Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Seamen's Union of Australia'

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
After the turmoil of the 1890s shearing contractors eliminated some of the frustration from shearers recruitment. At the same time closer settlement concentrated more sheep in small flocks in farming regions, replacing the huge leasehold pastoral empires which were at the cutting edge of wool expansion in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile the AWU succeeded in getting an award for the pastoral industry under the new arbitration legislation in 1907. Cultural and administrative influences, therefore, eased some of the bitter enmity which had made the annual shearing so unstable. Not all was plain sailing. A pattern of militancy re-emerged during World War I. Shearing shed unrest persisted throughout the interwar period and during World War II. In the 1930s a rival union with communist connections, the PWIU, was a major disruptive influence. Militancy was a factor in a major shearing strike in 1956, when the boom conditions of the early-1950s were beginning to fade. The economic system did not have satisfactory mechanisms to cope. Unionised shearers continued to be locked in a psyche of confrontation as wool profits eroded further in the 1970s. This ultimately led to the wide comb dispute, which occurred as wider pressures changed an economic order which had not been seriously challenged since Federation, and which the AWU had been instrumental in shaping. Shearing was always identified with bushworker ‘mateship’, but its larrikinism and irreverence to authority also fostered individualism, and an aggressive ‘moneymaking’ competitive culture. Early in the century, when old blade shearers resented the aggressive pursuit of tallies by fast men engaged by shearing contractors, tensions boiled over. While militants in the 1930s steered money-makers into collectivist versions of mateship, in the farming regions the culture of self-improvement drew others towards the shearing competitions taking root around agricultural show days. Others formed their own contracting firms and had no interest in confrontation with graziers. Late in the century New Zealanders arrived with combs an inch wider than those that had been standard for 70 years. It was the catalyst for the assertion of meritocracy over democracy, which had ruled since Federation.

The European Union (EU) and Australia share a significant volume of historical connections in languages, cultures, economic and trade relationships, political views and ideas. These associations have had different levels of strength and frequencies in the past, depending on how these two political entities interacted with each other in the framework of international relations. Australia and the EU jointly developed an important political and socio-economic basis for working together, and cooperation between them is deeper and more common than the public might perceive to be the case. The EU is a growing superstructure; meanwhile Australia is a developed and successful nation, a successful democracy and a middle power. Nevertheless, Australia cannot expect to match the power and position of a polity, which comprises 28 different countries. This fact can produce a certain asymmetric relationship in the connection between these two political entities' communities. These asymmetric elements in the collaboration between them are liable to create certain discrepancies and disharmonies in the development of their different agreements in general. This thesis aims to examine the scope and depth of the EU-Australia working relationship, the convergent and the divergent issues within it. This exploration provides an analysis of the philosophical and sociological foundations of international relations in general, with special regard to the framework of sociological constructivism and sociological institutionalism, as possible catalysers in the growth and furtherance of the many-sided EU-Australia collaboration. To reach the most effective and efficient cooperation between the European Union and Australia, which includes the efforts to alleviate the urgent environmental sustainability and related problems regionally, and in a globalising world, will go a long way to create peace, security, and prosperity in Eurasia and in the Pacific. The EU-Australia mutual relationship is facilitated through shared values, norms and normative principles, such as the constitutive norms of liberty, democracy, good governance; the regulative norms of the centrality of peace, human rights, social solidarity, environmental sustainability; and the evaluative norms of the rule of law, transparency, human dignity and anti-discrimination. The willingness of the European Union and Australia to partake in a joint experience of continuous social learning process, provide them the power to achieve their aims together in a changing world.

ABSTRACT: Profoundly impactful and enduring, Joan Acker’s framework of gendering processes is among the most influential and highly cited in feminist organization studies. Nonetheless, it has been rarely applied, only partially so in the majority of cases and never operationalised fully in a union. This thesis applies the framework, operating through all five dimensions, to one atypical Australian union, having women in three of the most senior elected positions. It seeks to understand the gendering assumptions and practices that construct, maintain and frame the underlying relations in its structures. Voice centred relational analysis was used to examine life history interviews with women and men and my own in-depth ethnographic account of organizational life. The analysis suggests that the union was infused with a particularly authoritarian hegemonic masculinity but that this was hidden from public view. In this context, having women in senior positions worked to disguise continuing inequalities. The major contribution of this study is the in-depth understanding of gender in the context of an Australian union, through what is a rare and insightful application of Joan Acker’s framework for analysing gendered organizations in its entirety.
The full text will be available at the end of the embargo, 17th July 2024

