Unpacking the income of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: wages, government payments and other income

Abstract: This paper compares the level and source of income for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians using data from the 2011 wave of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Three sources of income are considered: wages and salaries; government benefits; and income from businesses, investments and other private transfers. Consistent with many previous studies, Indigenous Australians have, on average, lower total income than non-Indigenous Australians, with this difference being largest for those who are full-time employed. The difference is also larger for males than females. In terms of non-wage income, Indigenous men and women receive a much smaller proportion of income from other sources than their non-Indigenous counterparts (primarily business and investment income). This is particularly the case for those who are not in the labour force (NILF). Correspondingly, government benefits constitute a higher proportion of income for the Indigenous population than for the non-Indigenous population. This is true for both males and females, and for all labour force statuses, although the difference is largest for part-time employed and those who are NILF. Given that Indigenous people are also more likely to be unemployed than non-Indigenous people, they are more likely to be dependent solely on government payments as a source of income at any one time. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as directions for future research

The economic impact of the mining boom on Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

This paper examines changes in Indigenous employment, income and housing costs to identify any localised ‘resource curse’ for Indigenous communities and the Australian population at large. Abstract Until the global financial crisis reduced Australian economic growth in late 2008, Indigenous employment had been increasing in both absolute and relative terms for over a decade. The effect of the international economic contraction has been mitigated by Australia’s booming mining sector, largely due to China’s growing demand for resources. Given that a substantial number of mining operations are on or near Indigenous land, the increase in mining investment may have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities. There are concerns that, in remote mining areas, the increases in housing costs generated by the mining boom mean that anyone who does not work in the mining industry, particularly those who rely on government benefits, will find it harder to afford housing. Localised inflationary tendencies can also affect people employed outside the mining sector, but one would expect that scarcity in the labour market would drive up wages in both mining and non‑mining jobs. This paper examines changes in Indigenous employment, income and housing costs to identify any localised ‘resource curse’ for Indigenous communities and the Australian population at large. The paper draws on data from recent censuses, the geographic location of mines and mining investment to identify some potentially important effects of the mining boom on Indigenous communities. The main finding is that the mining boom has improved employment and income outcomes, but increased average housing costs. While the average increase in income has generally offset the increase in costs, there is some evidence that housing stress for low-income households has increased as a result of the mining boom

OAI and OAI-PMH for absolute beginners : a non-technical introduction

Tutorial : overview of key Open Archives Initiative (OAI) concepts, development of the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), non-technical introduction to main underlying technical ideas, some considerations regarding implementation of OAI-PMH

Labour Market Outcomes

While recent research has found that there has been a substantial increase in Indigenous mainstream employment since the mid-1990s, there has been relatively little regional analysis of mainstream employment or the extent to which the nature of Indigenous employment has altered in what has been a period of substantial change in the Australian labour market. The aim of this paper is to build on the existing research using the 2006 and 2011 Censuses to provide a more disaggregated analysis of any changes in the nature of labour market outcomes for Indigenous Australians. One of the new findings in this paper is that the employment of Indigenous youth (15?24 years) in remote areas is lower than that of Indigenous youth in non-remote areas, but older Indigenous residents in remote and non-remote areas have more similar employment rates. While the mining boom has had a positive impact on some Indigenous people, in national terms the vast majority of the increases in Indigenous employment between 2006 and 2011 have been in other industries. There is no magic bullet in closing the employment gap between Indigenous and other Australians. Policy needs to facilitate Indigenous participation in the mainstream economy by assisting Indigenous people to be work-ready, especially improving the skills of the Indigenous population so that they are matched to those required by employers.The analysis in the series was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) through the Strategic Research Project as well as FaHCSIA and State/Territory governments through the Indigenous Populations Project

Bioreactivity testing in single use technologies; industry position paper

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Strategies for lexical expansion in Algonquian languages

This paper provides an empirical study of word formation and lexical expansion in a set of Algonquian languages, considering 153 terms for each language. These terms range from words that predate European colonialism to more recent forms coined by English L1 speakers. We propose a classification of the methods of lexical innovation, which involves the intersection of a set of grammatical and a set of semantic strategies. By far, the most common means of constructing new terminology that we found in the data combined nominalization with associated-action metonymy (the use of a form denoting an action associated with the object). We discuss challenges to doing such studies, especially the idiosyncrasies of dictionary creation. We also consider how our results can be used in language reclamation, especially immersion programs that need words for concepts in the school curriculum. We do not prescribe a “right” way to develop new vocabulary, but our findings may make explicit some of the intuitions speakers of Algonquian languages have about how the naming of new objects is approached.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Pile Stability Analysis in Soft or Loose Soils: Guidance on Foundation Design Assumptions with Respect to Loose or Soft Soil Effects on Pile Lateral Capacity and Stability

