230 research outputs found

    Place-based approaches to child and family services

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    This paper synthesizes the conceptual and empirical literature on place-based approaches to meeting the needs of young children and their families. A specific focus of the paper is on the potential contribution of place-based approaches to service reconfiguration and coordination. Outline The paper begins by outlining the sweeping social changes that have occurred in developed nations over the past few decades and their impact on children, families and communities. It explores the ‘joined up’ problems faced by families and communities in the contemporary world, and highlights the need to reconfigure services to support families more effectively. The paper then focuses on ‘joined up’ solutions, on what we know about how to meet the challenges posed by the complex problems that characterise our society. Next, the paper explores what a place-based approach involves, and what role it can play in supporting families with young children. The rationale underpinning place-based approaches is outlined and the evidence for the effectiveness of the approach is summarised. The paper then looks at what can be learned from efforts to implement place-based initiatives in Australia and overseas, and explores the issues that need to be addressed in implementing this strategy. The ways in which the early childhood service system might be reconfigured are also considered, and the paper ends with a consideration of the policy and implementation implications.&nbsp

    The Growth of Labour Hire Employment in Australia

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    This Productivity Commission staff working paper, The Growth of Labour Hire Employment in Australia, was released in February 2005. This staff working paper is part of an ongoing labour market research program at the Productivity Commission to examine developments in employment relationships and the implications of these developments for the labour force and the Australian economy. The series seeks to produce analysis to inform the policy debate by characterising how different forms of employment contribute to the Australian economy. This paper examines how the rapid growth of labour hire employment can be attributed to how firms manage their workforce, rather than to changes in the economy’s structure. For example changes in operating environments contributed to firms’ altering of their employment strategy in favour of labour hire workers through the changing industrial relations context and rising competitive pressures. The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect the those of the Productivity Commission.labour; labour hire; employment; industrial relations; labour hire growth;

    Aid Allocation Volatility to Small Island States

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    Aid is an important resource for developing countries. Many small island states (including those in the Pacific) are highly reliant on aid to supplement meagre government resources and other foreign capital inflows. This paper investigates the conditional volatility of aid (for bilateral aid disaggregated into sector aid and programme aid, and multilateral aid) to small island states using an econometric framework. In addition, year-on-year changes in aid allocation are also considered for both changes in aid allocations from major donors to the Pacific as well as for changes in aid receipts in 16 Pacific island countries. The entire sample of countries under consideration includes 44 aid-receiving (small island) states from the regions of ...aid volatility, small island states

    Lines in the Sand on the Australian Political Beach

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    Spatial models of voting behaviour are the dominant paradigm in political science. Consistent with this approach, it will be the case that, ceteris paribus, voters should vote for the party nearest to them on the political spectrum. A key question is how we measure nearness or distance. We investigate this issue by estimating discrete choice models for voting outcomes using the 2001 Australian Election Study survey data. The evidence supports the proposition that it is perceived and not actual distance that performs best. Our findings also suggest that where a voter locates on the political spectrum is almost as good a predictor of their voting outcome as how close they are to the partiesSpatial Competition, Distance Measures, Discrete Choice

    Off with their heads: Terrorism and electoral support for capital punishment in Australia

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    Recent terrorist attacks such as the attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001 have generated new interest in the debate on capital punishment. It has been suggested that support for the death penalty could be higher in the wake of terrorist activity. Using data from the Australian Election Study we investigate voters' attitudes towards capital punishment. Paradoxically, overall support for the death penalty at the 2001 Federal election was lower than at previous elections. In this paper we utilise both simultaneous binary probit and treatment effects models to model the determinants of those attitudes and to investigate the impact of terrorism on support for the death penalty at the 2001 Federal election. In particular, we address the question of whether voters who felt terrorism was an important issue had higher levels of support for the death penalty than voters who did not feel that terrorism was importantsimultaneous binary probit, treatment effects models

    Where Are All the Women? Gender Bias Persists in Social Studies Texts

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    Introduction: Creating an inclusive and a more equitable classroom is a goal that all educators should continually strive for. One area of concern is that many girls and young women do not see themselves in curriculum materials - especially in the social studies

