Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'United Nations Australia'

Picking up on current research about settler colonialism, this study uses a modified version of a model explaining modern-state formation to explain settler-colonial formation. Charles Tilly identified two simultaneous processes at work – war-making and state-making which produced modern states in Western Europe. Settler-colonial systems engage(d) in a particular type of war to produce their existence: total war. Hence, a modified version of total-war-making and settler-colonial-existence-making (production) occuring in the settler-colonial-creation phase is proposed. However, before this conceptual analytical framework could be developed, it was necessary to examine the meanings of terms such as 'nation' and ‘nation-state’ as well as concepts such as settler-colonialism and total war. The sample of relevant literature analyzed revealed inconsistencies in the meanings of the terms when applying W.H. Newton-Smith’s theory of meaning, suggesting the influence of what Edward Said identified as the workings of orientalism. This has conceptual implications on terms such as settler-colonialism and the meaning of the type of war it wages upon the indigenous nations. It also has implications on developing a conceptual analytical tool to understand the dynamics of the production of the settler-colonial existence. Thus, the terms and concepts needed to be de-orientalized before using them in the modified model which was then used to examine initially three settler-colonial cases: the United States, Australia and Apartheid South Africa. The modified analytical model was able to highlight particular dynamics relevant to settler-colonial systems and was then used – with the incremental and imbricate research done in the first three chapters – to examine the Zionist case. It illustrated that while the cases of the United States and Australia were able pass their creation phases, the Apartheid case could not and subsequently collapsed. The Zionist case seems to be still in its settler-colonial-creation phase. This has implications on current analysis concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Under traditional International relations theory, diplomacy relates to relations between sovereign nations. There have been two broad schools of thought on the dynamics behind these relations: the ‘realist’ school, which tends to consider power and conflict as the major lens through which such should be viewed, and the ‘idealist’ school which tended to focus on cooperation rather than conflict. Between these two extreme views, a third school, the English School of International Relations, also known as the British Institutionalists, provides somewhat of a compromise view, acknowledging the merit of both realism and idealism, by accepting that power remains an important element but also advocating that acceptance of common norms and institutions plays a significant role in determining relations, or the International Society between states. In 1977 Hedley Bull offered the following definition of International Society when he stated that International Society … exists when a group of states, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions. This thesis is not specifically related to International Relations theory, which deals with inter-state relations. Whilst inter-state conflict and international relations remain important drivers of foreign and military policy, there is a growing recognition that it is intra-state conflict avoidance and post-conflict reconstruction which increasingly mitigate the risk to the safety, security, peace and prosperity of nations and regions. Much of this disquiet has its roots in maladministration, poor governance and a lack of justice. These are areas in which traditional approaches to foreign intervention via trade, aid and military force have limited effect, and in which effective consent-based policing and justice can play a significant part in building sustainable and peaceful outcomes. This thesis discusses the role played by a non-traditional actor in the international arena, the police, specifically the Australian Federal Police (AFP), in addressing some of these intra-state justice and governance issues in a constantly changing, unstable and unpredictable global and regional environment. The thesis is intended to outline the diversity and versatility of AFP activities and to contextualise them in terms of non-traditional New Diplomacy. The aspects of diplomacy of most significance relate to diplomatic qualities or traits of the individual police officer, diplomatic behaviours of these members, and diplomatic outcomes of their activities. As such the thesis does not relate directly to International Relations theory or to International Society, as espoused by Hedley Bull. There are, however, some interesting intersections which are worthy of note. There are some critics of the English School who argue that it is Eurocentric. Today’s International Relations originated in the 19th century when a number of European nations formed a club of ‘civilised’ states bound by international law, which expanded around the globe to involve all nations. This concept has been used to explain the lack of imperative for a supra-state or world government to maintain orderly inter-state relations, as the force which binds them is consent to agree to common interest and values within a global rules-based order. In terms of policing on an international scale, global government is simply