This paper examines the current state of border hardening against refugees in the European Union and Australia through the lens of state crime. Border hardening strategies are described for both of these areas and a theoretical basis of state crime victimology is used to examine the refugees who encounter this border hardening. The present study analyzes two data sets on border deaths, one for the European Union and one for Australia, to examine the demographics of the refugees who perish while attempting to transgress the border. Results indicated that there remains a significant amount of missing data, suggesting that official methods of record-keeping are necessary to determine the most basic demographics, such as gender and age, so analyses can be run to determine significance in this area. One clear finding was that migrants most frequently die from drowning (EU: 83.6%; AU: 93%) compared to any other cause. Also, there is indication that those from disadvantaged areas of origin (such as the Middle East and Africa) are more likely to die in the borderlands than others in the dataset. Practical implications of the findings are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

The dissertation involves an investigation into the circumstances of international competitiveness and how it is pursued by firms from different sugar producing and marketing nations. Understanding of competitiveness has primarily been pursued in terms of economic variables and market conditions. The roles of the government, the socio-cultural-political context in international business, and their effects on competitiveness have largely been ignored. This study integrates perspectives from strategic management, the resource-based view of the firm, and international business to propose a conceptual framework of international competitiveness. The work advances understanding of competitiveness in international business in two ways. First, it develops a conceptual framework that captures the socio-political element of a nation's industry and the crucial role it plays in achieving international competitiveness. Second, it combines firm, industry, strategy, and socio-political influences. Those are involved in a multi-level hierarchical process between firms, industry and the nation that effectively generates competitiveness. The dissertation employs a qualitative method of comparative analysis between Australia, Brazil and the European Union, which are the three dominant sugar producing and exporting economies in the world. A series of propositions are presented on the four identified influences on international competitiveness. How firms from different nations pursue these is highlighted. After considering the varied approaches for attaining international competitiveness, implications for further research and for theory, policy and practice are outlined.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This study examines professional Australian coach and athlete perceptions of effective coaching. Rather than assess the ability or effectiveness of the coaches and teams involved, the purpose was to gather perceptions of what professional coaches and players believe it takes to be an effective coach. Given the broad range of tasks that fit under the auspice of coaching, an important question to address was ‘what’ a coach does in order to be considered effective. In addition, an understanding of ‘why’ and ‘how’ these factors are effective was also essential. These questions formed a starting point in order to find out what professional coaches do (including how they behave), and why players and coaches perceive certain coaching strategies to be effective. This study employed a qualitative research design to identify perceptions about, and strategies of, effective coaching within the professional sport context. Interviews enabled participants to discuss their interpretations of the world in which they live, from their own point of view – a key feature of the present research. Observational data allowed me to view coaching behaviours and interactions with players in training and competition contexts. Using professional Australian coaches and players from cricket, rugby union and rugby league, 6 coaches and 25 players were interviewed while up to 16 coaches and 80 players were observed during 41 observation sessions at training and competition venues. The constant comparative method (Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993; Côté, Salmela, & Russell, 1995b; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to analyse the observation and interview accounts. This enabled rich descriptions of what effective coaches do as well as providing information regarding how and why they carry out certain actions. Findings from the current research indicated that an effective coach possesses specific personal characteristics, qualities and skills as well as a general philosophy or direction for the team. The effective coach uses their own unique leadership, player management, communication and planning skills to create and maintain the team environment to ensure that everyone involved with the team ‘works off the same page’. The interaction of all these features leads to the primary goal of player development, improvement in player performance and winning matches. This thesis identified key perceptions and applications of effective coaching based on Australian professional coach and player experiences.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009.
Title from title screen (viewed 10 Dec. 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

