Australian Economy and Society 2001

1. Auflage 2002
ISBN: 978-1-86287-388-9
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 336 Seiten, Gewicht: 778 g

This book considers education, work, and welfare in Australia over the last decades of the 20th century. The authors provide thoughtful analysis and authoritative data on the attitudes of Australians, and to absorbing questions of opportunity. The findings are clear, concise, and often surprising. The strongest bastion of trade-union support is not among factory workers, but among upper-level governmental employees. Australians may feel considerable sympathy for sufferers of life-style related diseases, but hold them responsible for their suffering. Large numbers of Australians find strong attractions in mutually contradictory industrial relations arrangements - often both valuing centralised bargaining and seeing important attractions in local negotiations and individualised contracts. Conflict over unemployment increases more in periods of high economic growth rather than in times of increased unemployment. Parents' participation in literary culture confers distinctive advantages on their children, above and beyond those stemming from the parents' education, wealth, and status. Government attacks on union power in the past decade have been accompanied by a parallel decline in union unpopularity. Australians would not support any further reduction in union power. A worker in a secure job would be as contented earning $10 an hour as a worker in an insecure job earning $14 an hour. Australians are hugely in favour of equal opportunities but strongly polarised over the desirability of equal outcomes.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Evans, M D R

Kelley, Jonathan

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Arbeit/Sozialpädagogik Soziale Dienste, Soziale Organisationen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents Introduction Topic I - Education Snapshot: Government expenditure on education Why is education rewarded - Necessary skills or arbitrary credentialism? Snapshot: Secondary school completion since the 1960s Snapshot: Education in Australia, Canada and the United States Trends in educational attainment in Australia Snapshot: Educational eifferences among the States Snapshot: Gender differences in university education in six nations Does mothers' employment affect children's education? Cultural resources and educational success: The beaux arts versus scholarly culture Snapshot: Private and public schools: Changes in the past 15 years Private schools and educational success Adult education and training through informal courses Confidence in universities Topic II - Employment Participation in the labour force Snapshot: Self-employment and occupation Snapshot: Do we quarrel over housework? Job complexity How much is job security worth to employees? Snapshot: Jobs: Government's responsibility Snapshot: Australian jobs in comparative perspective Snapshot: Jobs changed - politics or technology? Snapshot: Downsizing trends: Workers' experiences Organisational downsizing Topic III - Industrial Relations Snapshot: Australia 2001: A good industrial relations system? Ideals about industrial relations in Australia, Finland, and Poland Snapshot: Union membership Changing attitudes towards trade unions in Australia: 1984-1999 Topic IV - Political Economy Snapshot: Unemployment since 1900 Conflict between the unemployed and workers in 20 nations Class and class conflict in Western nations Equal opportunities or equal outcomes? Changing attitudes toward income inequality in East and West Attitudes to foreign trade in 16 nations Changes in public attitudes toward labelling genetically modified foods, Australia 1994 to 2000 Topic V - Health and Welfare Medical care and risky conventional lifestyles: Blame, sympathy, and financial responsibility Snapshot: Childhood asthma: Changes over time Smoking: Social patterns in Australia Health benefits and potential budget savings due to pets: Australian and German survey results Costs of children and living standards in Australian households Topic VI - Retirement Work commitment of older Australians What form should government old age pensions take: Citizen attitudes Householders' preferences for superannuation Appendix: Data, measurement and methods References/ Index