Interview with Barbara Comber in "Chapter 3 : Critical Literacy" of "Making Literacy Real : Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching [2nd. Ed.]"

One of the so-called ‘wicked problems’ confronting most nations is poverty, or the unequal distribution of resources. This problem is perennial, but how, where and with which physical, psychological, social and educational effects, and for which students (and their teachers), needs continual scrutiny. Poverty is relative. Entire populations may be poor or groups of people and individuals within nations may be poor. Poverty results from injustice. Not only the un- and under-employed are living in poverty, but also the ‘working poor’. Now we see affluent societies with growing pockets of persistent poverty. While there are those who dispute the statistics on the rise of poverty because different nations use different measures (for example see Biddle, 2013; http://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-poverty-on-the-rise-in-australia-17512), there seems to be little dispute that the gaps between the richest and the poorest are increasing (see http://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/sotu/SOTU_2014_CPI.pdf)...

Complimentary collaborations: Teachers and researchers co-developing best practices in art education

Australia is currently experiencing a huge cultural shift as it moves from a State-based curriculum, to a national education system. The Australian State-based bodies that currently manage teacher registration, teacher education course accreditation, curriculum frameworks and syllabi are often complex organisations that hold conflicting ideologies about education and teaching. The development of a centralised system, complete with a single accreditation body and a national curriculum can be seen as a reaction to this complexity. At the time of writing, the Australian Curriculum is being rolled out in staggered phases across the states and territories of Australia. Phase one has been implemented, introducing English, Mathematics, History and Science. Subsequent phases (Humanities and Social Sciences, the Arts, Technologies, Health and Physical Education, Languages, and year 9-10 work studies) are intended to follow. Forcing an educational shift of this magnitude is no simple task; not least because the States and Territories have and continue to demonstrate varying levels of resistance to winding down their own curricula in favour of new content with its unfamiliar expectations and organisations. The full implementation process is currently far from over, and far from being fully resolved. The Federal Government has initiated a number of strategies to progress the implementation, such as the development of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) to aid professional educators to implement the new curriculum. AITSL worked with professional and peak specialist bodies to develop Illustrations of Practice (hereafter IoP) for teachers to access and utilise. This paper tells of the building of one IoP, where a graduate teacher and a university lecturer collaborated to construct ideas and strategies to deliver visual arts lessons to early childhood students in a low Socio- Economic Status [SES] regional setting and discusses the experience in terms of its potential for professional learning in art education.

Dancing practices from multiple perspectives: the increasingly complex role of the contemporary dancer

This paper will discuss the complexities of the role of contemporary dancer in this current epoch, with a particular focus on the multiple identities dancers embody within dance practice and how these accumulate to form a creative self-in-process or ‘moving identity’. Wider issues, such as training will be explored questioning how technical skills can be imparted alongside autonomous learning approaches to ensure that dancers are prepared to negotiate the entrepreneurial ecology of various dance sectors. Furthermore, the paper will examine the shifting relationship between choreographer and dancer from hierarchical to co-creative including how, in spite of the often collaborative nature of dance creation, the marketplace continues to celebrate the singular authorial position of the choreographer. Each of these elements will reflect back the complex issues of agency and creative self-hood that dancers must negotiate in an increasingly diverse and changeable arts environment.

The digital-bricoleur: Contemporary screen-based visual art practices

This paper describes a practice-led methodology that combines contemporary art theory and processes, as well as concepts of fan studies to construct a space for the critical and creative exploration of screen culture. The research promotes new possibilities for purposeful creative engagements with the screen, framed through the lens of what I term the digital-bricoleur. This performative, link-making approach documents the complicit tendencies that arise out of my affective relationship with screen culture, mapping out a cultural terrain in which I can creatively and critically ‘play’. The creative exploitation of this improvisational and aleatory activity then forms the creative research outputs. It appropriates and reconfigures content from screen culture, creating digital video installations aimed at engendering new experiences and critical interpretations of screen culture.

A retrospective case-control study on the prescribing practices of antidepressants administered to cancer patients and non-cancer patients in Australia

Comorbidity of depression risks is common among cancer patients. The pharmacological treatment of depression is antidepressants. However, antidepressants may interact with anticancer drugs or cause adverse reactions. The prescription practice of antidepressants to cancer patients in Australia is not well documented. Our systematic review and meta-analysis identified that the overall prevalence rate of antidepressants was 15.6% varied widely by world-region and gender. A retrospective case-control study was undertaken to determine the recent prescription practice of antidepressants to cancer and non-cancer patients in Australia. Mirtazapine was the highly prescribed antidepressants to cases, whereas Desvenlafaxine was prescribed to controls. Considerable variation in the prescribing patterns of antidepressants was identified. Prospective studies are needed to ascertain whether patients are being treated optimally.