This PhD thesis is a study of the changing social and industrial conditions under which sugar workers in Guyana have worked, and the responses of workers and unions to these changes since 1964. It makes extensive use of original trade union and employer archives, other public and private documentary evidence and interviews with workers and union and state officials. The narrative and analysis focuses on the experience of union rivalry and the impact of state interventions in wage settlements. The sugar industry has several different unions with differing political and ideological positions, and there have been numerous instances of union rivalry and workers' discontent over union representation. Inadequate wage offers have often led to disputes, involving antagonisms between workers and management but also between workers and their union. In practice the majority of wage settlements have resulted from the intervention of a Commission of Inquiry or Arbitration Tribunal. In the late 1970s the state's imposition of wage levels provoked numerous struggles, often of national proportions, and led to legal challenges by workers and one of their unions which resulted in the restoration of collective bargaining. Such developments have had major implications for the national labour movement. The thesis considers each of these facets of worker and union experience, and thus develops an analysis of the relationships between union rivalry, workers' resistance and wage settlements in the context of highly politicised trade unionism. In particular it discusses the implications of trade union affiliation to the major political parties and shows the extent to which political affiliation helped to destroy the collective bargaining process. It argues that while trade unions are involved in political struggles, they ought not to be affiliated to political parties, since this is likely to compromise the independence of the labour movement and weakens the collective bargaining process.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This thesis deals with the theoretical and methodological development of the study of Regionalism in International Relations. It rests on the assumption of a dichotomy in Regionalism studies between Rationalist and Ideational approaches, hampering the understanding of the motives for and nature of Regionalism. The “Rationalist” approach focuses on material interdependency as the main driving force behind integration. Thus, Regionalism is seen as a consequence of rational calculations and bargains by rational agents. In contrast, the “Ideational”, or Social Constructivist approach, emphasizes shared regional identity and culture as driving forces that produce levels of “cognitive interdependence”. As will be demonstrated, however, neither approach alone provides a satisfactory explanation to the motives for and nature of Regionalism, including the process of enlargement. This thesis thus, aims to test, challenge and further develop explanatory models in the theory of Regionalism.In particular the thesis aims to add to the understanding of the process of enlargement, as well as its motives, through deploying those models to the problem of the ‘borderline states’. The problem of the ”borderline states” is demonstrated by the means of two case studies: Australia and Turkey in the context of their relationship with their respective regions - European Union and emerging Regionalism in East Asia, and in particular their position in European and East Asian Regionalism. They are labelled ‘borderline states’ not for their geographical properties, but for the permanent partiality of their inclusion within their regions. Such states are in constant flux, varying their degree of belonging depending on the criteria of enclosure. As this thesis demonstrates, Rationalist approach has a particular strength in analysing the process of enlargement, whilst Ideational approach is required for analysing the motives of enlargement. Moreover, it argues that a potential point of converge between the two approaches is analysing the stability of enlargement. It then further argues that analytical eclecticism can be useful in terms of identifying and framing problems that are significant, but for ontological and epistemological reasons have a tendency to be ignored by the paradigmatic approaches. Finally, the thesis proposes new definitions of region and Regionalism to accommodate a more eclectic understanding of what constitutes a region, what drives Regionalism and in particular how a region’s membership is determined.

The goal of the thesis "New phenomena in the relations between the EU and Australia New Zealand at the beginning of the third millennium" is to analyze mutual trade and economic relations in the context of new phenomena in regionalism, represented here mostly by bi-regionalism and trans-regionalism. The first part of the thesis characterizes economic positions of EU, Australia and New Zealand in the global economy and emphasizes their historical and societal ties. The second part of the thesis elaborates on the development of mutual relations between the EU Australia and EU New Zealand. In particular it sums up the process of deepening of their cooperation up to the current association of equal partners. This is illustrated by existing legal basis of the relations and the current trade exchange data. The focal point of the thesis is the possibility of further intensification of mutual cooperation, especially through conclusion of a preferential agreement that would remove remaining trade barriers between the EU and Australia New Zealand. In the context of the new phenomena in regionalism, any type of preferential agreement would have potential to foster their relationships as well as bring positive impact to process of multilateral liberalization. The issue of preferential agreement is therefore considered in the light of the steadily rising importance of the Asia-Pacific region. While Australia and New Zealand have concluded an agreement on a free trade zone with ASEAN, negotiations with the EU have been suspended. The thesis confirms one of its main hypothesis, marking their different approaches to agricultural policy as the main obstacle to concluding of a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia New Zealand. Based on the findings, the thesis concludes by outlining several scenarios of possible future development of mutual relations and their positive and negative aspects.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the economic development of Australia and New Zealand at the end of the 1980's and beginning of the 1990's and its impact on both countries' status in the Asia-Pacific region. This study consists of three chapters. The first chapter deals with the undergone microeconomic and macroeconomic reforms at the end of the 1980's and throughout the 1990's and discusses the economic situation before and after the changes. The second chapter analyses the history of and current relations between Australia, New Zealand and countries and regional groups in the Asia-Pacific region (China, Japan, South Korea, APEC, ASEAN and EAS). The chapter also pays close attention to areas that have the potential to strengthen relations and cooperation in the future. The third chapter analyses Australia's and New Zealand's relationship with the European Union and investigates possibilities of strengthening the European Union's position in the Asia-Pacific region via EU-Australia-New Zealand relations.

