Remote Australia Online

Some of the challenges, frustrations and obstacles experienced by remote area nurses (RANs) are discussed. Daily practice is described as on the cutting edge of the law, primary health care and culture conflict. The situation is aggravated by levels of structural violence and shock which are not tolerated by other professionals in Australia. These levels of shock, conflict and violence need to be reduced so that remote Australian communities can have access to the type of health service they deserve. It is considered that this can be achieved only by a collaborative, concerted effort between the profession, employer, government and remote area communities.

Australia, like many other developed countries, has experienced a decline in the importance of the manufacturing and agriculture sectors over recent decades, and strong growth in the services sector. In particular, Business services accounts for a large and growing share of national value added and employment. Between 1991 and 2001, the Business services industry was the single largest source of employment growth in all States and Territories.

This report analyses trends in educational attainment and occupational status in Australia. It investigates the spatial distribution of skills, qualifications, selected professionals and skilled tradespeople across Australia’s regions in the period 1991 to 2001.

Provides a review and analysis of literature on the conceptualisation and measurement of community strength and its outcomes and places this information in an analytical framework, identifying the commonalities and differences between various approaches to these issues.

Rio Tinto's agreement making in Australia in a context of globalisation

This project aimed to help Batchelor College more closely match its educational and vocational training programs to labour market requirements and to Aboriginal community aspirations. Specifically, the project was to: identify the kinds of employment, education, and training programs that should be provided for Aboriginal people in rural and remote areas of the NT; and identify a mechanism for establishing and maintaining an ongoing database for future planning. Statistical tables and graphs complement the text. 'December 1993' report. Includes summary of findings, recommendations, list of groups consulted, advisory committee membership list, and bibliography.

An introductory guide to Aboriginal communities; general features and diversity of settlements; outstations and homelands movement; outline of general Western Australian policies toward Aborigines since 1829; provision of services.

This publication is a result of a two-day National Conference at the University of South Australia, 18-19 June 1998. This conference was sponsored by the Australian Federation of University Women and published in collaboration with Curtin Indigenous Research Centre, the School of Cultural Studies and Yunggorendi, First Nations Centre for Higher Education and Research at Flinders University, and the Aboriginal Research Unit at the University of South Australia. The conference was an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to speak out about and build strategies to meet the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the University sector and to facilitate a better understanding of Aboriginal perspectives in education.

This report provides a statistical overview of Indigenous peoples' participation and outcomes in vocational education and training (VET) over the period of implementation of the Australian National Training Authority's 'Partners in a learning culture' strategy. It was developed as an outcome of the mid-term review of this strategy. The data analysis provides base benchmarks against which trends over the coming years, and up to 2005 (when the strategy is due to end), can be assessed. The data are all sourced from the national VET statistical collections managed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research "... a statistical overview of Indigenous peoples' participation and outcomes in vocational education and training (VET) over the period 1997-2001." -- p. 7.

Indigenous engagement with vocational education and training (VET) has improved significantly, but successful Indigenous completion rates are lower nationally when compared to the overall population. This report, based on an action research project, examines intra-institutional factors at four Queensland TAFE institutes to better understand and take action on issues affecting Indigenous completion rates. At policy level, the authors conclude mainstream programs require examination at three levels - intellectual, cultural and social - to develop effective responses to facilitate successful Indigenous completion rates. At organisation level, the authors recommend examination of organisational culture for consistency of values and beliefs, and practices in terms of content, teaching, support, and collaboration.

This report explores the ways in which Indigenous Australians are learning through enterprise and small business development. It reveals that this learning will be more effective if it takes into account that Indigenous experience differs by location, with remote areas offering a significant challenge. Learning through Indigenous business is most effective where learning is tied to earning; the content is customised; it is carried out in parallel to real work; and is put into practice through employment in commercial business.

Apprentices and trainees undertake vocational education and training through a contract of training, which is a formal contract between an employer and an apprentice or trainee. This publication reports completion rates for apprentices and trainees who commenced their apprenticeship or traineeship between 1995 and 1999, and attrition rates for more recent commencements. For apprentices and trainees commencing in 1999, the completion rate was 52% for those on their original contract, rising to 55% after taking into account those who had recommenced training for the same qualification with a different employer, and reaching 60% after taking into account those who had changed both qualification and employer. Completion rates have declined for traditional apprentices from 71% for the cohort of 1995 to 60% for the cohort of 1999 (same trade but different employer to that of their original contract). Completion rates have increased for those who were not traditional apprentices from 47% for the cohort of 1995 to 52% for the cohort of 1999 (same trade but different employer to that of their original contract). Completion rates reflect the economy-wide pattern of labour market mobility. The age group with the lowest completion rates is the 20- to 24-year age group, which is also the most job- mobile age group. Occupations such as sales and service workers, which exhibit high rates of labour mobility, also tend to have low completion rates. In more recent years, attrition rates in the first year of an apprenticeship or traineeship have fallen, suggesting that completion rates may be on the increase.