Building teachers' pedagogy practices in reasoning, to improve students' dispositions towards mathematics

Drawing on participatory action research, this study identifies the pedagogies necessary to advance reasoning, which is one of the proficiencies from the Australian Curriculum Mathematics, and explores how reasoning leads to greater productive disposition. With the current emphasis on STEM in schools, this research is timely. This thesis makes an original and substantive contribution to the understanding of why and how teachers can most effectively advance student proficiency in reasoning through targeted instructional strategies and style of instruction. The study explores the ways in which teacher practices, when focused on reasoning, enhance the disposition of students towards greater mathematical proficiency.

A preliminary analysis of the impact of UN MDGs and RIO+20 on corporate social accountability practices

This chapter explores the impact of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Rio + 20 in improving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. While MDGs and Rio + 20 have suggested additive guidelines for improving CSR practices, they do not provide a strong legislative mandate. We find both MDGs and Rio + 20 have had limited cumulative effect on CSR practices and discourses within the corporate reports. UN bodies should bring a new policy and regulatory framework that addresses limitations in the principles espoused in the MDGs and Rio + 20. An independent monitoring system (a social compliance audit mechanism) can be mandated in an attempt to make incremental substantive change.

Social and environmental reporting practices of organisations operating in, or sourcing products from, a developing country : evidence from Bangladesh

This research consists of a broad study in three parts of the social and environmental reporting practices of organisations operating in or sourcing products from a developing country, in this case Bangladesh. The first part of this study explores the social and environmental disclosure practices of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the body responsible for organising the activities of 4,200 entities involved in the export of garments from Bangladesh. By way of interview, this part documents the opinions of numerous senior executives from the BGMEA with regard to any changes in the degree of social and environmental pressures since 1985. Utilising a complementary theoretical perspective that includes legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory this part then performs an analysis of the BGMEA's annual reports (1987-2005), t o explore the link between the perceived pressures and changes entailed therein and the social and environmental disclosure practices of the BGMEA across the period of analysis. The results show that the disclosure practices of BGMEA appear to be directly driven by the changing expectations of multinational buying companies- the group deemed to be the most powerful stakeholder group. This section is the first known study to interview managers from a large organisation in a developing country about shifting stakeholder expectations and then to link these changing expectations to annual report disclosures across an extended period of analysis. The findings then directly lead to the second major part of this thesis which investigates the social and environmental disclosure practices of two major multinational buying companies: Nike and H&M. Adopting a joint consideration of legitimacy theory and media agenda setting theory, this second part investigates the linkage between negative media attention and positive corporate social and environmental disclosures over a 19 year period. The results support the view that for those industry-related social and environmental issues that attract the greatest amount of negative media attention, these companies react by providing positive social and environmental disclosures. The results were particularly significant in relation to labour practices in developing countries-the issue that attracts the greatest amount of negative media attention for the companies in question. While the second part demonstrates that the media influences particular disclosure practices, the third part of the thesis shows what drives the media. Based on the speculation provided in the second part, the third part tests the proposition that the media is an important ally of NGOs in their quest to influence change in corporate accountabilities. Through the use of interviews, the results of this part of the study provide evidence to support previously untested perspectives about NGOs' utilisation of the m edia. The results reveal that NGOs use the media because the media is responsible for creating real changes in the operations and disclosure policies of organisations sourcing products from Bangladesh. The various pressures impacting the activities of organisations operating in or sourcing products from developing countries constitutes a fascinating area of investigation, and it is hoped that this study will motivate further research in this area.

After the rains: Water’s impact for valuation practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reduce the potential for litigation by improving valuers’ awareness of water risks. As part of a valuer’s due diligence, the paper provides guidance as to how to identify such risks by explaining the different types and examining how online search tools can be used in conjunction with more traditional methods to evaluate the probability of these risks occurring. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds on prior research, which examined the impact of water to and for valuations. By means of legal/doctrinal analysis, this paper considers relevant issues from the perspective of managing client expectations and needs. In so doing it identifies online tools available to assist in identifying at risk properties and better informing clients. Findings While the internet provides a variety of tools to gain access to relevant information, this information most commonly is only provided subject to disclaimer. Valuers need to ensure that blind reliance is not given to use of these tools but that the tools are used in conjunction with individual property inspections. Research limitations/implications Although the examples considered primarily are Australian, increasing water risks generally make the issues considered relevant for any jurisdiction. The research will be of particular interests to practitioners in coastal or riverine areas. Practical implications Valuation reports are sought for a variety of purposes from a variety of clients. These range from the experienced, knowledgeable developer looking to maximise available equity to the inexperienced, uneducated individual looking to acquire their home and thinking more often than not with their heart not their head. More informed practices by valuers will lead to valuation reports being more easily understood by clients, thus lessening the likelihood of litigation against the valuer for negligence. Originality/value The paper highlights the issue of water risks; the need for valuers to properly address potential and actual risks in their reports; and the corresponding need to undertake all appropriate searches and enquiries of the property to be valued. It reinforces the importance of access to the internet as a tool in the valuation process.