The thesis seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics of interaction between the environmental and labour movements, and the conditions under which they can cooperate and form alliances in pursuit of a sustainable development agenda which simultaneously promotes ecological and social justice goals. After developing an explanatory model of the labour-environmentalist relationship (LER) on the basis of a survey of theoretical and case-study literature, the thesis applies this model to three significant cases of labour-environmental interaction in Australia, each representing a different point on the spectrum from LER conflict to LER cooperation, during the period from 1983 to 1996. Commonly held views that there are inevitable tendencies to LER conflict, whether due to an irreconcilable "jobs versus environment" contradiction or due to the different class bases of the respective movements, are analysed and rejected. A model of the LER implicit in Siegmann (1985) is interrogated against more recent LER studies from six countries, and reworked into a new model (the Siegmann-Norton model) which explains tendencies to conflict and cooperation in the LER in terms of the respective ideologies of labour and environmentalism, their organisational forms and cultures, the national political-institutional framework and the respective places of labour and environmentalism therein, the political economy of specific sectors and regions in which LER interaction occurs, and sui generis sociological and demographic characteristics of labour and environmental actors. The thesis then discusses the major changes in the ideologies, organisational forms and political-institutional roles of the Australian labour movement which occurred during the period of the study, and their likely influence on the LER. The two processes of most importance in driving such changes were the corporatist Accord relationship between the trade union movement and Labor Party government from 1983 to 1996, and the strategic reorganisation of the trade union movement between 1988 and 1996 in response to challenges and opportunities in the wider political-economic environment. The research hypothesis is that the net effect of these changes would have been to foster tendencies towards LER conflict. The hypothesis is tested in three significant case studies, namely: (a) the interaction, often conflictual, between the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the environmental movement in debates around macroeconomic policy, economic restructuring and sustainable development from the mid-1980s onwards; (b) the complex interaction, involving elements of cooperation, disagreement and dialogue, between the environmental movement and the unions representing coal mining and energy workers in the formulation of Australia's climate change policies; and (c) the environmental policy and campaign initiatives of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union to improve workplace environmental performance and promote worker environmental education. The case studies confirmed the research hypothesis in the sense that, whilst the LER tended overall towards greater cooperation in the period of the study, the Accord relationship and union restructuring process worked to slow the growth of cooperative tendencies and sustain conflict over particular issues beyond what might otherwise have been the case. The Accord relationship served to maintain conflict tendencies due to the dominance of productivist ideologies within the ACTU, and the union movement's perseverance with this relationship after the vitiation of its progressive potential by neo-liberal trends in public policy. The tripartite Accord processes institutionalised a "growth coalition" of labour, business and the state in opposition to excluded constituencies such as the environmental movement. This was partially overcome during the period of the Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) process, which temporarily included the environmental movement as an insider in the political-institutional framework. The long-run effects of union reorganisation on the LER are difficult to determine as the new organisational forms of unions were not in place until almost the end of the period of the study. However, in the short term the disruptive effects of the amalgamations process restricted unions' capacity to engage with environmental issues. Pro-environment initiatives by the AMWU, and cooperative aspects of the coal industry unions' relationship with environmentalists, reflected the social unionist ideology and internal democratic practices of those unions, and the influence of the ESD Working Group process, whilst LER conflict over greenhouse reflected the adverse political economy of the coal industry, but also the relevant unions' less developed capacity for independent research and membership education compared to the AMWU. The LER in all three cases can be satisfactorily explained, and important insights derived, through application of the Siegmann-Norton model. Conclusions drawn include suggestions for further research and proposals for steps to be taken by labour and environmental actors to improve cooperation.

The thesis analyses how telecommunications unions in Australia and Taiwan struggled for their members ' interests in response to privatisation during 1996 - 2004. The thesis makes an argument that union effectiveness is based on its responses rather than external environments ; and although unions ' strategic choices are influenced by institutions, what is significant is to trace out the reciprocal interconnections between the two. The thesis highlights the significance of union leaders ' decisions and membership participation during privatisation. In its early chapters the thesis explores the historical background, and relevant theory about union strategies and effectiveness. In addition the early chapters explore the state of Australian and Taiwan public sector unions, to set the context for a discussion of contemporary Australian and Taiwan telecommunications unions ' responses during privatisation. In later chapters the concept of effective trade unionism ( defined as the capacity of a union to reproduce itself as a collective organization ) is explored in terms of the union responses to privatisation in both countries. Whether the CPSU, the CEPU, and the CTWU protected members ' interests centres around two main questions : ( 1 ) did union strategies delay or stop the progress of privatisation ? ( 2 ) did union leadership improve job security, public servant status, wages and working conditions for their members while partial privatisation was underway ? In order to evaluate effective trade unionism in a comparative perspective, there are two levels of analysis in this thesis. Firstly, there is a comparison of the CPSU, the CEPU, and the CTWU in terms of three aspects ( membership density, financial strength, and the overall structure of the union ). Secondly, there is a comparative analysis of the CPSU, the CEPU, and the CTWU in terms of seven union strategic choices during privatisation. In summary, the responses of two telecommunications unions in Australia and Taiwan to privatisation illustrate the old Chinese old adage : ' If you don ' t fight, you lose ! ' But the way in which unions fought privatisation were many and had to be suited to their circumstances. Importantly, unions in Australia and Taiwan can learn from each other ' s successful experiences in a restructuring environment, such as privatisation.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2006.

