Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Synopsis and critique of the unofficial American/Australian co-production film of animation and fantasy genres.

Mary and Max

Synopsis and critique of Australian film in animation, comedy, and drama genres.

The Sapphires

Synopsis and critique of Indigenous musical comedy, The Saphhires, directed by Wayne Blair.

Bait

A synopsis and critique of the Australian/Singaporean film, Bait, directed by Kimble Rendall in the horror genre.

Razorback

Synopsis and critique of Australian Film, Razorback, directed by Russell Mulcahy in the horror genre.

Dark city

A synopsis and critique of an Australian/American film, Dark City, directed by Alex Proyas in the science fiction genre.

Daybreakers

It is 2019, ten years after a plague turns most humans into vampires. Human blood is in short supply. The shortage of causing panic in vampire population Charles Bromley, CEO of pharmaceutic company Bromley Marks - the largest supplier of human blood in the United States- is intent on developing a viable blood substitute. When a cure that can transform vampires back into human...

Safety culture and speeding in the Australian heavy vehicle industry

Inappropriate speed and speeding are among the highest causes of crashes in the heavy vehicle industry. Truck drivers are subjected to a broad range of influences on their behaviour including industrial pressures, company monitoring and police enforcement. Further, drivers have a high level of autonomy over their own behaviour. As such it is important to understand how these external influences interact with commonly shared beliefs, attitudes and values of heavy vehicle drivers to influence their behaviour. The present study uses a re-conceptualisation of safety culture to explore the behaviours of driving at an inappropriate speed and speeding in the heavy vehicle industry. A series of case studies, consisting of interviews and ride-along observations, were conducted with three transport organisations to explore the effect of culture on safety in the heavy vehicle industry. Results relevant to inappropriate speed are reported and discussed. It was found that organisational management through monitoring, enforcement and payment, police enforcement, customer standards and vehicle design factors could all reduce the likelihood of driving at inappropriate speeds under some circumstances. However, due to weaknesses in the ability to accurately monitor appropriate speed, this behaviour was primarily influenced by cultural beliefs, attitudes and values. Truck drivers had a tendency to view speeding as relatively safe, had a desire to speed to save time and increase personal income, and thus often attempted to speed without detection. When drivers saw speeding as dangerous, however, they were more likely to drive safely. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Crowdfunding and independent screen content production in Australia: A direct economic relationship between producer and audience

This thesis examines the significance of crowdfunding for Australian filmmakers and provides an empirical basis to current claims about the role of crowdfunding in the film production and policy sectors. It has found that crowdfunding is a small but growing source of supplementary finance which is opening up new possibilities for Australian independent screen content producers. This project also highlights the discussion within Australian film policy circles that is opening the way for crowdfunding to potentially become a larger and more formalised component of current and emerging policy initiatives.

From “somatic scandals” to “a constant potential for violence”? The culture of dissection, brain-based learning, and the rewriting/rewiring of “the child”

This article analyzes the “messy and numberless beginnings” of the hope placed upon neurological foundationalism to provide a solution to the “problem” of differences between students and to the achievement of educational goals. Rather than arguing for or against educational neuroscience, the article moves through five levels to examine the conditions of possibility for subscribing to the brain as a causal organological locus of learning.

Combining detached watchdog journalism with development ideals: An exploration of Fijian journalism culture

Development journalism has been a key focus of discussion among journalism scholars for around half a decade, but most of the attention has been firmly on African and Asian countries. This paper examines the situation on the little-researched island nation of Fiji, which has experienced considerable political instability since independence in 1970. Based on interviews with 77 of the country’s small population of just over 100 journalists, we find that journalism in Fiji exhibits similarities to Western journalism ideals, but also a significant development journalism orientation. A comparison with six other countries from the global South shows that this mix is not unique, and we argue that Western journalism approaches and development ideals are not by necessity mutually exclusive, as has often been argued. In this way, the article aims to contribute to a reassessment of our understanding of development journalism and how journalists in developing societies view their work.