too unwieldy. There are a number of global, consent-based institutions such as the United Nations and INTERPOL, which fulfil this requirement to a certain extent. The AFP has had long involvement with both of these global institutions, as well as several regional policing institutions. In terms of conflict-oriented ‘realism’ and cooperative ‘idealism’, policing walks both sides of the street. As this thesis will discuss, the whole posture of liberal-democratic policing is conflict prevention, and the means by which such police carry out their daily duties is by cooperation. This is the context in which replication or expansion of International Society should be considered in relation to the activities of the AFP internationally and regionally. This thesis is by definition Eurocentric, or more specifically Anglo-centric, due to the historical fact that the AFP draws all of its principles from Australia’s British antecedents and adheres to a largely ‘western’ or European notion of human rights values. This thesis explores the role of the AFP as an international actor. The thesis asserts that effective international policing has never been more important in linking the international with the domestic. The way the AFP operates in a landscape where traditional policing paradigms are rapidly changing, due to ever-changing, political, diplomatic, and transnational issues, is examined in the context of the ‘globalisation paradox’, of both needing and fearing, global governance simultaneously, as raised by Anne-Marie Slaughter in her book, A New World Order. The way the organisation has evolved from its origins, based on Western liberal-democratic policing values, approaches and skills, to an organisation involved in international policing and diplomacy at the highest levels, while still retaining its liberal-democratic credentials is explained. It is argued that in the contemporary international and Australian context, the AFP is an effective and experienced agency. It is further argued that this is a distinctive form of new diplomacy, appropriate to an increasingly globalised world. The AFP has established an extensive international network in more than 30 countries, has been a consistent contributor to national security, has participated in numerous international deployments over half a century, and continues to play a meaningful role in Australian foreign policy efforts. The thesis provides evidence to show how AFP officers exhibit diplomatic qualities similar to those listed by Daryl Copeland in his book Guerrilla Diplomacy , as well as those mentioned by Christopher Meyer in his book Getting Our Way. In all of its international endeavours, AFP members have demonstrated, in varying degrees, the three enduring elements of diplomacy as outlined by Jonsson and Hall in their book The Essence of Diplomacy. They have communicated and negotiated in some very challenging circumstances and they are representatives of the Australian Government and its humanitarian values. The AFP, as part of broader efforts with institutions such as the UN, have not so much sought a replication of international society, as mentioned by Jonsson and Hall, but have provided a supplement to international society, by effective networking, thereby addressing in large part, Slaughter’s ‘globalisation paradox’. It is not so much universal police homogeneity which is sought by such endeavours, as a balance between it, and the heterogeneity which is inevitably associated with cultures transitioning from custom and tradition, to 21st century expectations of nationhood. The way the AFP’s transnational operations, activities, and deployments, not only serve perceived national interests, but result in more effective regional governance, is identified as ‘diplomacy by default’, because formal Track I diplomacy is not their primary objective. It will be demonstrated how international diplomacy, while generally conducted with perceived national interests as its primary goal, has a secondary benefit, good international citizenship, and that the AFP has a credible history of serving both. It is argued that the AFP is well positioned within government, law and intelligence and security circles, in the Australian and international contexts, through an extensive liaison officer network in South-East Asia, the South-West Pacific as well as more broadly. It will be demonstrated how the AFP has shown itself as capable and ready to respond effectively to extant and emerging challenges, and as such, has earned a place in foreign policy discussions and considerations at the highest diplomatic levels, including the UN. The AFP provides a distinctive and direct link between the global, the regional, and the domestic, which matches the rapidly globalised community it represents. The thesis confirms that international policing acts as a distinctive aspect of Australian ‘firm’ diplomacy, and supplements the more traditional elements of international engagement, between the ‘soft’ or traditional diplomacy, and the ‘hard’ form of military intervention. The evidence provided shows how it is by this form of whole-of-government activity, inclusive of policing, that stability and security are enhanced, and peace and prosperity are encouraged. Overall, the thesis affirms the AFP as a transnational agency, which is well placed to link the international with the domestic, the contextual with the aspirational, and the theoretical with the practical, in a period of strategic uncertainty in international affairs at the dawn of the Third Millennium.