This thesis addresses the division that exists between theory and praxis. Theology in general and practical theology as a specific discipline has allowed this division to arise and indeed grow. The problem facing us is that faith communities now operate out of blind theory and/or blind praxis. To address this situation a reintegration of the theory and practice of the entire ecclesial praxis is needed. This thesis proposes “Practical Theological Ecclesiology” as the way forward. Practical theological ecclesiology is defined as: The dynamic critical purposeful engagement with the human-divine interactive life of the ecclesial praxis to: ground, integrate, align and improve its essence and expression dimensions as the revelational incarnational sign of God and his purposes in and for the world and directed toward his eschatological kingdom goal. Practical theological ecclesiology addresses both the abstractness of pure ecclesiology and the pragmatics of the praxis through the development of an operational ecclesiology model that integrates the essence, expression and goal dimensions of the ecclesial praxis. By applying the operational ecclesiology model to praxis, practical theological ecclesiology, through the tasks of grounding, integrating, aligning and improving, uncover the gaps that exist in and between the theory and praxis of a faith community. The resulting analysis provides ecclesial pictures of what is, compared to what should be, according to the operational ecclesiology model. The areas of ecclesial life which need to be grounded, integrated, aligned and improved are therefore exposed for ongoing work. Historical and contemporary research of the Christian Community Churches of Australia, provide the data for a case study which illustrates the potential and the analysis process of practical theological ecclesiology. The research underlines the importance of having an integrated operational ecclesiology, of grounding and integrating the theory, of aligning of theory and praxis, and of providing improvement direction for the praxis, thus removing theory and praxis division, avoiding both blind theory and blind praxis, and giving a clear pathway for the future .
Practical Theology
D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Le Canada, l'Australie et l'Union européenne sont des destinations convoitées par des immigrants hautement qualifiés dont le nombre augmente chaque année. La mobilité croissante de ces travailleurs, soutenue par des politiques favorables à leur intégration à l'échelle nationale, pose des défis de grande envergure, alors que celles-ci tentent de conjuguer des objectifs économiques avec le redressement démographique à long terme. La reconnaissance des titres de compétences étrangers (RTCE) figure toujours parmi les principaux défis de cette gestion des flux migratoires, s’imposant dans les processus d'admission aux professions réglementées au Québec comme dans les autres juridictions provinciales, nationales et communautaires. Notre recherche vise à expliciter la corrélation entre le modèle de sélection économique choisi par le Québec particulièrement et la difficile intégration en emploi des nouveaux résidents permanents qualifiés. Nous examinons l’utilité de réformer la procédure administrative de la demande d’immigration en amont pour y inclure une étape obligatoire de RTCE par les organismes réglementaires compétents. Étudiant des dispositifs juridiques en vigueur à cet effet en Australie et en Union européenne, nous cherchons à déterminer si la transposition d'une telle rigueur de sélection est réaliste et souhaitable dans le contexte spécifique québécois.
Canada, Australia and the European Union represent among the most coveted destinations for the vast number of highly-qualified immigrants around the globe. Supported by national policies and initiatives seeking their integration, the increasing mobility of these workers nevertheless poses great challenges, as host countries strive to coordinate economic objectives with long-term demographic supply. The recognition of foreign qualifications consistently figures among the main stakes in the management of these migratory flows, imposing itself in the admission process to regulated professions in Quebec as in other provincial, national and Community jurisdictions. Our research aims at explaining the correlation between the economic selection model chosen specifically by Quebec and the laborious labour market integration efforts on behalf of the newly-arrived qualified immigrants. We examine the viability and usefulness of reforming the pre-migratory administrative procedure in permanent residency applications by including within it a mandatory credential assessment by competent regulatory authorities. Drawing upon legal arrangements to this effect in force in Australia and the European Union, we seek to determine whether the importing of such a rigorous selection process is realistic and desirable for the particular Quebec context.