A unique collaborative, sociological study undertaken during 1995-7, explored the social construction of drought as a disaster, looking at farm families in two Australian states: Queensland (beef producers) and New South Wales (sheep/wheat producers). A decision was made to interview the women and men separately to test our hypothesis that there would be gender issues in any analysis of a disaster, but particularly one which has had so much long-term impact on individuals, families and communities, such as drought. Interviews were conducted with over 100 individuals male and female. We conclude that drought as a disaster is a gendered experience. The paper draws on the narratives of some women involved in the study to identify 'themes of difference' which confirm the necessity to maintain gender as a variable in all studies of the social impacts of disaster.
The impacts of unplanned mining closure for 'fence line' residential communities Establishing 'social licences to operate' with communities has become a significant corporate social responsibility agenda. The complex dynamics of these relationships can compound the impacts for communities when these contracts are not upheld. This article documents reflections from a Rapid Rural Appraisal conducted in the Shire of Ravensthorpe in remote Western Australia after the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation was 'mothballed' nine months into a projected twenty five year life span. It captures how communication about the project and its timeframes created a sense of consistency, predictability, certainty and trust-enabling the social licence. The raising of hope, and the emergence of mistrust underpin the social, environmental and financial impacts of this event for the local community. Embedded in the theoretical dimensions of social licences this case study highlights the problematic of social licences that engage with non-contractual stakeholders as partners in 'booms' but have no legal responsibility towards them in times of 'bust'.
This paper suggests that there are wide benefits of industrial symbiosis that go beyond mere exchanges of material or energy between industries. We conclude that industrial symbiosis not only ensures physical exchange of material, energy and by-products, but also establishes the necessary linkages between parties to enable further enhancement of exchanges to occur. This paper describes a method to assess the wider benefits of industrial symbiosis to the industrial region by measuring the various capital benefits achieved. Indicators are developed and a verification of this method concludes that the framework does enable the intangible benefits associated with industrial symbiosis to be identified, analysed and integrated into a more detailed appreciation of the impacts of the symbiotic relationships underway in the case study area.
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