Useful practical introduction to Aboriginal culture, designed to help workers in Aboriginal communities overcome problems due to cultural differences; looks at Aboriginal world view in such areas as religion, history, relationship to land, social organisation, health and behavioural patterns.

This study explores the extent to which differing contextual settings in South Australia, urban, rural and remote, impact on the outcomes of Indigenous learners who have undertaken vocational education and training (VET). The impact of urban, regional, and remote location on Indigenous vocational education and training (VET) students' aspirations and outcomes is examined in this report. It finds the availability of desired courses, teaching staff, and community attitudes to learning in the various locations influence the success of outcomes of Indigenous students. However, successful outcomes other than those related to employment or further education can emerge from VET. Accordingly, the authors suggest benefits such as improved literacy and confidence, and community wellbeing should be considered when formulating Indigenous learning approaches.

Focusing on the indigenous community of Cape York Peninsula, the author states that their economic and social situation is parlous, and the statistics so outrageous that they are routinely greeted with numb acceptance. The problems are so overwhelming that even the Aboriginal society comes to accept its own state of dysfunction. He describes policy failure and the entrenchment of welfare, and argues that the key problem with welfare is that it inherently does not demand reciprocity. The provision, without reciprocity, of income support to able bodied people of working age can be seen as 'negative' welfare, inducing passivity and dependence. The author argues that we need to develop policies and make the decisions about changing the way in which things are done in our communities, and the way in which economic resources are distributed throughout our society. Leaders in disadvantaged locations like Cape York must develop a conscious and long-term strategy for their home regions and communities, and work with the state in reforming welfare resources into sources of personal empowerment. They must understand the central importance of education and the encouragement of enterprise, achievement and success amongst their people.

The solitary position of nurses who practise in geographically isolated communities to provide direct health care to a predominantly Aboriginal population characterises nursing in remote areas. Munoz & Mann (1982) described this practice as unique. The uniqueness of this practice, however, has remained shrouded in superficial descriptions featuring service delivery at a one or two-nurse-post, the physical distance of nursing posts from hospital facilities and the autonomy with which nursing is performed. Only glimpses of the reality of nursing practice in a remote area have been revealed through the study of the educational needs of remote area nurses (Munoz & Mann 1982, Cameron-Traub 1987,Philp 1988, Kreger 1991a, Bell, Chang & Daly 1995). A key problem is the lack of a systematic description and detailed analysis of nursing as it is practised in a remote area. The purpose of this study was to explore, describe and analyse nursing practice in a remote area. The research was undertaken at Warburton, an isolated community mainly inhabited by the Ngaanyatjarra people in the Central Desert of Western Australia. An ethnographic design was chosen for this exploratory inquiry into the social and cultural pattern of everyday nursing practice. In a pre-entry study a suitable setting and informants were found. Fieldwork was conducted at the Warburton nursing post by the researcher and involved living on site for a year. Data gathering techniques were participant observation together with interviewing, collection of pertinent documents and the daily chronological recording of fieldnotes, memos and a personal journal. Data analysis was performed concurrently with data gathering. The process followed the Developmental Research Sequence Method by Spradley (1980). Through a cyclical process of data collection and analysis the domains, taxonomies and componential variables in the culture of remote area nursing practice emerged. Amorphous practice was the overall theme revealed in the underlying cultural patterns that shaped the practice of nursing in the remote area. The term amorphous practice is defined as the changeable nature of practice from nurse to nurse, from situation to situation, from time to time. This was observed in the recurrent differences between nurses in their knowledge, abilities and attitudes as well as in the variability between nurses in their management of client care. Contributors to the phenomenon of amorphous practice were found in three distinct, but inter-related, tributary themes termed detachment, diffusion and beyond the nursing domain. Detachment explained the nurses' feelings of separateness from the usual professional and organisational structures needed for the enactment of nursing. Diffusion encapsulated the broad spread of the nurses' role in remote area practice. Beyond the nursing domain described an unregulated practice considered to be outside the responsibilities of nursing care. The substantive theory of amorphous practice provided a detailed description of how nursing was practised in the remote area. It also explained why it was so different from nursing as it is generally understood by the profession.

This study aimed to construct a demographic profile of registered nurses employed in three rural and three remote area hospitals in NSW. The study also identified factors that contributed to the nurses seeking their present positions, intending to remain in them or leave. Interviews were conducted with 52 registered nurses and all 158 nurses employed in the hospitals were subsequently surveyed using a questionnaire developed on the basis of the interviews. The major positive professional factors that nurses associated with their employment were: employers' recognition of the importance of continuing professional education, good relations with peers and job satisfaction. A liking for country life and a preference for raising their children in country towns were the RNs' main personal reasons for seeking and remaining in their employment. The major negative professional factors of employment were: poor attitudes of doctors and administrators, employers' lack of understanding of professional needs, inadequate backup, staff shortages and inadequate access to professional education. Concerns about their children's education and the cost of educating children away from home were the most commonly cited personal reasons for leaving, or intending to leave, employment.

