The views of managers and recruitment specialists in relation to migrants' opportunities in recruitment and selection processes in Australia

Australia’s population is one of the world’s most culturally and linguistically diverse. With declining fertility rates, the overall intake of immigrants will continue to increase with the proportion of Asian immigrants predicted to rise significantly over the next 50 years. Despite many of these immigrants holding recognised qualifications and previous work experience, a high proportion are faced with unemployment or employment in positions, which are not commensurate with their knowledge and abilities. This paper which examines the views of managers and recruitment specialists is part of a larger study investigating the experiences of South-east Asian migrants in recruitment and selection in Australia. Surveys were administered to Master of Business Administration students who are currently employed in management positions. Due to the increasingly popular trend of outsourcing HR activities, 10 Recruitment Consultants were interviewed with questions based upon the managers’ questionnaire. The responses to questions relating to the difficulties that migrants are faced with in recruitment and selection, and recommendations as to what migrants may do regarding behaviour and training, were analysed. Overall, communication and cultural issues were seen as central to the difficulties experienced by migrants in recruitment and selection processes and therefore carved the basis upon which recommendations were formed. The findings of this study have implications for human resource professionals and employment support agencies who are actively involved with recruitment and selection in general, or who specialise in assisting migrants with job seeking

Preferences in recruitment and selection in a sample of Australian organisations

The diversity of the Australian workforce has increased over the last 25 years, particularly with the increase in the number of migrants from South-east Asia. Despite the knowledge, skill and expertise that many of these immigrants possess prior to migrating, a high proportion of immigrants experience significant difficulties obtaining employment commensurate with their abilities. This paper is an exploratory study of the preferences of managers, recruitment specialists and migrants regarding recruitment and selection practices in selected Australian cities. Surprisingly, the findings revealed similarities between the three groups (managers, migrants and recruitment consultants). Thus, this study adds to the debate about the impact of cross-cultural expectations in recruitment and selection in Australian organisations

The role of communication in recruitment and selection in Australia

In Australia, unemployment and under-employment continue to be significant issues experienced bymigrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB). Despite these immigrants having relevant qualifications, skills, and work experience, a high proportion have difficulties in obtaining employment in Australian organisations. Communication or language proficiency has been identified as one of the primary causal factors. Moreover, studies have identified the importance of communication as a key competency sought by managers and recruiters in all job applicants. Given the importance of making employment decisions more objective and measurable to meet anti-discrimination requirements, this study examines the perceptions of managers and recruitment specialists about the communication skills that are essential for successful recruitment and selection. Subsequently, areas for inteNention are highlighted

Psychosocial issues for adolescent and young adult cancer patients in a global context: A forward‐looking approach

The first decade of adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology psychosocial care and research (2005–2015) was driven by a normative, developmental framework that assumed a generalizable life experience for AYAs that is distinct from both younger children and older adults. As we proceed through a second decade, new considerations emerge regarding diversity of life experiences as occurring within and influenced by a complex global context. The purpose of this paper is to review and provide commentary on the impact of global and contextual conditions on AYAs. We expound upon the effects of precarious labor conditions, changing timetables and priorities for developmental tasks, sexual and gender plurality, and expanding cultural diversity. We discuss the implications of social genomics and technology and social media for enhancing precision psychosocial medicine. To build a forward‐looking approach, this paper calls for tailored, multilevel treatments that consider variability of AYAs within the social and global contexts in which they live.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149735/1/pbc27789_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149735/2/pbc27789.pd

Tomorrows Disability Officer - A Cornerstone on the Universal Design Campus ‘there are no strangers here – only friends you haven’t met yet” - W B Yeats

This paper will explore the evolution of one of the key roles on campus for students with a disability in the context of Universal Design for Learning - that of the Disability Officer. The role of Disability Officer, while neither a teacher or a learner – is primarily occupied with all those engaged in making learning accessible. It is a role that is very much part of the learning experience for any student with a disability. The challenge for Disability Officers on a UDL campus is that while they are part of the learning environment on campus they - similar to other non-teaching professionals - can find it challenging to position themselves on the current UDL framework. In recent years Disability Officers in Ireland started an exploratory journey on their role in the future of Higher Education on a UDL campus and developed the first role document. As higher education becomes more attainable, curriculum develops and technology improves; making decisions about what will work for a student with a disability can require knowledge and expertise about not just teaching and learning, but also disability in the learning environment in and of itself. In creating this document, it became increasingly evident that UDL on campus was transforming not just the world of the student but also the world of others on campus, including that of the disability officer. Thus, while UDL is making waves on campus and redesigning not just pedagogical approaches; is it timely to explore the UDL principles and ask – what do we mean by learning community

