Books

Browse or search ANU Press' range of books or find out more about the publications' authors and co-publishers. Download the book for free or buy a print-on-demand copy.

Displaying results 731 to 740 of 750.

The China Boom and its Discontents »

Publication date: October 2005
China is shaping the global economy as never before. An insatiable demand for commodities, energy resources and capital, and deepening integration to the world economy has won China acclaim. Yet 25 years of rapid industrial development, far-reaching economic reforms and increasing international competition have also created an array of challenging domestic policy demands. The China Boom and its Discontents discusses the financial and social challenges that have emerged in the wake of rapid economic growth. Recent research on demographic trends, labour movements, financial development, social security, urbanisation and trade agreements highlight the unfinished progress of reforms in China.

Pacific Regional Order »

Authored by: Dave Peebles
Publication date: October 2005
The way ahead … New policies are needed if the Pacific is to realise its potential as a peaceful, prosperous region, where the Pacific’s citizens enjoy good standards of health and education, long lives and many opportunities; where Pacific economic growth is constantly improving, driven by environmentally sustainable service industries; where coups, civil conflict and the dangers of failed states have been relegated to the past; where the Pacific is integrated into the wider region, and is an influential voice in world affairs. This timely book argues that Pacific countries including Australia, need to embrace regional integration to realise this vision. The book sets out a comprehensive plan for realising a Pacific regional community dedicated to promoting sustainable development, security, human rights, the rule of law and democracy.

Asian Socialism and Legal Change »

The dynamics of Vietnamese and Chinese Reform

Edited by: John Gillespie, Pip Nicholson
Publication date: August 2005
Although the immense process of economic and social transformation currently underway in China and Vietnam is well known, less attention has been devoted to the process of Chinese and Vietnamese legal change. Asian Socialism and Legal Change brings together experts to analyse recent developments in the legal sphere, representing the diversity and dynamism of this process. This book is the first systematic analysis of legal change in Asian transitional economies.

Ethics and Auditing »

Publication date: June 2005
Ethics and Auditing examines ethical challenges exposed by recent accounting and auditing ‘lapses’ through a study of interconnected moral, legal and accounting issues. The book aims to engage a broad readership in the discussion of audit failure and reform. With its range of intellectual and practical perspectives, Ethics and Auditing provides critical analyses of auditor independence, conflicts of interest, self-regulation, the setting and enforcing of auditing standards, and ethics education.

Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising »

Publication date: June 2005
This volume contains the papers presented at the second biennial Information Systems Foundations (‘Constructing and Criticising’) Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 16-17 July 2004. The focus of the workshop was, as for the first in the series, the foundations of Information Systems as an academic discipline. The particular emphasis was on the adequacy and completeness of theoretical underpinnings and the research methods employed. At the same time the practical nature of the applications and phenomena with which the discipline deals were kept firmly in view. The papers in this volume range from the unashamedly theoretical (‘The Struggle Towards an Understanding of Theory in Information Systems’) to the much more practically oriented (‘A Procedural Model for Ontological Analyses’). The contents of this volume will be of interest and relevance to academics and advanced students as well as thoughtful and reflective practitioners in the Information Systems field.

Culture and Sustainable Development in the Pacific »

Edited by: Antony Hooper
Publication date: April 2005
Throughout the South Pacific, notions of ‘culture’ and ‘development’ are very much alive—in political debate, the media, sermons, and endless discussions amongst villagers and the urban élites, even in policy reports. Often the terms are counterposed, and development along with ‘economic rationality’, ‘good governance’ and ‘progress’ is set against culture or ‘custom’, ‘tradition’ and ‘identity’. The decay of custom and impoverishment of culture are often seen as wrought by development, while failures of development are haunted by the notion that they are due, somehow, to the darker, irrational influences of culture. The problem is to resolve the contradictions between them so as to achieve the greater good—access to material goods, welfare and amenities, ‘modern life’—without the sacrifice of the ‘traditional’ values and institutions that provide material security and sustain diverse social identities. Resolution is sought in this book by a number of leading writers from the South Pacific including Langi Kavaliku, Epeli Hau’ofa, Marshall Sahlins, Malama Meleisea, Joeli Veitayaki, and Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka. The volume is brought together for UNESCO by Antony Hooper, Professor Emeritus at the University of Auckland. UNESCO experts include Richard Engelhardt, Langi Kavaliku, Russell Marshall, Malama Meleisea, Edna Tait and Mali Voi.