This current project was commissioned with a view to promoting and rethinking rural extension, learning and education through government, industry and community groups, so that they respond to new and changing environments and enhance rural learning and practice. It reflects Cooperative Venture members’ concerns about whether current arrangements for supporting rural people and communities are appropriate, given the complexity and dynamism of the operating environment. That the members came together under this banner is testimony to the commonality of concerns and the inherent difficulties. The Venture has embarked on a study of a field in transition—a field in which traditional ideas related to extension and adult education are giving way to new ones and where there is much uncertainty about the best way forward.

Objective:The aim of this study was to identify the factors that influence foreign doctors’ community integration and examine how these affect their intention to stay in the rural community. Design:Qualitative study using life-history perspective. Setting:Rural communities throughout Victoria. Participants:Fifty-seven overseas-trained doctors (OTDs) working throughout rural Victoria, Australia. Main outcome measures:Key factors of community integration influencing OTDs’ decision to stay in or leave a rural community. Results:Maintaining cultural and religious values, as well as relationships to their respective ethnic communities is important to OTDs. While they do not expect excessive support from the community they appreciated the cultures of welcoming or ‘embracing differences’. Supportive communication and supervisory support positively influence OTDs’ appreciation of what the rural community can offer them and how they might overcome any difficulties that they face with their rural practice and life. Conclusion:As well as ensuring that OTDs’ professional needs are met, the importance of a supportive environment within the clinic and community awareness of the OTDs’ needs should not be underestimated as influences on an OTD's retention in a rural community.

The report presents case studies of rural school community partnerships in five very different rural communities. Each case study outlines the nature and extent of the partnership, and analyses the influence of leadership and other factors on the development and sustainability of the partnership. Drawing on findings from the case studies, the report then develops a model of the leadership process for developing school community partnerships, and identifies a number of indicators of effective school and community partnerships and effective leadership.

Good Enough Never Is delivers the stories of ordinary rural people who dared to be different and have become out-of-the-ordinary rural entrepreneurs. Rather than being endowed with unique and mysterious qualities, these people have discovered and developed attitudes, behaviours and skills that set them apart from most business operators in rural and remote Australia. Twenty rural businesses are presented here with their stories of trials and tribulations.

The paper and associated database directly tackle the issue of quantifying economic growth in regions. BTRE derived regional economic activity indices for every Local Government Area in Australia from 1980–81 to 2004–05. The figures are based on Australian Taxation Office individual income data which have been reworked to allow easy comparisons between standard regions and over time.

This paper uses the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Business Longitudinal Survey to explore relationships between training, innovation, and firm performance for Australian businesses with less than 200 employees. The longitudinal nature of the data is used to test various hypotheses about the nature of the link between training, business changes, and innovation. The paper finds strong evidence of changes in training being associated with the occurrence of innovations over the period of the survey and, to a minor extent, of a link between innovation and the level of on-the-job training being provided in the final year of the survey. These two findings offer some support to sustain a claim that training in itself brings about innovation: (1) firms that undertake formal business or strategic planning are both higher trainers and higher innovators; and (2) using Internet-related activities as an applied example of innovation, evidence is found of a positive link between increases in management training and the adoption of e-commerce. The paper points out, however, that the analysis is significantly constrained by the quality of the data--in particular to the instruments used for measuring training and also for measures of innovation, both of which are far from ideal.

This study aimed to describe the role of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme in rural and remote communities in Australia and to evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme. It identifies and describes the major needs of such communities and examines how the CDEP schemes attempted to meet the needs. CDEP schemes are very flexible, supporting community-oriented activities, commercial ventures, employment with community and external host employers as well as some individual projects. It is found that in providing funds for communities and in assisting implementation of programs, the scheme empowers communities towards increased decision making and enables them to establish income-generating ventures. However there continue to be challenges in terms of determining community needs. There are further challenges in engaging participants in formal apprenticeships and traineeships to completion and in longer term training leading to qualifications.

Science and its theory The conduct of research and the development of knowledge From social psychology and personality theory : Kurt Lewin Achievement motivation theory : David Mcclelland Motivation-hygiene theory : Frederick Herzberg Job characteristics theory : Richard Hackman, Edward Lawler, and Greg Oldham Expectancy theories : Victor Vroom, and Lyman Porter, and Edward Lawler Operant behavior and organizational behavior modification : Clay Hamner, Fred Luthans, and Robert Kreitner Equity theory : J. Stacy Adams Goal setting theory : Edwin Locke and Gary Latham Attribution theory-managerial perceptions of the poor performing subordinate : Terence Mitchell and Stephen Green Normative decision process theory : Victor Vroom, Philip Yetton, and Arthur Jago Contingency theory of leadership : Fred Fiedler Vertical dyad linkage and leader member exchange theory : George Graen Information processing theory of leadership : Robert Lord Substitutes for leadership : Steven Kerr Role motivation theory : John Miner Charismatic leadership theory : Robert House Transformational leadership theory : Bernard Bass