MBA Professional Report
This thesis conducts a comparative analysis of the national security mission, members and budget processes of Australia and United States. This paper explores the Australian model with emphasis on its whole-of-government approach to public management and determines its relevance to national security in the United States.

Incorporating a significant component of Yarning-based oral history, Big Gubba Business investigates the making of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) from an Aboriginal Australian standpoint. This study examines the dynamics of the global Indigenous resurgence and interrogates the evolution of the Indigenous/UN relationship. First Nations engagement with the UN system and participation at the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights are explored in detail. Big Gubba Business also unravels the ongoing self-determination debate and the rise of the CANZUS bloc of resistant States. Having established the political context and surveyed the cultural landscape, this study identifies and analyses the actions and achievements of Indigenous Australian representatives in the drafting, elaboration and eventual adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Big Gubba Business finds that the principal value of the Declaration derives from its role as a rallying point and common cause for First Nations activists and theorists. The legacy of the Declaration project includes the building and embedding of a worldwide network of Indigenous organizations and an enhanced First Peoples political and intellectual presence on the world stage. It is hoped that Big Gubba Business will serve to direct academic attention to this neglected domain of political activity and inform a wider public of the nature and importance of the Indigenous/UN relationship.

This project examines the impact of standards-based and curriculum reforms on the role of materials in educational systems in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Australia. The project focused on identifying activities undertaken by publishing companies and in educational systems to develop, select and use materials in the context of standards-based and curriculum reforms by investigating: (1) research literature about the publishing industry, the policies controlling the adoption of materials, and the patterns influencing the use of materials in schools in the United States; (2) the perceptions of educational publishers about the impact of these reforms on the new materials developed by their companies to meet the needs of schools in implementing these reforms; (3) the impact of national curriculum reforms in the United Kingdom on the materials� marketplace; (4) the impact of the national standards movement in the United States on the materials� marketplace; (5) the impact of state standards in the United States on various aspects relating to materials designed to support these reforms; (6) the impact of national curriculum collaboration in Australia on the materials� marketplace; and (7) the impact of state and territory curricula in Australia on various aspects relating to materials designed to support these reforms. The report concludes by applying categories defined in a typology to classify various activities relating to the development, selection and use of materials identified in educational publishing and educational systems in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Samples and questionnaires relating to surveys and a bibliography are appended.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until April 1, 2014. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-108)

The gift is a research-based novel set in Cambodia in 1993, during the United Nations - sponsored elections. The central character is a Brisbane woman who travels to Cambodia to help run the elections.

This study Is concerned with the Federal National Council (FNC) in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) under the 1971 Constitution. In selecting the U.A.E. as a case study, a historical and socioeconomic perspective is adopted. The thesis analyses the U.A.E. traditional society and the effect of external factor namely its relation with Britain, and internal factor, viz, the advent of oil wealth, on the power structure in the emirates. Both factors increased the concentration of central power and decreased popular participation. The study provides a theoretical appraisal of the role and functions of the legislature in developing countries. It examines the constitutional functions namely legislative, political and financial. The study suggests new roles that the legislatures performs in Third World countries. The thesis examines the historical development of the U.A.E. constitutional system. Such development ended In 1971 when the emirates adopted a "Provisional Constitution" to the requirements of the rulers. The study explores the 1971 constitution with particular emphasis on the role of the National Council. It analyses the composition, functions, role and constitutional arrangements of the National Council In the U.A.E. The study provides an analysis of the major political and constitutional cases, In which the FNC was a part, in order to examine the practical working of the constitutional provisions in reality. Finally, the thesis attempts to explain the limitations, Imposed on the National Council, present in the existing constitutional framework and suggests some improvements to the status quo. The coimnon ground throughout the thesis is that a constitution with a democratic tendency does not necessarily establish democratic institutions and that it would be more acceptable in a developing country to introduce evolutionary rather than radical changes to its constitutional system. However, the study clarifies the difficulties of concentration of central power in developing countries.

The two decades preceding the global financial crisis of 2008 saw an increase in international migration flows. This development was accompanied by the relaxation of immigration entry controls for select categories of foreign workers across the developed world. The scale of labour immigration, and the categories of foreign workers granted entry, varied considerably across states. To some extent, these developments transcended the traditional classifications of comparative immigration politics. This thesis examines the reform process in two states with contrasting policy legacies that adopted liberal labour immigration selection and control policies during the abovementioned period. The instrumental role that immigration has played in the process of nation-building in Australia has led it to be classified as a 'traditional destination state' with a positive immigration policy legacy. By contrast, immigration has not been significant in the formation of national identity in the United Kingdom. It has a more negative immigration policy legacy and is generally regarded as a 'reluctant state'. Examining the reasons for liberal shifts in labour immigration policy in two states with different immigration politics allows insights to be gained into the processes of policy-making and the dynamics that underpin it. In Australia, labour immigration controls were relaxed incrementally and through a deliberative process. Reform was justified on the grounds that it fulfilled economic needs and objectives, and was consistent with an accepted definition of the national interest. In the UK, liberal shifts in labour immigration policy were the incidental consequence of the pursuit of objectives in other policy areas. Reform was implemented unilaterally, and in an uncoordinated manner characterised by an absence of consultation. The contrast in the manner in which reform was managed by the various actors, institutions and stakeholders involved in the process both reflected, and served to reinforce, the immigration policy legacies of the two states. Moreover, the Howard government used Australia's positive legacy to construct a coherent narrative to justify the implementation of liberal reform. This generated greater immediate and lasting support for its reforms among stakeholders and the broader community. By contrast, lacking a similarly positive legacy, the Blair government in the UK found it difficult to create such a narrative, which contributed to the unpopularity of its reforms. This thesis therefore argues that policy legacies had a significant impact on the processes and dynamics that shaped labour immigration selection and control decisions during the recent wave of international migration. The cases demonstrate that a nation's past immigration policy experiences shape its policy-making structures, as well as institutional and stakeholder policy preferences, which are core constituent components of a nation's immigration politics. The UK case shows that even when reluctant states implement liberal labour immigration policies, these characteristics tend to create feedback effects that make it difficult for reform to be durable. The relationship between immigration policy and politics thus becomes self-reinforcing. But this does not necessarily mean that states' immigration politics are rigid, since the institutions that help to make a nation's immigration policy and shape its politics will inevitably undergo a process of adaptation in response to changing contexts.

