Critical reflection: Part of everyday practices

Critical reflection is central to improving practices in early years services. It is also a learned skill.

Moving on (part 2): Power and the child in curriculum history

This paper is the second in a two-part series that maps continuities and ruptures in conceptions of power and traces their effects in educational discourse on 'the child'. It delineates two post-Newtonian intellectual trajectories through which concepts of 'power' arrived at the theorization of 'the child': the paradoxical bio-physical inscriptions of human-ness that accompanied mechanistic worldviews and the explanations for social motion in political philosophy. The intersection of pedagogical theories with 'the child' and 'power' is further traced from the latter 1800s to the present, where a Foucaultian analytics of power-as-effects is reconsidered in regard to histories of motion. The analysis culminates in an examination of post-Newtonian (dis)continuities in the theorization of power, suggesting some productive paradoxes that inhabit turn of the 21st-century conceptualizations of the social.

Moving on (part 1): The physics of power and curriculum history

This is the first of two papers that map (dis)continuities in notions of power from Aristotle to Newton to Foucault. They trace the ways in which bio-physical conceptions of power became paraphrased in social science and deployed in educational discourse on the child and curriculum from post-Newtonian times to the present. The analyses suggest that, amid ruptures in the definition, role, location and meaning given 'power' historically in various 'physical' and 'social' cosmologies, the naming of 'power' has been dependent on 'physics', on the theorization of motion across 'Western' sciences. This first paper examines some (dis)continuities in regard to histories of motion and power from Aristotelian 'natural science' to Newtonian mechanics.

From the genius of man to the man of genius, part two: Inheriting (ideas about) genius

In Part One of ʻFrom the Genius of the Man to the Man of Geniusʼ I argued that classical and medieval inscriptions of genius figures suggest a coevalence between characters in their respective cosmologies, making it relatively more difficult to delineate Man from “spirits” and “other organisms”. The labour that genii performed flowed around two significant tropes of production and reproduction whose specificities were inflected in and across sources. In medieval poetry, for instance, genius figures took up a new role in regard to the reproduction trope, as promoter of virtue (in the form of censuring the seven deadly sins) and condemner of vice (in the form of prohibition against same sex intercourse). The sedimentation (complex processes of character-formation), directionality (patterns of descent) and sexual ecology (emergence of a field of ethics) that the medieval literature embodies also indexes an opening disarticulation of Man from universe and the possibility of grounding “morality” in and as His love choices. Through a series of narrative structures, binary concepts and new sources of authority under Christianity the figure now referred to in philosophy as “the subject” is given early grounds upon which to form in the medieval poems.

From the genius of man to the man of genius, part one: A slippery subject

The two articles that comprise this analysis springboard from the availability and increased popularity of the term genius to nineteenth and twentieth century educational scholars and its (temporary) location along a continuum of mindedness that was relatively new (i.e., as opposite to insanity). Three generations of analysis playfully structure the argument, taking form around the gen‐ root’s historical association with tropes of production and reproduction. Of particular interest in the analysis is how subject‐formation, including perceptions of non‐formation and elusivity, occurs. I examine this process of (non)formation within and across key texts on genius, especially in relation to their narrative structures, key binaries and sources of authority that collectively produce and embed specific cosmologies and their moral boundaries. The argument is staged across two articles that embody the three generations of analysis.

Stabilization of exotic minority phases in a multicomponent self-assembled molecular network

Trimesic acid (TMA) and alcohols were recently shown to self-assemble into a stable, two-component linear pattern at the solution/highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) interface. Away from equilibrium, the TMA/alcohol self-assembled molecular network (SAMN) can coexist with pure-TMA networks. Here, we report on some novel characteristics of these non-equilibrium TMA structures, investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We observe that both the chicken-wire and flower-structure TMA phases can host 'guest' C60 molecules within their pores, whereas the TMA/alcohol SAMN does not offer any stable adsorption sites for the C60 molecules. The presence of the C60 molecules at the solution/solid interface was found to improve the STM image quality. We have taken advantage of the high-quality imaging conditions to observe unusual TMA bonding geometries at domain boundaries in the TMA/alcohol SAMN. Boundaries between aligned TMA/alcohol domains can give rise to doubled TMA dimer rows in two different configurations, as well as a tripled-TMA row. The boundaries created between non-aligned domains can create geometries that stabilize TMA bonding configurations not observed on surfaces without TMA/alcohol SAMNs, including small regions of the previously predicted 'super flower' TMA bonding geometry and a tertiary structure related to the known TMA phases. These structures are identified as part of a homologic class of TMA bonding motifs, and we explore some of the reasons for the stabilization of these phases in our multicomponent system.

Subsampling multi-species trawl catches from tropical northern Australia: Does it matter which part of the catch is sampled?

Subsampling is a common method for estimating the abundance of species in trawl catches. However, the accuracy of subsampling in representing the total catch has not been assessed. To estimate one possible source of bias due to subsampling, we tested whether the position on trawler sorting trays from which subsamples were taken affected their ability to represent species in catches. This was done by sorting catches into 10 kg subsamples and comparing subsamples taken from different positions on the sorting tray. Comparisons were made after species were grouped into three categories of abundance, either 'rare', 'common' or 'abundant'. A generalised linear model analysis showed that taking subsamples from different positions on the sorting tray had no major effect on estimating the total numbers or weights of fish or invertebrates, or the total number of fish or invertebrate taxa, recorded in each position. Some individual taxa showed differences between positions on the sorting tray (11.5% of taxa ina three-position design; 25% in a five-position design). But consistent and meaningful patterns in the position of these taxa on the sorting tray could only be seen for the pony fish Leiognathus moretoniensis and the saucer scallop Amusium pleuronectes. Because most bycatch laxa are well mixed throughout the catch, subsamples can be taken from any position on trawler sorting trays without introducing bias.