The design of laterally loaded piles is often done in practice using the p-y method with API p-y curves representing the behavior of soil at discretized points along the pile length. To account for pile-soil-pile interaction in pile groups, AASHTO (2020) proposes the use of p-multipliers to modify the p-y curves. In this research, we explored, in depth, the design of lateral loaded piles and pile groups using both the Finite Element (FE) method and the p-y method to determine under what conditions pile stability problems were likely to occur. The analyses considered a wide range of design scenarios, including pile diameters ranging from 0.36 m (14.17 inches) to 1.0 m (39.37 inches), pile lengths ranging from 10 m (32.81 ft) to 20 m (65.62 ft), uniform and multilayered soil profiles containing weak soil layers of loose sand or normally consolidated (NC) clay, lateral load eccentricity ranging from 0 m to 10 m (32.81 ft), combined axial and lateral loads, three different pile group configurations (1×5, 2×5, and 3×5), pile spacings ranging from 3 to 5 times the pile diameter, two different load directions (“strong” direction and “weak” direction), and two different pile cap types (free-standing and soil-supported pile caps). Based on the FEA results, we proposed new p-y curve equations for clay and sand. We also examined the behavior of the individual piles in the pile groups and found that the moment applied to the pile cap is partly transferred to the individual piles as moments, which is contrary to the assumption often made that moments are fully absorbed by axial loads on the group piles. This weakens the response of the piles to lateral loading because a smaller lateral pressure is required to produce a given deflection when moments are transferred to the head of the piles as moments. When the p-y method is used without consideration of the transferred moments, unconservative designs result. Based on the FEA results, we proposed both a new set of p-multipliers and a new method to use when moment distribution between piles is not known, using pile efficiency instead to calculate the total capacity of pile groups

OAI and OAI-PMH for absolute beginners : a non-technical introduction

Tutorial : overview of key Open Archives Initiative (OAI) concepts, development of the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), non-technical introduction to main underlying technical ideas, some considerations regarding implementation of OAI-PMH

Rhodamine-RCA in vivo labeling guided laser capture microdissection of cancer functional angiogenic vessels in a murine squamous cell carcinoma mouse model

BACKGROUND: Cancer growth, invasion and metastasis are highly related to tumor-associated neovasculature. The presence and progression of endothelial cells in cancer is chaotic, unorganized, and angiogenic vessels are less functional. Therefore, not all markers appearing on the chaotic endothelial cells are accessible if a drug is given through the vascular route. Identifying endothelial cell markers from functional cancer angiogenic vessels will indicate the accessibility and potential efficacy of vascular targeted therapies. RESULTS: In order to quickly and effectively identify endothelial cell markers on the functional and accessible tumor vessels, we developed a novel technique by which tumor angiogenic vessels are labeled in vivo followed by Laser Capture Microdissection of microscopically isolated endothelial cells for genomic screening. Female C3H mice (N = 5) with established SCCVII tumors were treated with Rhodamine-RCA lectin by tail vein injection, and after fluorescence microscopy showed a successful vasculature staining, LCM was then performed on frozen section tissue using the PixCell II instrument with CapSure HS caps under the Rhodamine filter. By this approach, the fluorescent angiogenic endothelial cells were successfully picked up. As a result, the total RNA concentration increased from an average of 33.4 ng/ul +/- 24.3 (mean +/- S.D.) to 1913.4 ng/ul +/- 164. Relatively pure RNA was retrieved from both endothelial and epithelial cells as indicated by the 260/280 ratios (range 2.22–2.47). RT-PCR and gene electrophoresis successfully detected CD31 and Beta-Actin molecules with minimal Keratin 19 expression, which served as the negative control. CONCLUSION: Our present study demonstrates that in vivo Rhodamine RCA angiogenic vessel labeling provided a practical approach to effectively guide functional endothelial cell isolation by laser capture microdissection with fluorescent microscopy, resulting in high quality RNA and pure samples of endothelial cells pooled for detecting genomic expression

The impact of economic crises on communicable disease transmission and control: a systematic review of the evidence.

There is concern among public health professionals that the current economic downturn, initiated by the financial crisis that started in 2007, could precipitate the transmission of infectious diseases while also limiting capacity for control. Although studies have reviewed the potential effects of economic downturns on overall health, to our knowledge such an analysis has yet to be done focusing on infectious diseases. We performed a systematic literature review of studies examining changes in infectious disease burden subsequent to periods of crisis. The review identified 230 studies of which 37 met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 30 found evidence of worse infectious disease outcomes during recession, often resulting from higher rates of infectious contact under poorer living circumstances, worsened access to therapy, or poorer retention in treatment. The remaining studies found either reductions in infectious disease or no significant effect. Using the paradigm of the "SIR" (susceptible-infected-recovered) model of infectious disease transmission, we examined the implications of these findings for infectious disease transmission and control. Key susceptible groups include infants and the elderly. We identified certain high-risk groups, including migrants, homeless persons, and prison populations, as particularly vulnerable conduits of epidemics during situations of economic duress. We also observed that the long-term impacts of crises on infectious disease are not inevitable: considerable evidence suggests that the magnitude of effect depends critically on budgetary responses by governments. Like other emergencies and natural disasters, preparedness for financial crises should include consideration of consequences for communicable disease control