Manufacturing in Australia

Book reviewed in this article:
THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF AUSTRALIA. By F. G. Davidson     

澳大利亚的红树林

<正>澳大利亚是一个大的岛国,海岸线长3万km。澳大利亚红树林生态系统(图1)覆盖20%的海岸线,红树林总面积约11500km2,它们向南延伸至维多利亚州的科列澳地区(南纬38o55'),但在澳大利亚北部的热带海岸分布的广度和多样性最大。     

Industrialisation and South Australia

Like Australia as a whole, South Australia experienced rapid industrialisation from the 1930s, but employment growth rates in the state were generally well above national levels. Conversely, restructuring of Australian manufacturing since the mid 1970s has had especially severe consequences in the state. This paper documents and seeks to explain the distinctive pattern of industrial change in South Australia. Drawing on the contemporary literature on geographically uneven development, it argues that the state's experience must be explored in the wider context of the dynamics of capitalist development. International, national and local forces have combined in a complex fashion to produce the specific pattern of manufacturing growth and restructuring evident in South Australia. Analysis focuses on the activities of capital, labour and the institutions of the state, key agents of economic change.     

Attitudes to Geography in Australia

This article reports on an initial study in Australia of attitudes to geography held by members of the community at large. The study focused on perceptions of the role of geography in contributing to wider social goals relating to lifelong learning and living. Groups of business people, government representatives, professional people, educators and members of the general public were surveyed. The results focus on the perceptions of the importance of geography to Australian society; important knowledge, skills and values that are learned while doing geography; and the importance of geography for work. The generally positive appreciation of geography that is held by the wider community needs to be promoted carefully in the education sectors and in society at large if geography is to live up to the importance that is ascribed to it.     

Is Australia becoming more unequal?

Several researchers have argued that Australia is becoming more unequal. This paper briefly explores the reasons why this might be the case before undertaking a social indicator based examination of whether income inequality extends to well‐being generally. Using 176 regions and eight social indicators and focusing on the period 1976–91, the paper shows that inequality has increased, particularly in the last intercensal period. The pattern of ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ is a complex one that suggests increasing differentiation between regions. This finding is set in the context of the social differentiation inherent in postmodern society. Regional policy based on the devolution of spending and responsibility is advocated as one way of helping disadvantaged regions.     

Wilderness survey and evaluation in Australia

Increasing pressures on and interest in remote and natural lands have necessitated the formulation of wilderness protection and management policies by many Australian nature conservation authorities. Planners and managers require detailed information on variation in wilderness quality and the capacity to assess the impact on wilderness of development proposals or management strategies. To meet these demands advances have been made in techniques of wilderness identification and analysis, and a national inventory of remote and natural land in Australia has been commenced. This paper reviews these developments, discussing the newly established National Wilderness Inventory and its implications for wilderness protection in Australia.     

The Free Air Geoid for Australia

Summary The free air geoid, which is the co-geoid obtained by the use of free air anomalies in Stokes' integral, is computed for Australia from available gravity data. The set of anomalies used to represent the outer zones had been obtained previously using a combined solution from satellite data and terrestrial gravimetry. The solutions so obtained for the free air geoid are compared with the astrogeodetic determination of the geoid on the Australian Geodetic Datum by Fischer and Slutsky and the accuracy of the comparisons is estimated.     

Western Australia: the resource state

This paper examines the strength of Western Australia's claim to be ‘the resource state’. It traces the history of the state's mineral development and points to close links between the development, the growth of the economy and the spread of settlement. The crucial role of the state government in facilitating capital investment and fostering a growth ideology is also highlighted. The paper argues that while resource development and capital investment have brought tangible economic benefits to Western Australia and the nation, certain costs have also been generated. Growth has caused damage to the physical environment and the once‐numerous Aboriginal population. Moreover, given the international commodity crisis of the 1980s, mineral export strength is no sure recipe for economic success.