Teachers talking difference: teacher education and the poetics of anti-racism

This paper reports on a case study which explores the experiences of two teachers of ethnic difference working in secondary schools in rural Australia. In seeking an alternative way of telling their stories, transcript poems have been constructed from data obtained through semi-structured interviews with the teachers. The poems highlight the teachers' experiences of marginalisation and racism and their responses to their positioning in mainly white Anglo-Australian school communities. The study raises particular concerns about the effects of professional and cultural isolation on young and inexperienced teachers of ethnic difference as well as the need to view teacher education as an important site for the development of greater cultural awareness in "mainstream" teacher education students.

Kim's style guide for the kinaesthetic boffin: an exercise in anti-communication

The following article refers to a performed paper, Did the Paradigm Shift for You, Darling? given as a collaboration between John Cumming, Yoni Prior, David Ritchie and me at the Double Dialogues Conference, Lines of Flight, at Theatreworks in Melbourne, November, 1997. The performance involved the staging of a mock analysis of a section of my choreographic work, Kim’s Style Guide for the Kinaesthetic Boffin, by three fictitious ‘critics’. The performance functioned as an implicit critique of three different approaches to interpreting dance. This article explores a theoretical position which supports that critique.

The problem of voluntariness: parents and the anti-discrimination principle

Examines the theoretical justifications for the anti-discrimination protection for working parents in Australia. Implication of discrimination, voluntaries and employment; Analysis of the tort principles; Factors affecting the justification for protecting working parents.

Anti-predator aggression in the Common Myna Acridotheres tristis

This note describes aggression by a small group of Common Mynas Acridotheres tristis towards omnivorous mammal, the Coati Nasua sp. Instances of aggression by Mynas towards other fauna are reviewed. The behavioural characteristics displayed in this interaction are also discussed.

Flavour as an analytical tool : an anti-inflammatory compound in olive oil

The chemical senses have been underutilised as analytical instruments, although as detectors of chemicals our senses are highly specialised biological machines. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge of the chemical senses. A novel technique was used to isolate and identify a flavour-active non-steroidal antiinflammatory compound in virgin olive oil.

Cultured muscle cells display defects of mitochondrial myopathy ameliorated by anti-oxidants

The mitochondrial DNA A3243G mutation causes neuromuscular disease. To investigate the muscle-specific pathophysiology of mitochondrial disease, rhabdomyosarcoma transmitochondrial hybrid cells (cybrids) were generated that retain the capacity to differentiate to myotubes. In some cases, striated muscle-like fibres were formed after innervation with rat embryonic spinal cord. Myotubes carrying A3243G mtDNA produced more reactive oxygen species than controls, and had altered glutathione homeostasis. Moreover, A3243G mutant myotubes showed evidence of abnormal mitochondrial distribution, which was associated with down-regulation of three genes involved in mitochondrial morphology, Mfn1, Mfn2 and DRP1. Electron microscopy revealed mitochondria with ultrastructural abnormalities and paracrystalline inclusions. All these features were ameliorated by anti-oxidant treatment, with the exception of the paracrystalline inclusions. These data suggest that rhabdomyosarcoma cybrids are a valid cellular model for studying muscle-specific features of mitochondrial disease and that excess reactive oxygen species production is a significant contributor to mitochondrial dysfunction, which is amenable to anti-oxidant therapy.