Understanding curriculum planning practices that promote equity and excellence for students with disability

This thesis analyses how primary teachers plan from the Australian Curriculum for students with disabilities as part of their curriculum planning to achieve equity and excellence for all. The researcher used an institutional ethnographic approach to create data maps that visually represented how these teachers navigated across thirty-one curriculum organising texts in their individual and classroom planning. By identifying the complexity of the process, types of texts that were most influential, and the everyday/night work of curriculum planning, leaders can strategically plan to support teachers to have high expectations for students with disabilities. Key themes include students with disability, curriculum entitlement and practices that promote equity.

Western medicine and Australian Indigenous healing practices

Most projects undertaken by government health organisations are formulated on values and beliefs about health and illness that are derived from Anglo/Celtic culture. Health beliefs differ between cultures and it has been identified that the differences in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous constructs of health impacts negatively on the effectiveness of mainstream healthcare provided to Indigenous peoples [2]. This implies that strategies that incorporate, or better still are derived from, Indigenous health beliefs have a greater potential to be effective. This article introduces a prospective survey project asking how western medicine and traditional treatments interface with each other.

NFPOs and their anti-corruption disclosure practices: Evidence from Australia

By focusing on major Australian overseas aid not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs), this study has found that NFPOs’ public disclosures lack appropriate commentary relating to anti-corruption measures. We found that this could be due to a break down in regulatory oversight caused by a lack of mandatory reporting standards. This finding reinforces the experience of NFPOs in terms of addressing anti-corruption issues. The key lesson is that there is a need for significant improvement in the anti-corruption regulations, hence associated disclosure practices within the NFPOs sector.

Workers are doing it for themselves? Local labor solidarity in precarious times

Historically, organized labor has played a fundamental role in guaranteeing basic rights and privileges for screen media workers and defending union and guild members (however unevenly) from egregious abuses of power. Yet, despite the recent turn to labor in media and cultural studies, organized labor today has received only scant attention, even less so in locations outside Hollywood. This presentation thus intervenes in two significant ways: first, it acknowledges the ongoing global ‘undoing’ of organized labor as a consequence of footloose production and conglomeration within the screen industries, and second, it examines a case example of worker solidarity and political praxis taking shape outside formal labor institutions in response to those structural shifts. Accordingly, it links an empirical study of individual agency to broader debates associated with the spatial dynamics of screen media production, including local capacity, regional competition, and precariousness. Drawing from ethnographic interviews with local film and television workers in Glasgow, Scotland, I consider the political alliance among three nascent labor organizations in the city: one for below-the-line crew, one for facility operators, and (oddly enough) one for producers. Collectively, the groups share a desire to transform Glasgow into a global production hub, following the infrastructure developments in nearby cities like Belfast, Prague, and Budapest. They furthermore frame their objectives in political terms: establishing global scale is considered a necessary maneuver to improve local working conditions like workplace safety, income disparity, skills training, and job access. Ultimately, I argue these groups are a product of an inadequate union structure and outdated policy vision for the screen sector , once-supportive institutions currently out of sync with the global realities of media production. Furthermore, the groups’ advocacy efforts reveal the extent to which workers themselves (in additional to capital) can seek “spatial fixes” to suture their prospects to specific political and economic goals. Of course, such activities manifest under conditions outside of the workers’ control but nevertheless point to an important tension within capitalist social relations, namely that the agency to reshape the spatial relationships in their own lives recasts the geography of labor in terms that aren’t inherent or exclusive to the interests of global capital.

The accounting and accountability practices of Fairtrade International (FLO)

This study examines the accounting and accountability practices of Fairtrade International (FLO), one of the largest Fair Trade umbrella organizations. Our aim is to explore whether new forms of accounting and related disclosures emerge in the reporting practices of FLO and how these reflect their self-declared social mission towards the emancipation and sustainability of producers. Using thematic analysis and reflecting on Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power, we analyse FLO’s reporting practices from 2006 to 2013. Our findings reveal that FLO mobilises the taken-for-granted images and symbols of ’fairness’ in the Fair Trade system by using descriptive statistics of Fair Trade premium distributions and pictures of producers but keeps silent to current concerns surrounding the limitations of Fair Trade. Such findings extend important insights into how new forms of accounting and related disclosure are used to legitimise the practice of Fair Trade.