    Aid allocation volatility to small island states

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    Aid is an important resource for developing countries. Many small island states (including those in the Pacific) are highly reliant on aid to supplement meagre government resources and other foreign capital inflows. This paper investigates the conditional volatility of aid (for bilateral aid disaggregated into sector aid and programme aid, and multilateral aid) to small island states using an econometric framework. In addition, year-on-year changes in aid allocation are also considered for both changes in aid allocations from major donors to the Pacific as well as for changes in aid receipts in 16 Pacific island countries. The entire sample of countries under consideration includes 44 aid-receiving (small island) states from the regions of Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Americas over the period 1973 to 2004. This paper finds that past aid flows are correlated with present aid flows and that volatility on both sector and programme aid in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region are characterized by a higher degree of volatility than in the African region. An important result of the analysis is that shocks to bilateral aid result in the persistence of volatility for a number of years before stabilizing. This evidence of persistence in volatility, whereby the past levels of volatility influence the degree of volatility that can be expected in the future, implies a certain degree of predictability in the conditional volatility of bilateral aid. The paper also finds that on average multilateral aid is not only considerably more volatile than the bilateral aid, but it is also more unpredictable

    Review of the evidence base in relation to early childhood approaches to support children in highly disadvantaged communities for the Children’s Ground Project

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    The Children’s Ground project aims to develop a place-based approach to support children and their families in highly disadvantaged communities. The project approach is informed by research and evidence, recognising the multiple and multi-level influences on children’s development and the need to support the role of communities in improving outcomes for children. The review of the evidence base, undertaken by the Centre for Community Child Health in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute, begins by outlining the changing social and environmental conditions and the influence of these changes on vulnerable children and families. The report then discusses actions undertaken to address these challenges and the reasons why these actions have failed. Next, key factors enabling optimal outcomes for children and contemporary Australian and international evidence-based interventions and approaches that support vulnerable children are examined. The review concludes by summarising the research on the financial and social costs of doing nothing to intervene and improve outcomes for children. In summary, the review endorses the development of a place-based approach with a number of key strategies that simultaneously address families’ immediate needs for support (the foreground factors) and the broader conditions under which families are raising young children (the background factors). The approach needs to promote wrap around, integrated services that are responsive to and driven by the community. Focus must also be given to how services are delivered rather than what is delivered. In order to implement the approach, it is critical that a robust governance structure or entity capable of coordinating and supporting the many stakeholders and services involved is established and a long-term financial and policy commitment is made. Key messages encapsulating broad themes from the literature, supported by concluding statements, have been developed to enable clear communication to a variety of audiences.&nbsp

    Placental CpG methylation of infants born extremely preterm predicts cognitive impairment later in life

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    Abstract: Background The placenta is the central regulator of maternal and fetal interactions. Perturbations of placental structure and function have been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes later in life. Placental CpG methylation represents an epigenetic modification with the potential to impact placental function, fetal development and child health later in life. Study design Genome-wide placental CpG methylation levels were compared between spontaneous versus indicated deliveries from extremely preterm births (EPTBs) (n = 84). The association between the identified differentially methylated CpG sites and neurocognitive outcome at ten years of age was then evaluated. Results Spontaneous EPTB was associated with differential CpG methylation levels in 250 CpG sites (217 unique genes) with the majority displaying hypermethylation. The identified genes are known to play a role in neurodevelopment and are enriched for basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor binding sites. The placental CpG methylation levels for 17 of these sites predicted cognitive function at ten years of age. Conclusion A hypermethylation signature is present in DNA from placentas in infants with spontaneous EPTB. CpG methylation levels of critical neurodevelopment genes in the placenta predicted..

    A proteomics and transcriptomics investigation of the venom from the Barychelid spider Trittame loki (brush-foot trapdoor)

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    Although known for their potent venom and ability to prey upon both invertebrate and vertebrate species, the Barychelidae spider family has been entirely neglected by toxinologists. In striking contrast, the sister family Theraphosidae (commonly known as tarantulas), which last shared a most recent common ancestor with Barychelidae over 200 million years ago, has received much attention, accounting for 25% of all the described spider toxins while representing only 2% of all spider species. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the venom arsenal of a barychelid spider, Trittame loki, using transcriptomic, proteomic, and bioinformatic methods. The venom was revealed to be dominated by extremely diverse inhibitor cystine knot (ICK)/knottin peptides, accounting for 42 of the 46 full-length toxin precursors recovered in the transcriptomic sequencing. In addition to documenting differential rates of evolution adopted by different ICK/knottin toxin lineages, we discovered homologues with completely novel cysteine skeletal architecture. Moreover, acetylcholinesterase and neprilysin were revealed for the first time as part of the spider-venom arsenal and CAP (CRiSP/Allergen/PR-1) were identified for the first time in mygalomorph spider venoms. These results not only highlight the extent of venom diversification in this neglected ancient spider lineage, but also reinforce the idea that unique venomous lineages are rich pools of novel biomolecules that may have significant applied uses as therapeutics and/or insecticides
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