Reforms to the national research and research training system by the Commonwealth Government of Australia sought to effectively connect research conducted in universities to Australia's national innovation system. Research training has a key role in ensuring an adequate supply of highly skilled people for the national innovation system. During their studies, research students produce and disseminate a massive amount of new knowledge. Prior to this study, there was no research that examined the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system despite the existence of policy initiatives aiming to enhance this contribution. Given Australia's below average (but improving) innovation performance compared to other OECD countries, the inclusion of Finland and the United States provided further insights into the key research question. This study examined three obvious ways that research training contributes to the national innovation systems in the three countries: the international mobility and migration of research students and graduates, knowledge production and distribution by research students, and the impact of research training as advanced human capital formation on economic growth. Findings have informed the concept of a research training culture of innovation that aims to enhance the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system. Key features include internationally competitive research and research training environments; research training programs that equip students with economically-relevant knowledge and the capabilities required by employers operating in knowledge-based economies; attractive research careers in different sectors; a national commitment to R&D as indicated by high levels of gross and business R&D expenditure; high private and social rates of return from research training; and the horizontal coordination of key organisations that create policy for, and/or invest in research training.

Reforms to the national research and research training system by the Commonwealth Government of Australia sought to effectively connect research conducted in universities to Australia's national innovation system. Research training has a key role in ensuring an adequate supply of highly skilled people for the national innovation system. During their studies, research students produce and disseminate a massive amount of new knowledge. Prior to this study, there was no research that examined the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system despite the existence of policy initiatives aiming to enhance this contribution. Given Australia's below average (but improving) innovation performance compared to other OECD countries, the inclusion of Finland and the United States provided further insights into the key research question. This study examined three obvious ways that research training contributes to the national innovation systems in the three countries: the international mobility and migration of research students and graduates, knowledge production and distribution by research students, and the impact of research training as advanced human capital formation on economic growth. Findings have informed the concept of a research training culture of innovation that aims to enhance the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system. Key features include internationally competitive research and research training environments; research training programs that equip students with economically-relevant knowledge and the capabilities required by employers operating in knowledge-based economies; attractive research careers in different sectors; a national commitment to R&D as indicated by high levels of gross and business R&D expenditure; high private and social rates of return from research training; and the horizontal coordination of key organisations that create policy for, and/or invest in research training.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

碩士
台南應用科技大學
國際企業經營系碩士班
101
ports consumption survey has never been carried out in Taiwan. One of the issues concerned is the categories and content of sports consumption. Though United Nations has clear definition by applying COICOP, yet there are still different statistics and methodologies to measure sports consumption in either developed countries or neighboring regions. To set up the bases for future studies and survey, this research aims to compare the differences of sports consumption categories and contents across nations. A small sampling survey will also be conducted to find out the differences and errors among various definitions of sports consumption. The research outcome can have significant contribution in both survey practice and policy formation.

The Third United Nations conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 111) that took place between 1973-1982 was the most comprehensive political and legislative work ever undertaken by the United Nations. Arguably the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea that resulted from the conference in terms of the range of interests involved is the most important multilateral treaty Australia has ever signed after the UN Charter itself. Australia was an influential player at the negotiations in which almost every state in the world participated. The Australian position on most issues at the conference was accepted in the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. This thesis provides a history of Australian law of the sea diplomacy at UNCLOS 111. The study seeks to analyse Australian policy objectives at the conference in terms of Australian negotiating strategies and tactics. It is argued that at UNCLOS 111 Australia moved away from its traditional position on law of the sea issues which was to support the maritime powers. Instead Australia moved at the conference to align itself with coastal state positions. The study seeks to identify Australia’s overall role in the negotiations and analyse the reasons why Australian negotiators were remarkably successful in promoting Australia’s interests. The study draws certain lessons from Australia’s UNCLOS 111 experience that may be relevant for Australian participation in future exercises in conference diplomacy. The study concludes with a consideration of whether Australia should ratify the 1982 Convention and discusses Australia’s implementation of the Convention. Conclusions are drawn on the relevance of Australia’s law of the sea diplomacy for the future direction of Australian foreign policy.

