Youth (TAY) Cohort Study will characterize the neurobiological trajectories of psychosis spectrum symptoms, functioning, and suicidality (i.e., suicidal thoughts and behaviors) in youth seeking mental health care. Here, we present the neuroimaging and biosample component of the protocol. We also present feasibility and quality control metrics for the baseline sample collected thus far.METHODS: The current study includes youths (ages 11-24 years) who were referred to child and youth mental health services within a large tertiary care center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with target recruitment of 1500 participants. Participants were offered the opportunity to provide any or all of the following: 1) 1-hour magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan (electroencephalography if ineligible for or declined MRI), 2) blood sample for genomic and proteomic data (or saliva if blood collection was declined or not feasible) and urine sample, and 3) heart rate recording to assess respiratory sinus arrhythmia.RESULTS: Of the first 417 participants who consented to participate between May 4, 2021, and February 2, 2023, 412 agreed to participate in the imaging and biosample protocol. Of these, 334 completed imaging, 341 provided a biosample, 338 completed respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and 316 completed all 3. Following quality control, data usability was high (MRI: T1-weighted 99%, diffusion-weighted imaging 99%, arterial spin labeling 90%, resting-state functional MRI 95%, task functional MRI 90%; electroencephalography: 83%; respiratory sinus arrhythmia: 99%).CONCLUSIONS: The high consent rates, good completion rates, and high data usability reported here demonstrate the feasibility of collecting and using brain imaging and biosamples in a large clinical cohort of youths seeking mental health care.</p

Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard