Labour markets and wages in Australia 2010

In this article we present data on earnings and hours in 2010 and, using data over a longer time frame, show how the character of the Australian labour market has significantly changed in recent decades. Among other things, we demonstrate a continued shift towards part-time work and, across full-time and part-time labour markets, a change in the distribution of jobs towards more highly skilled occupations. We continue to argue that traditional indicators of labour-market activity, such as headline unemployment and earnings in full-time employment, are only able to partially explain the health of the labour market. There is an urgent need to better understand other dimensions such as underemployment, part-time employment and part-time earnings

The magnitude of educational disadvantage amongst indigenous minority groups in Australia.

Indigenous groups are amongst the most disadvantaged minority groups in the developed world. This paper examines the educational disadvantage of indigenous Australians by assessing academic performance at a relatively early age. We find that, by the age of 10, indigenous Australians are substantially behind non-indigenous Australians in academic achievement. Their relative performance deteriorates further over the next 2 years. School and locality do not appear to be important determinants of the indigenous to non-indigenous achievement gap. However, geographic remoteness, indigenous ethnicity and language use at home have a marked influence on educational achievement. A current focus of Australian indigenous policy is to increase school resources. Our results suggest that this will not eliminate indigenous educational disadvantage on its own

Dynamics of Revenue Generation in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda: A Co-integration and error-correction modeling approach

The dynamics of revenue generation in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda are explored. Results demonstrate that revenue generation is sluggish in Tanzania compared to Kenya and Uganda. Macroeconomic  environment, economic structure, and level of development are fundamental at explaining these  differences. Results reveal that these countries have the potential for generating more revenue, if could address weaknesses inherent in their tax systems. Computerization of tax collection; expansion of the tax base; address problems associated with tax revenue leakages; and instituting strong legal enforcements should be at the fore in the ongoing tax reforms so as to enhance tax revenue collection.Key worlds: Short-run, Long-run, Revenue generation, Tax buoyancy, Co integration, Error-correction, Tanzania, Kenya, Ugand

Revenue Generation Capacity in Developing Countries: Implications for Physical and Human Capital Development in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda

This paper is an attempt to investigate the effects of tax revenue  generation capacity on public spending in Sub-Saharan Africa drawing  empirical lessons from three East African countries-Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. It employs the co-integration and error-correction modeling  framework to analyze the effects of erratic and inadequate revenue  generation on physical and human capital development in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda using time-series data over the period 1970-2005.The results unambiguously demonstrate that changes in tax revenue have  strong impacts on physical and human capital development spending in the three countries. The policy lessons that can be drawn from the findings of this paper is that the three countries should strike a balance of the  composition of government expenditure; reprioritize public expenditure into productive spending and strive to generate sufficient tax revenue to finance budget expenditures on physical and human capital development in order to reduce poverty and promote long-run economic development.Key words: Tax Revenue Generation Capacity; Physical infrastructure; Human Capital, Tanzania, Kenya and Ugand

RECONFIGURABLE COMPUTING: NETWORK INTERFACE CONTROLLER AREA NETWORK (CAN)

In current embedded computer system development, the methodologies have experienced significant changes due to the advancement in reconfigurable computing technologies. The availability of large capacity programmable logic devices such as field programmable grid arrays (FPGA) and high-level hardware synthesis tools allows embedded system designers to explore various hardware/software partitioning options in order to obtain the most optimum solution. A type of hardware synthesis tool that is gaining significant footing in the industry is Handel-C. a programming language based on the syntax of C but able to produce gate-level information that can be placed and routed on to an FPGA. Controller Area Network (CAN) is an example of embedded system application widely used in modem automobiles and gaining popularity in manufacturing environments where high-speed and robust networking is needed. CAN was designed on a very simple yet effective protocol where messages are identified by their own unique identifiers. Message collisions are handled through a non-destructive arbitration process, eliminating message re-transmission and unnecessary network overloading. A project to design and implement of a version of CAN is presented in this dissertation. The project was performed based on hardware/software co-design methodology with the utilisation of the above-mentioned reconfigurable computing technologies: FPGA and Handel-C. This disse11ation describes the concepts of hardware/software co-design and rcconfigurable computing: the details of CAN protocol, the fundamentals of Handel-C. design ideas considered and the actual implementation of the system