This thesis considers how successful the United Nations Global Compact has been as an institutional innovation that encourages transnational corporations and other global business enterprises to adopt a more proactive approach towards a series of international non-economic objectives. The Compact is a ‘voluntary leadership, learning and dialogue network’ comprised of UN agencies, transnational corporations, international labour bodies and non-governmental organisations. First mooted in 1999 by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Compact brings together these non-state actors with the objective of sharing and promoting mutually agreeable ways of supporting international human rights, minimum labour standards, greater environmental responsibility and of working against corruption. This study investigates whether the Compact’s inclusive, values-based approach has succeeded in providing an additional platform for the incorporation of non-economic objectives into the structures and processes that organise global economic activity. In addition to exploring the complicated relationships between its institutional purposes, design and consequences at an international level, this thesis pursues fresh insights into the Compact by presenting a case study of Australian government, private sector and civil society responses to and engagement with this ‘global corporate citizenship’ initiative…

This is the first study of official relations between South Africa and Australia as conducted through resident High Commissions or Embassies. It reaches the conclusion that, though neither country loomed large on the other's scale of priorities, the relationship was at the outset perceived to be of greater value to Australia than to South Africa. It was initiated by the Australian government in 1945 as was the airlink which connected the two countries in 1952. Then flown by propeller-driven aircraft, the air route led to the expansion of Australian territory when the United Kingdom transferred to Australia sovereignty over the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, eight hours flying time from Perth and an essential refuelling stop en route to Southern Afnca. The first Australian High Commissioner, Sir George Knowles, arrived in South Africa in August 1946. The Smuts government did not attach much value to the relationship. Pleading shortage of staff, and to the embarrassment of the Australian government, it had not reciprocated with its own appointment by the time of its fall in May 1948. On assuming office the following month the new Prime Minister, Dr Malan responded positively to an Australian reminder about the lack of a South African High Commissioner. Dr P.R. Viljoen was appointed to the position and arrived in Canberra in June 1949. The relationship lacked substance and for relatively lengthy periods in the 1950s the High Commissioner's post was left vacant on both sides. The Australian government had proposed the establishment of relations on grounds inter alia that members of the British Commonwealth should be informed about each other's attitudes, policies and problems in the work of the United Nations. Yet it was the United Nations, particularly its composition, which subjected the relationship to its greatest strains. In focusing on the role and functions of individual diplomats the study throws light on what the profession or occupation of diplomacy encompassed at the time. Also canvassed is the development of the South African and Australian Departments of External Affairs from their beginnings to the early 1960s.
D. Litt et Phil. (History)

博士
國立中山大學
中國與亞太區域研究所
97
The U.S. has been building the security umbrella in Asia-Pacific after the World War II, from Japan and South Korea in the north, to Philippine, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand in the south, to protect its homeland security and interests in Asia-Pacific from communist threat like Communist China. When the Cold War ended which saw the decline of USSR as a world power, the U.S. security umbrella continues but it now faces a new challenge posed by the rise of China. While Australia is part of the security umbrella of U.S., it is quite different from Japan, South Korea, Philippine and Thailand. Australia is a state with cultures and values similar to the West but is geographically located in Asia-Pacific. It has huge territory that ranks top 6 in the world but sparsely populated with only around twenty one million people. Trade contributes significantly to its economic development due to its relatively small population and abundant resources. China''s influence is rising after its economic reform. China has been the most important trade partner of Australia since 2007. However, when Australia seeks a wider bilateral interaction with China, it is expected that this will have an impact on the Australia-United States bilateral relations. The concept of a “Strategic Triangle” has been used in this dissertation to observe the changes of the Australia-United States-China relationship in different stages. The national interests approach is applied to interpret the importance of relationships of Australia-United States and Australia-China to Australia. Therefore, the contents of Australia’s national interests and Australia''s foreign policies are explored first. Then, the bilateral relationship between U.S.-China is examined for its impacts on Australia’s choices between U.S. and China. The Australia-U.S. relationship and Australia-China relationship are also examined respectively to understand the rationale behind Australia''s approach toward U.S. and China. Finally, Australia''s strategies are reviewed and the possible strategic choices for Australia are discussed. The strategic choices made by Australia could be interpreted from the Australia-U.S.-China triangular relationship.