The Art of Narritjin Maymuru »

Publication date: January 2005
Narritjin Maymuru led a life that was as extraordinary and adventurous as that of any Australian artist of the twentieth century. Howard Morphy, with the help of Pip Deveson, has scoured the collections of museums, art galleries and private collections around the world to bring together an archive of Narritjin’s paintings and carvings spanning nearly forty years of his work. The Art of Narritjin Maymuru enables you to explore his art. You can begin either by following the timeline that summarises the main biographical features of Narritjin’s life or by moving straight into the sets of paintings. The Art of Narritjin Maymuru is currently unavailable for purchase due to technical issues. We hope to offer an online version of this work in the near future. CD currently unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience. Reviews of the publication Francoise Dussart, American Anthropologist, June 2007, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 363-364 John E. Stanton, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, Volume 7, Number 2, 2006 Charlotte Townsend-Gault, Visual Anthropology Review, Fall 2006, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 80-82
Not available for purchase

The Spanish Lake »

Authored by: O.H.K. Spate
Publication date: November 2004
‘Strictly speaking, there was no such thing as “the Pacific” until in 1520-1 Fernao de Magalhãis, better known as Magellan, traversed the huge expanse of waters, which then received its name.’ With these opening words, Oskar Spate launches his account of the process by which the greatest blank on the map became a focus of global relations. The Spanish Lake describes the essentially European and American achievement of turning this emptiness into a nexus of economic and military power. This work is a history of the Pacific, the ocean that became a theatre of power and conflict shaped by the politics of Europe and the economic background of Spanish America. There could only be a concept of ‘the Pacific’ once the limits and lineaments of the ocean were set and this was undeniably the work of Europeans. Fifty years after the Conquista, Nueva España and Peru were the bases from which the ocean was turned into virtually a Spanish lake. Oskar Spate was born and educated in England where he completed a doctorate at the University of Cambridge in 1937 on the development of London. After the Second World War he combined lecturing in England with writing a regional geography of the Indian sub-continent. In 1951 he took up the post of Foundation Professor of Geography in the Research School of Pacific Studies at The Australian National University, a position he held until 1967. From 1967 to 1972 he was Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, and in 1972 moved to its Department of Pacific History. Throughout his career, Oskar Spate published a wide diversity of papers and essays on such subjects as the geography of Europe, South Asia and Australia and the exploration of Australia and the Pacific. Upon his retirement in 1976, he devoted most of his energies to researching and writing his three-volume history The Pacific since Magellan.

Social Indicators for Aboriginal Governance »

Insights from the Thamarrurr Region, Northern Territory

Authored by: John Taylor
Publication date: October 2004
John Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra. The Council of Australian Governments is trialing Indigenous Community Coordination Pilot schemes around the country aimed at fostering whole-of-government approaches to service delivery and development. A notable example is in the Thamarrurr region of the Northern Territory focused on the Aboriginal town of Wadeye and its hinterland. Under new governance arrangements the Thamarrurr Regional Council has identified a need to profile existing social and economic conditions as a basis for its current planning and future evaluation. This study provides an innovative template for such profiling. With substantial input from local people it uncovers a region of high population growth with major challenges in areas of employment, income, education and training, housing and infrastructure, health status and criminal justice. It yields a baseline of available data to assist discussions of regional needs, aspirations and development capacities. By using population projections, it shifts government and community thinking away from reactive responses to historic need, to a more pro-active future-oriented approach to development. The Thamarrurr people view this document as an important planning tool for their people. Their aim is to have the same access to services and opportunities as other Australians. “Give every kid a chance” is their catch cry. This study lays out what is required from governments and the community to achieve that vision.

Health Expenditure, Income and Health Status Among Indigenous and Other Australians »

Publication date: August 2004
Using data from the 1995 National Health Survey (NHS) this study asks the question—what is the relationship between income, health expenditure and health status for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Australia? Income is generally seen as an indicator of ability to address the need for health expenditure, and as a factor in influencing health status. The expectation, therefore, is that income and health status are positively related. The analysis measures differences in health expenditure and reported health status between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, holding income level constant. No association is found between income and Indigenous health status. A number of explanations are canvassed. The finding may simply reflect poor data quality, both in terms of income and self-assessed health status. An alternative hypothesis, with long-term implications, is that adult mortality reflects foetal and childhood health, regardless of current income status.