Adapting the community sector for climate extremes

Abstract People experiencing poverty and inequality will be affected first and worst by the impacts of climate change to infrastructure and human settlements, including those caused by increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events and natural disasters. They have the least capacity to cope, to adapt, to move and to recover. Community service organisations (CSOs) play a critical role in supporting individuals, families and communities experiencing poverty and inequality to build resilience and respond to adverse changes in circumstances. As such, the services they provide comprise a critical component of social infrastructure in human settlements. However, very little is understood about CSOs own vulnerability to – or their role in managing and mitigating risks to their clients and the community from – climate change impacts to physical infrastructure. The Extreme Weather, Climate Change and the Community Sector – Risks and Adaptations project examined the relationship between physical and social infrastructure (in the form of CSO service provision). Specifically, the ways in which the climate-driven failure of CSO service delivery worsens risks to the individuals and communities they serve and, on the other hand, how preparedness may reduce vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to human settlements and infrastructure.The research comprised a comprehensive and critical scoping, examination and review of existing research findings and an audit, examination and judgment-based evaluation of the current vulnerabilities and capacities of CSOs under projected climate change scenarios. It employed three key methods of consultation and data collection. A literature review examined research conducted to date in Australia and comparative countries internationally on the vulnerability and climate change adaptation needs of CSOs. A program of 10 Community Sector Professional Climate Workshops consulted over 150 CSO representatives to develop a qualitative record of extreme event and climate change risks and corresponding adaptation strategies specific to CSOs. A national survey of CSOs, which resulted in the participation of approximately 500 organisations, produced a quantitative data set about the nature of CSO vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather impacts to infrastructure, whether and how CSOs are approaching the adaptation task and key barriers to adaptation.While the methods employed and the absence of empirical data sets quantifying CSO vulnerability to climate change impacts create limitations to the evidence-base produced, findings from the research suggest that CSOs are highly vulnerable and not well prepared to respond to climate change and extreme weather impacts to physical infrastructure and that this underlying organisational vulnerability worsens the vulnerability of people experiencing poverty and inequality to climate change. However, the project results indicate that if well adapted, CSOs have the willingness, specialist skills, assets and capacity to make a major contribution to the resilience and adaptive capacity of their clients and the community more broadly (sections of which will be plunged into adversity by extreme events). Despite this willingness, the evidence presented shows that few CSOs have undertaken significant action to prepare for climate change and worsening extreme weather events. Key barriers to adaptation identified through the research are inadequate financial resources, lack of institutionalised knowledge and skills for adaptation and the belief that climate change adaptation is beyond the scope of CSOs core business. On the other hand, key indicators of organisational resilience to climate change and extreme weather impacts include: level of knowledge about extreme weather risks, past experience of an extreme weather event and organisational size.Given its size, scope and the critical role the Australian community sector plays in building client and community resilience and in assisting communities to respond to and recover from the devastating impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters, the research identifies serious gaps in both the policy frameworks and the research base required to ensure the sector’s resilience and adaptive capacity – gaps which appear to have already had serious consequences. To address these gaps, a series of recommendations has been prepared to enable the development and implementation of a comprehensive, sector-specific adaptation and preparedness program, which includes mechanisms to institutionalise knowledge and skills, streamlined tools appropriate to the needs and capacity of a diverse range of organisations and a benchmarking system to allow progress towards resilience and preparedness to be monitored. Future research priorities for adaptation in this sector have also been identified

Strong identities and endorsement of human rights: Conflictive or complementary?

In higher education, students are exposed to people with diverse backgrounds and opinions and frequently are challenged to participate in scientific discussions on controversial issues. The article discusses the implications of two theoretical approaches within psychology for the meaning of identity in dealing with diversity. Social and developmental psychologists have opposing views on identity: While the former claim that a strong sense of identity leads to competition for resources, to intolerance, to the devaluation of outgroups and, finally, to conflict, the latter argue that a weak sense of identity leads to totalitarian ideologies and intolerance towards deviating beliefs. We review literature on the implications and effects deriving from social and developmental psychology and integrate them in a model which explains how building a strong sense of identity can promote tolerance and the endorsement of human rights. In particular, we explore the importance of tolerance defined as acting towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood because the devaluation of the ‘other’ often is seen as the first step towards violence