Professional Doctorate - Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) is an integral part of employment industries. Employers are responsible for providing a safe and working environment for their staff, where hazards are clearly outlined and procedures are put in place to minimise the risk of harm or death. In recent decades, the Bangladesh Ready Made Garment Industry (RMG) has seen some tragic accidents in their factories leading to hundreds of fatalities. These accidents have drawn global attention to the industry. The RMG industry is highly competitive on a global scale and it is crucial to the Bangladesh economy. However, as is obvious from the magnitude of the accidents that have unfolded in the industry, there is a lot to be said for the current WHS standards. In my research, I have attempted to assess the current 'Work Health and Safety' issues and employees’ safety preferences irrespective to the gender to suggest a reasonably practicable way to deal with them. These issues can be found in any public or private ventures. This issue is further linked to the individual or organisation that is conducting the business. Private entrepreneurs own the majority of garments factories. Their top-level business performance has contributed to the image of country to the outside world, especially in clothing export. The operators need to ensure control over safe manufacturing operations, proper management of plant and substances, monitor and record health and safety issues, offer adequate facilities (i.e. washrooms, shower place, toilets, lockers, dining areas, first aid), arrange training, ensure participation in the consultation and arrange extra supervision if required. At the same time, both temporary and full time employees need assurance and commitment from management for the planned and continuous improvement in health and safety approaches. All workers should be entitled to have protection from any workplace risks, actively use the personal protective equipment (PPE), be proactive and become actively involved in reporting hazards, and have more engagement and participation in workplace training and communication to improve health and safety. While WHS risks can never be eliminated, hazards can be controlled and precautions can be put in place to reduce the risks associated with working in RMG factories. In my proposed framework, I have asked many questions related to the current health and safety program in terms of planning, implementing and reviewing to assess the common practice. I have also attempted to explore the current capacity building context from the employee awareness, workplace culture and training needs analysis. This conceptual framework from the above two perspectives provides a positive contribution to WHS improvement in the garments sector. The sample comprised 315 RMG employees and supervisors from Bangladesh. Respondents were interviewed using a questionnaire with closed-ended questions. Descriptive research was adopted in one part to determine the gender-based responses under each category. Simple random sampling is used as the sampling technique. At the same time, SPSS ANOVA test, Pearson Correlation test were used to select the significant correlation within each heading. Owing to force completion, data was free from missing value. At the same time, for the treatment for outliers, we tried to ensure that the relationships were not attributable to one or a few outliers, the scatter plots and box plot were used to examine presence of any outliers and to check for normality. For the examination for normality, normal Q-Q Plots have been used. Preliminary analysis revealed that data was normally distributed. All the constructs form a normal distribution, mostly negatively skewed and cases fall more or less in a straight line. Cronbach's Alpha was used to test reliability of the statistics. All those analyses were used to identify hazards as a source of damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work. The entire work environment runs on meeting the foreign buyers’ fashion cycle times. It is almost impossible to check the WHS in the floor area, where hundreds, if not thousands of workers are in action. During this research, I found employees to be careful in their workplace. Female employees were far more attentive than males due to their family dependency issues. Both male and female employees brought up the importance of training. However, employers were in a dilemma on training design and training cost arrangements with their foreign buyers. International pressure coming from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), accord and diverse lobbyist groups on meeting compliance at one side, and the continuous push from the buyers to rein in costs misaligned the drive to improve training safety and raising safety costs. Thus, the study’s findings showed that WHS issues and non-compliance are widespread and extra attention is necessary to control risks and prevent further tragedies like those of Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions. Furthermore, such issues cannot be disregarded in Bangladesh, owing to the massive dependency of the country on garment export earnings.

In the period 2004-2007, the highest courts of Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada handed down judgments on the legality of the indefinite detention of non-citizens, specifically non-citizens subject to a removal order whose removal was frustrated. Each of the governments claimed that its intention to remove the non-citizens if and when it became viable to do so sufficed to establish that their detention fell within an ‘immigration’ exception to non-citizens’ rights. The cases thus raised fundamental questions about the relationship between non-citizens’ rights and governments’ power to control national borders. I argue that the indefinite detention of a non-citizen subject to a removal order is illegal. The detention of a non-citizen subject to a removal order is lawful if it can be justified as a proportionate measure to effect his or her removal. Indefinite detention fails this proportionality test and as such is an unlawful violation of a non-citizen’s rights. I develop my argument through case studies from the three jurisdictions. I argue that the law of all three jurisdictions contained ample resources to support a ruling that indefinite detention was unlawful. The question then arises as to why this view did not prevail in every jurisdiction. I demonstrate that, taking into account variations in legal frameworks and doctrines, a judge’s response to indefinite detention is at base determined by his or her answer to the question ‘does a non-citizen, against whom a valid removal order has been made, retain a right to liberty?’ The judge’s answer to this question flows through his or her adjudication on the scope of ‘immigration’ exceptions to legal protections of the personal liberty of non-citizens considered in the case studies. I consider the best justification for the view that a removal order revokes a non-citizen’s right to liberty, provided by John Finnis. I argue that it rests on questionable understandings of citizenship, and in operation inevitably undermines the values of community solidarity it seeks to promote.