THE DRINKING DRIVER, A guide to the five part series ONE FOR THE ROAD

THE DRINKING DRIVER is a guide for listeners to the Adult Education radio series ONE FOR THE ROAD, a five-part series on drink-driving and Australia’s road toll. ONE FOR THE ROAD was produced by Lee Parker and Julie Levi, with assistance from the Federal Office of Road Safety in Canberra. The five programs, presented by Lee Parker were first broadcast on ABC Radio National in January 1989, and repeated on Radio National and Regional Stations across Australia in April/May 1989. THE DRINKING DRIVER was written by Mark King, Senior Project Officer with the Road Safety Division of the South Australian Department of Transport.

Intellectual Property Chapter in Part 18: Intellectual Property and Communications

This chapter addresses the areas more commonly found in everyday practice (NB circuit layouts and plant breeder's rights are not covered). Importantly, IP law has become very specialised, and as such one for which practitioners will need expertise or access to relevant experts in order to properly provide advice. The following therefore is an overview only of relevant issues.

Experimental and numerical investigation of the behaviour of CFRP strengthened CHS beams subjected to bending

This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical program to investigate the circular hollow section (CHS) beams, strengthened using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets. The circular hollow shaped steel beams bonded with different CFRP layer orientations were tested under four-point bending. The mid-span deflection, service load and failure load were recorded. The LHL (where L, first inner longitudinal layer, H, second hoop layer and L, third outer longitudinal layer) and LLH (where L, first inner longitudinal layer, L, second longitudinal layer and H, third outer hoop layer) layer oriented strengthened beams perform slightly better than HHL (where H, first inner hoop layer, H, second hoop layer and L, third outer longitudinal layer) layer oriented strengthened beams. The LHL and LLH layer oriented treated beams showed very similar structural behaviour. Numerical analyses were then conducted on the CFRP strengthened steel CHS beams. The validity of the models has been assessed by comparing the failure loads and mid-span deflections. The effects of various parameters such as bond length, section types, tensile modulus of CFRP, adhesive layer thickness and adhesive types have been studied.

Enterprise education: The frustration of a pure contest

Purpose This paper discusses the development of a strategy game for enterprise education. It is argued that requiring students to initially struggle with the game’s rules and strategies results in a worthwhile test of their persistence and ability to manage ambiguity. Further, that in the absence of uncertainty, students will not benefit from the game’s potential contribution to their overall learning. Approach The paper is constructed around the infusion of student narratives and the author’s self-reflective thoughts. The papers explores the process of developing a game that; - 1) provides the students with access to an enterprise reality, - 2) strengthens their engagement with the theoretical foundations of their studies, and; - 3) provides a process for serious self-reflection. Findings Despite the mixed views presented in this paper, the game’s development thus far has been very successful. Students do enjoy and benefit from enduring the frustration of a pure contest. Having to work through uncertainty is a good practice for students in Higher Education, especially those engaged in enterprise education. Practical Implications Whilst the use of games in experiential education is not uncommon, consideration of how and why they are developed is not always well understood. This paper suggests that enterprise educators have significant opportunities to develop games that genuinely provide student access to the entrepreneur’s way of life. Value of Paper This paper provides evidence of how a game can be constructed to add significant value to an existing curriculum. It also provides evidence of the inner thoughts of students frustrated by a challenge they refuse to give up on. As such, it provides a valuable window through which to contemplate the minds of tomorrow’s nascent entrepreneurs.

Literacy, security, governmentality: Defining spaces, managing populations – How has education become part of whole of government security strategy?

In this paper I conduct a Foucauldian discourse analysis of a political speech given by Brendon Nelson in 2006 when the Australian Minister for Defence in the Howard Coalition Government. The speech connects conceptualisations of terror, globalization, education and literacy as part of a whole of government security strategy. The analysis examines this speech as an example of a liberal way of governing the conduct of diverse and unpredictable populations. My analysis suggests that the apparatus of government has been strategically used in order to biopolitically contain the rise of complex social forces and protect a set of homogenous cultural values. The purposes of education and uses of literacy are seen as instruments for the inscription of a coded set of values understood to be synonymous with civil society.

Learning to write: Analysing writing samples as part of considering how children become writers

This chapter draws on a large data set of children's work samples collected as part of a five-year school reform project in a community of high poverty. One component of the data set from this project is a corpus of more than 2000 writing samples collected from students across eight grade levels (Prep to year 7) annually, across four years of the project (2009-2013). This paper utilises a selection of these texts to consider insights available to teachers and schools through a simple process of collecting and assessing writing samples produced by children over time. The focus is on what samples of writing might enable us to know and understand about learning and teaching this important dimension of literacy in current classrooms.

Twitter as a first draft of the present – and the challenges of preserving it for the future

This paper provides a framework for understanding Twitter as a historical source. We address digital humanities scholars to enable the transfer of concepts from traditional source criticism to new media formats, and to encourage the preservation of Twitter as a cultural artifact. Twitter has established itself as a key social media platform which plays an important role in public, real-time conversation. Twitter is also unique as its content is being archived by a public institution (the Library of Congress). In this paper we will show that we still have to assume that much of the contextual information beyond the pure tweet texts is already lost, and propose additional objectives for preservation.