The National Road Safety Partnership Program providing a pathway for any business/organisation to create a positive road safety culture

The National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) is an industry-led collaborative network which aims to support Australian businesses in developing a positive road safety culture. It aims to help businesses to protect their employees and the public, not only during work hours, but also when their staff are ‘off-duty’. How do we engage and help an organisation minimise work-related vehicle crashes and their consequences both internally, and within the broader community? The first step is helping an organisation to understand the true cost of its road incidents. Larger organisations often wear the costs without knowing the true impact to their bottom line. All they perceive is the change in insurance or vehicle repairs. Understanding the true cost should help mobilise a business’s leadership to do more. The next step is ensuring the business undertakes an informed, structured, evidence-based pathway which will guide them around the costly pitfalls. A pathway based around the safe system approach with buy-in at the top which brings the workforce along. The final step, benchmarking, allows the organisation to measure and track its change. This symposium will explore the pathway steps for organisations using NRSPP resources to become engaged in road safety. The 'Total Cost of Risk' calculator has been developed by Zurich, tested in Europe by Nestle and modified by NRSPP for Australia. This provides the first crucial step. The next step is a structured approach through the Workplace Road Safety Guide using experts and industry to discuss the preferred safe system approach which can then link into the national Benchmarking Project. The outputs from the symposium can help frame a pathway for organisations to follow through the NRSPP website.

Precarious Creativity: Global Media, Local Labor

Precarious Creativity examines the seismic changes confronting media workers in an age of globalization and corporate conglomeration. This pathbreaking anthology peeks behind the hype and supposed glamor of screen media industries to reveal the intensifying pressures and challenges confronting actors, editors, electricians, and others. The authors take on pressing conceptual and methodological issues while also providing insightful case studies of workplace dynamics regarding creativity, collaboration, exploitation, and cultural difference. Furthermore, it examines working conditions and organizing efforts on all six continents, offering broad-ranging and comprehensive analysis of contemporary screen media labor in such places as Lagos, Prague, Hollywood, and Hyderabad. The collection also examines labor conditions across a range of job categories that includes, for example, visual effects, production services, and adult entertainment. With contributions from such leading scholars as John Caldwell, Vicki Mayer, Herman Gray, and Tejaswini Ganti, Precarious Creativity offers timely critiques of media globalization while also intervening in broader debates about labor, creativity, and precarity.

Book Review: "Fashion on television: Identity and celebrity culture"

Film, costume and fashion have attracted many scholarly works thanks to the interdisciplinary field generated by feminist film studies, gender studies and fashion studies. In particular, the extent of scholarship on the Hollywood studio system has enabled explorations of feminist interpretation of women’s films through the construction of gender identity; the association between fashion and the body; and histories of the relationship between classic Hollywood, costume design and women’s narratives (see Doane 1987; Gaines and Herzog 1990; Stacey 1994; Street 2001)...

The Relationship Between University Culture and Climate and Research Scientists’ Spin-off Intentions

Over the past decades, universities have increasingly become involved in entrepreneurial activities. Despite efforts to embrace their 'third mission', universities still demonstrate great heterogeneity in terms of their involvement in academic entrepreneurship. This chapter adopts an institutional perspective to understand how organizational characteristics affect research scientists' entrepreneurial intentions. We study the impact of university culture and climate on entrepreneurial intentions, thereby specifically focusing on intentions to spin off a company. Using a sample of 437 research scientists from Swedish and German universities, our results reveal that the extent to which universities articulate entrepreneurship as a fundamental element of their mission fosters research scientists' spin-off intentions. Furthermore, the presence of university role models positively affects research scientists' propensity to engage in entrepreneurial activities, both directly and indirectly through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Finally, research scientists working at universities which explicitly reward people for 'third mission' related output show higher levels of spin-off intentions. This study has implications for both academics and practitioners, including university managers and policy makers.