In the recent fight against terrorism Western liberal democracies have significantly expanded pre-emptive measures, such as inchoate and preparatory offences or control orders. As these measures rely increasingly on the use of sensitive information, their application poses a dilemma. On the one hand, sensitive information may be necessary as evidence in an open court to justify the coercive measure or demonstrate the innocence of the suspect. On the other hand, states are reluctant to disclose such information where there is a risk to national security, preferring either to supress the information or to use it in secret. Such practices, however, may seriously violate the principle of fairness - and its attached individual right to a fair trial - a principle sitting not only at the core of the criminal justice system, but also forming part of the rule of law and democracy itself. The thesis poses the questions of what limitations are acceptable to the right to a fair trial, and what safeguards are necessary when states allow the suppression or use of sensitive information in criminal and related proceedings. The thesis is therefore concerned with finding an appropriate judicial methodology for addressing the dilemma in court. It argues that without a proper process (often generally described as balancing), minimum standards of fairness are more likely to be lowered due to security pressures. Principles, however, which emphasise the right to a fair trial and require justifications for any limitation in the interest of national security are capable of retaining higher standards. Hence the thesis suggests that while what is fair must be decided in the particular circumstances, what needs to be taken into consideration in order to achieve fairness can be defined. By comparing the case law from Australia and the United Kingdom, the thesis then offers an in-depths analyses of various degrees of balancing and principles when dealing with sensitive information, as well as the dynamics and interaction that accompany the two approaches between the branches of government. The two countries are particularly suitable for such an enquiry as they share a legal heritage, but have diverged increasingly over the last decades in how to protect human rights. While the thesis generally favours a principled approach as now predominantly applied in the UK, it does not simply propose a legal transplant for Australia, which so far has rejected any legislation including principles. Rather the comparison points out the reasons why Australian judges behave differently and challenges the Australian Parliament to amend the relevant legislation in accordance with its own values in order to retain high standards of fair trial protection in proceedings dealing with sensitive information.

Since 1945 Australians have served as peacekeepers across the world in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific. They have contributed to one of the most startling attempts at worldwide collective security in human history. That sweeping story has been well explored, but the experiences of peacekeepers themselves have remained rather elusive. And yet peacekeeping outcomes largely depend on what happens at the ground level between people. The central aim of this thesis is to pull these stories from obscurity and demonstrate that peacekeepers’ recollections, descriptions and perspectives are a central and necessary part of peacekeeping histories. That story is explored here by examining Australian peacekeepers’ oral histories of serving in Bougainville, Solomon Islands and East Timor between 1997 and approximately 2006. These are valuable case studies because all three peace operations overlapped in the same decade, all occurred under the same Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and all were elided together in strategic and political discourse. More significantly, each was also bound, in Australian imaginations, to a nebulous region called ‘the Pacific’. This unique intersection of the three operations creates opportunities to explore broader questions about Australia’s relationship with the Pacific. Though not exclusively used, peacekeepers’ narratives are central to this history. Over sixty Australians from across the country shared their stories for this work. The peacekeepers’ came from three different organisations – the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Public Service and the Australian Federal Police. Exploring what peacekeeping meant to people across these three organisations means this history tells a more varied story than would be possible by focusing solely on one group. That variety also makes it possible to further dissect the nuances and connectedness of peacekeepers’ representations of national, regional and Pacific identities. Ultimately, this is a history of peacekeeping is centred by peacekeepers’ own experiences. All History is, of course, people centred in its own way, but it does not inevitably follow that people are always the centre of the narrative. They often exist in and amongst events swirling around them, actors for sure, but not necessarily the stars. That has certainly been the case for peacekeeping histories so far. We need those stories, but we need the ones in this thesis too. Peacekeeping in the Pacific has very much been about relationships, about very human attempts to understand what it means to build peace in varied and complex contexts; and doing so while labouring under various historical and cultural inheritances that complicated and made specific peacekeepers’ struggles and experiences. This is a story that meets peacekeepers in that space while also showing that those experiences say much about being Australian, being a peacekeeper and being in the Pacific at the turn of the century.