Further development of an in vitro model for studying the penetration of chemicals through compromised skin

A new in vitro model based on the electrical resistance properties of the skin barrier has been established in this laboratory. The model utilises a tape stripping procedure in dermatomed pig skin that removes a specific proportion of the stratum corneum, mimicking impaired barrier function observed in humans with damaged skin. The skin penetration and distribution of chemicals with differing physicochemical properties, namely; Benzoic acid, 3-Aminophenol, Caffeine and Sucrose has been assessed in this model. Although, skin penetration over 24 h differed for each chemical, compromising the skin did not alter the shape of the time course profile, although absorption into receptor fluid was higher for each chemical. Systemic exposure (receptor fluid, epidermis and dermis), was marginally higher in compromised skin following exposure to the fast penetrant, Benzoic acid, and the slow penetrant Sucrose. The systemically available dose of 3-Aminophenol increased to a greater extent and the absorption of Caffeine was more than double in compromised skin, suggesting that Molecular Weight and Log Pow, are not the only determinants for assessing systemic exposure under these conditions. Although further investigations are required, this in vitro model may be useful for prediction of dermal route exposure under conditions where skin barrier is impaired

Dissecting the Red Sequence--II. Star Formation Histories of Early-Type Galaxies Throughout the Fundamental Plane

This analysis uses spectra of ~16,000 nearby SDSS quiescent galaxies to track variations in galaxy star formation histories along and perpendicular to the Fundamental Plane (FP). We sort galaxies by their FP properties (sigma, R_e, and I_e) and construct high S/N mean galaxy spectra that span the breadth and thickness of the FP. From these spectra, we determine mean luminosity-weighted ages, [Fe/H], [Mg/H], and [Mg/Fe] based on single stellar population models using the method described in Graves & Schiavon (2008). In agreement with previous work, the star formation histories of early-type galaxies are found to form a two-parameter family. The major trend is that mean age, [Fe/H], [Mg/H], and [Mg/Fe] all increase with sigma. However, no stellar population property shows any dependence on R_e at fixed sigma, suggesting that sigma and not dynamical mass (M_dyn ~ sigma^2 R_e) is the better predictor of past star formation history. In addition to the main trend with sigma, galaxies also show a range of population properties at fixed sigma that are strongly correlated with surface brightness residuals from the FP, such that higher surface brightness galaxies have younger mean ages, higher [Fe/H], higher [Mg/H], and lower [Mg/Fe] than lower-surface brightness galaxies. These latter trends are a major new constraint on star-formation histories.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures. Accepted to Ap

Decreased STARD10 expression is associated with defective insulin secretion in humans and mice

Genetic variants near ARAP1 (CENTD2) and STARD10 influence type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. The risk alleles impair glucose-induced insulin secretion and, paradoxically but characteristically, are associated with decreased proinsulin:insulin ratios, indicating improved proinsulin conversion. Neither the identity of the causal variants nor the gene(s) through which risk is conferred have been firmly established. Whereas ARAP1 encodes a GTPase activating protein, STARD10 is a member of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR)-related lipid transfer protein family. By integrating genetic fine-mapping and epigenomic annotation data and performing promoter-reporter and chromatin conformational capture (3C) studies in β cell lines, we localize the causal variant(s) at this locus to a 5 kb region that overlaps a stretch-enhancer active in islets. This region contains several highly correlated T2D-risk variants, including the rs140130268 indel. Expression QTL analysis of islet transcriptomes from three independent subject groups demonstrated that T2D-risk allele carriers displayed reduced levels of STARD10 mRNA, with no concomitant change in ARAP1 mRNA levels. Correspondingly, β-cell-selective deletion of StarD10 in mice led to impaired glucose-stimulated Ca2+ dynamics and insulin secretion and recapitulated the pattern of improved proinsulin processing observed at the human GWAS signal. Conversely, overexpression of StarD10 in the adult β cell improved glucose tolerance in high fat-fed animals. In contrast, manipulation of Arap1 in β cells had no impact on insulin secretion or proinsulin conversion in mice. This convergence of human and murine data provides compelling evidence that the T2D risk associated with variation at this locus is mediated through reduction in STARD10 expression in the β cell