Critical literacy and second language learning

An introductory overview of the historical foundations, practical precedents of current 'critical' approaches to English as a Second Language teaching - with specific reference to 'critical pedagogy' and 'text analytic' work.

Critical Systems Theory: A Political Economy of Language, Thought, and Technology

An emergent form of political economy, facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), is widely propagated as the apotheosis of unmitigated social, economic, and technological progress. Meanwhile, throughout the world, social degradation and economic inequality are increasing logarithmically. Valued categories of thought are, axiomatically, the basic commodities of the “knowledge economy”. Language is its means of exchange. This paper proposes a sociolinguistic method with which to critically engage the hyperbole of the “Information Age”. The method is grounded in a systemic social theory that synthesises aspects of autopoiesis and Marxist political economy. A trade policy statement is analysed to exemplify the sociolinguistically created aberrations that are today most often construed as social and political determinants.

Two takes on the critical - unabridged

This is an unabridged, earlier version of a paper later substantially revised and abridged in Norton and Toohey (2004), Critical Pedagogies and Language Learning.

Marx as critical discourse analyst : the genesis of a critical method and its relevance to the critique of global capital.

In this paper we identify elements in Marx´s economic and political writings that are relevant to contemporary critical discourse analysis (CDA). We argue that Marx can be seen to be engaging in a form of discourse analysis. We identify the elements in Marx´s historical materialist method that support such a perspective, and exemplify these in a longitudinal comparison of Marx´s texts.

Identifying critical success factors of ERP Systems at the higher education sector

In response to a range of contextual drivers, the worldwide adoption of ERP Systems in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased substantially over the past decade. Though the difficulties and high failure rate in implementing ERP systems at university environments have been cited in the literature, research on critical success factors (CSFs) for ERP implementations in this context is rare and fragmented. This paper is part of a larger research effort that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of ERP implementations and evaluations in HEIs in the Australasian region; it identifies, previously reported, critical success factors (CSFs) in relation to ERP system implementations and discusses the importance of these factors.

Modernist 16-19 Business Education in a Postmodern world - critical evidence of business practice and business education in the cultural industries

This article examines the continued relevance of the 16-19 business education curriculum in the UK, stimulated by doubts expressed by Thomas (1996), over its continued relevance. We express a concern that business education needs, but is struggling, to respond to significant societal shifts in consumption and production strategies that do not sit easily within traditional theories of business practice currently underpinning 16-19 business education. We examine firstly, the extent to which a formal body of knowledge couched in a modernist discourse of facts and objectivity can cope with the changing and fluid developments in much current business practice that is rooted in the cultural and symbolic. Secondly, the extent to which both academic and vocational competences provide the means for students to develop a framework of critical understanding that can respond effectively to rapidly changing business environments.Findings are based on research conducted jointly by the University of Manchester and the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture at Manchester Metropolitan University. The growth of dynamism of the cultural industries sector - largely micro-businesses and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) -encapsulates forms of business knowledge, business language and business practice which may not immediately fit with the models provided within business education. Results suggest increasingly reflexive forms of consumption being met by similarly reflexive and flexible modes of production.Our evidence suggests that whilst modernist business knowledge is often the foundation for many 16-19 business education courses, these programmes of study/training do not usually reflect the activities of SME and micro-business practitioners in the cultural industries. Given the importance of cultural industries in terms of the production strategies required to meet increasingly reflexive markets, it is suggested that there may be a need to incorporate a postmodern approach to the current content and pedagogy; one that is contextual, cultural and discursive.

Info-gap theory and robust design of surveillance for invasive species : the case study of Barrow Island

Surveillance for invasive non-indigenous species (NIS) is an integral part of a quarantine system. Estimating the efficiency of a surveillance strategy relies on many uncertain parameters estimated by experts, such as the efficiency of its components in face of the specific NIS, the ability of the NIS to inhabit different environments, and so on. Due to the importance of detecting an invasive NIS within a critical period of time, it is crucial that these uncertainties be accounted for in the design of the surveillance system. We formulate a detection model that takes into account, in addition to structured sampling for incursive NIS, incidental detection by untrained workers. We use info-gap theory for satisficing (not minimizing) the probability of detection, while at the same time maximizing the robustness to uncertainty. We demonstrate the trade-off between robustness to uncertainty, and an increase in the required probability of detection. An empirical example based on the detection of Pheidole megacephala on Barrow Island demonstrates the use of info-gap analysis to select a surveillance strategy.

Freedom of information implications of information sharing networks for critical infrastructure protection

Protection of “critical infrastructure” has become a major issue for govern- ments worldwide. Yet in Australia, as in many other countries, including the United States, an estimated 90% of critical infrastructure is privately owned or operated commercially – in other words, critical infrastructure protection is not the exclusive domain of government. As a result, information sharing between government and the private sector has become a vitally important component of effective risk management. However, establishing effective arrangements of this kind between the public and private sector needs to take account of existing regimes of access and public disclosure which relate to government-held documents; in particular, that which is established by freedom of information (FOI) legislation. This article examines the extent to which the current Commonwealth FOI regime is likely to act as an impediment to the private sector operators of critical infrastructure participat- ing in government-operated information sharing arrangements. By examining developments in other jurisdictions, principally the United States, the article considers whether amendments to the current Australian FOI regime are necessary to ensure effective participation, consistent with the underlying object and purpose of FOI.

Delay distribution based robust H∞ control of networked control systems with uncertainties

Network induced delay in networked control systems (NCS) is inherently non-uniformly distributed and behaves with multifractal nature. However, such network characteristics have not been well considered in NCS analysis and synthesis. Making use of the information of the statistical distribution of NCS network induced delay, a delay distribution based stochastic model is adopted to link Quality-of-Control and network Quality-of-Service for NCS with uncertainties. From this model together with a tighter bounding technology for cross terms, H∞ NCS analysis is carried out with significantly improved stability results. Furthermore, a memoryless H∞ controller is designed to stabilize the NCS and to achieve the prescribed disturbance attenuation level. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Critical discourse analysis and political economy of communication : understanding the new corporate order

This article uses critical discourse analysis to analyse material shifts in the political economy of communications. It examines texts of major corporations to describe four key changes in political economy: (1) the separation of ownership from control; (2) the separation of business from industry; (3) the separation of accountability from responsibility; and (4) the subjugation of ‘going concerns’ by overriding concerns. The authors argue that this amounts to a political economic shift from traditional concepts of ‘capitalism’ to a new ‘corporatism’ in which the relationships between public and private, state and individual interests have become redefined and obscured through new discourse strategies. They conclude that the present financial and regulatory ‘crisis’ cannot be adequately resolved without a new analytic framework for examining the relationships between corporation, discourse and political economy.