This thesis explored key national Paralympic sport policy interventions influencing a country’s Paralympic medal outcomes and the contextual factors influencing these interventions. The aim of this research was to advance conceptualisation of national elite sport policy and programme effectiveness in relation to Paralympic success, to inform research and evaluation on national elite Paralympic sport policy. The Paralympic Games is the world’s second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. As competitiveness at the Paralympics is intensifying, governments are focusing on developing and implementing effective national sport policies/systems to optimise Paralympic success. While research frameworks have advanced our understanding of national elite sport policy/systems, these frameworks have been Olympic centric. Disability and Paralympic sport studies suggest that current frameworks may not adequately inform policy in the Paralympic domain. Additionally, there is an emerging focus in the sport policy literature on the need to account for the context within which sporting systems are embedded. However, there is currently no framework in Paralympic sport integrating sport policy interventions with contextual influences. To address this gap, this study followed an exploratory qualitative design and was informed by a realist perspective on policy effectiveness. In this perspective, the success of an intervention (i.e. policy/programme) is dependent on the interaction between the mechanisms underlying the intervention and the contexts in which the intervention is implemented. The social relational and human rights models of disability also informed the research. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with national Paralympic sport managers from four successful countries in the Paralympics and who had developed Olympic national elite sport policies: the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Canada. Data was collected and analysed using an inductive-deductive reasoning to identify thematic patterns and relationship between interventions and contextual factors. Findings confirm that existing national Olympic sport policy interventions are also important for Paralympic success. These include, funding for parasport, effective national governance, programmes for participation, talent identification, and high- performance and career development, the provision of and access to trained coaches, facilities and parasport specialised equipment, and Paralympic sport science. However, within these interventions, parasport-specific processes were identified, and two policy interventions unique to Paralympic sports were found: integration of disability-specific and Paralympic sport knowledge in the sporting system; and a national framework for Paralympic athlete classification. Contextual factors influenced all policy interventions and were found at the individual level (e.g. coaches’ assumptions towards people with disabilities), the organisational level (e.g. level of inclusion within a mainstream sport organisation), and the infrastructural level of society (e.g. policies, social policies, anti- discrimination laws). The major contribution of this thesis lies in the developed, realist-informed framework, which proposes a way to integrate Paralympic sport policy at the national level with contextual factors. This framework can inform researchers on how to account for contextual features when studying national sport policy effectiveness in both the Paralympic and Olympic domains. Moreover, this thesis suggests that researchers, evaluators, and practitioners need to account for Paralympic-specific policies and processes. Tailoring policies to the specificities of the Paralympic domain, and considering contextual influences when developing sport policies, could allow countries to gain a competitive advantage in the Paralympics.

The thesis deals with the emergence of bank and non-bank entities that provide a range of unique transaction-based payment services broadly called Mobile Financial Services (MFS) to unbanked, underserved and underbanked persons via mobile phones. Models of MFS from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), banks, combinations of MNOs and banks, and independent Mobile Financial Services Providers are covered. Provision by non-banks of ‘bank-type’ services via mobile phones has been termed ‘transformational banking’ versus the ‘additive banking’ services from banks. All involve the concept of ‘branchless banking’ whereby ‘cash-in/cash out’ services are provided through ‘agents.’ Funds for MFS payments may available through a Stored Value Product (SVP), particularly through a Stored Value Account SVP variant offered by MNOs where value is stored as a redeemable fiat- or mobile ‘airtime’-based Store of Value. The competitive, legal, technical and regulatory nature of non-bank versus bank MFS models is discussed, in particular the impact of banking, payments, money laundering, telecommunications, e-commerce and consumer protection laws. Whether funding mechanisms for SVPs may amount to deposit-taking such that entities could be engaged in the ‘business of banking’ is discussed. The continued use of ‘deposit’ as the traditional trigger for the ‘business of banking’ is investigated, alongside whether transaction and paymentcentric MFS rises to the ‘business of banking.’ An extensive evaluation of ‘money’ based on the Orthodox and Claim School economic theories is undertaken in relation to SVPs used in MFS, their legal associations and import, and whether they may be deemed ‘money’ in law. Consumer protection for MFS and payments generally through current statute, contract, and payment law and common law condictiones are found to be wanting. Possible regulatory arbitrage in relation to MFS in South African law is discussed. The legal and regulatory regimes in the European Union, Kenya and the United States of America are compared with South Africa. The need for a coordinated payments-specific law that has consumer protections, enables proportional risk-based licensing of new non-bank providers of MFS, and allows for a regulator for retail payments is recommended. The use of trust companies and trust accounts is recommended for protection of user funds. | vi
Public, Constitutional and International Law
LLD