The Hollywood effect : a comparative study of costume in Australia and the Proposition

This paper compares costuming practices in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (2008) and John Hillcoat’s The Proposition (2005) and argues that high production values, such as in the blockbuster Australia, are not neutral mechanisms of production, but powerful prescriptive elements which do not result in a successful representation of cultural specificity. Australia is a typical blockbuster, it employs a large number of extras, it features compelling landscape shots, has been shot across four different locations and sets, and, importantly, is an international production with the 20th Century Fox. The film’s costumes were designed by Catherine Martin, who received an Oscar nomination in 2009. While global exposure of fashion in film and through celebrities’ endorsements has consolidated a historical synergy between the fashion industry and Hollywood, the Australian film and fashion industries have had a very limited exchange. Baz Luhrmann’s film is Australia’s first instance of promo-costuming and use of tie-in labels (Ferragamo, R.M.Williams, Prada, Paspaley). Catherine Martin thoroughly researched 1930s women’s wear, indigenous and stockmen’s clothing, and set up to make all costumes with a large team of costumiers and seamstresses, striving for authenticity. The Proposition won its costume designer Margot Wilson an AFI in 2005 for best costume, but compared to Australia the story, location and costumes are far harsher. Filmed around Winton in far west Queensland, the director John Hillcoat and Director of Photography Benoit Delhomme were insistent about realism, and emphasising the harshness of the Australian landscape. The realism of the costumes was derived from the fabrics and manufacturing, as well as the way they were shot, with the actors often wearing two or three layers of heavy wool during days of shooting in 50 degree heat, and the details of making and breaking down. The implication is that both films are culturally specific as they both deal with an Australian story. However, Australia is clearly produced according to a Hollywood blockbuster model, and closely matches Hollywood’s narrative and aesthetic characteristics, while The Proposition is a more modest film that eschews these conventions of beauty and glossed history. Despite its western genre-orientation, The Proposition is more successful than Australia when it comes to costuming, because its costumes are not only functional to the narrative, but, in Roland Barthes’ words, they also fulfil a prestation. This prestation highlights the social and cultural conflicts on which colonial Australia was founded, instead of gilding, and gliding, over them.

iPads in the Early Years : Developing Literacy and Creativity

Digital devices like smart phones and tablet computers are becoming commonplace in young children’s lives for play, entertainment, learning and communication. Recently, there has been a great deal of focus on the educational potential of devices like iPads in both formal and informal educational settings. There is now an abundance of educational ‘apps’ available to children, parents, and kindergarten and pre-school teachers that claim to enhance children’s early literacy and numeracy development and creativity. To date, though, there has been very little formal investigation of the educational potential of these devices. This book discusses the impact on children’s learning when iPads were introduced in three very different kindergartens in Brisbane, Australia. Chapters outline how researchers worked with pre-school teachers and parents to explore how iPads can assist with letter and word recognition, the development of oral literacy and talk around play. The book also considers the possibilities for using iPads for creativity and arts education through photography, storytelling, drawing, music creation and audio recording.

RPAS integration within an Australian ATM system : what equipment and which airspace

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) currently lists more than 100 separate entities or organisations which maintain a UAS Operator Certificate (UOC) [1]. Approved operations are overwhelmingly a permutation of aerial photography, surveillance, survey or spotting and predominantly, are restricted to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) operations, below 400 feet, and not within 3 NM of an aerodrome. However, demand is increasing for a Remote Piloted Aerial System (RPAS) regulatory regime which facilitates more expansive operations, in particular unsegregated, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Despite this demand, there is national and international apprehension regarding the necessary levels of airworthiness and operational regulation required to maintain safety and minimise the risk associated with unsegregated operations. Fundamental to addressing these legitimate concerns will be the mechanisms that underpin safe separation and collision avoidance. Whilst a large body of research has been dedicated to investigating on-board, Sense and Avoid (SAA) technology necessary to meet this challenge, this paper focuses on the contribution of the NAS to separation assurance, and how it will support, as well as complicate RPAS integration. The paper collates and presents key, but historically disparate, threads of Australian RPAS and NAS related information, and distils it with a filter focused on minimising RPAS collision risk. Our ongoing effort is motivated by the need to better understand the separation assurance contribution provided by the NAS layers, in the first instance, and subsequently employ this information to identify scenarios where the coincident collision risk is demonstrably low, providing legitimate substantiation for concessions on equipage and airworthiness standards.

Introduction : Understanding Connections between Time, Space and the Body

The experiences and constructs of time, space and bodies saturate human discourse—naturally enough, since they are fundamental to existence—yet there has long been a tendency for the terms to be approached somewhat independently, belying the depth of their interconnections. It was a desire to address that apparent shortcoming that inspired this book, and the interdisciplinary meetings from which it was born, the 1st Global Conferences on ‘Time, Space and the Body’ and ‘Body Horror’ held in Sydney in February 2013. Following the lively, often provocative, exchange of ideas throughout those meetings, the writing here crosses conventional boundaries inhabiting everyday life and liminal experiences, across cultures, life circumstances, and bodily states. Through numerous theoretical frameworks and with reference to a variety of media, the authors problematize or deconstruct commonplace assumptions to reveal challenging new perspectives on the diverse cultures and communities which make our world. If there is an overarching theme of this collection it is diversity itself. The writers here come from numerous academic fields, but a good number of them also draw on first-hand cultural production in the arts: photography, sculpture and fine art instillation, for example. Of course, however laudable it might be, there is a potential problem in such diversity: does it produce fruitful dialogue moving toward creative, workable syntheses or simply a cacophony of competing, incomprehensible, barely comprehending voices? To a large degree this depends upon the intellectual, existential ambitions as well as the old-fashioned goodnatured tolerance of both writers and readers. But we hope three unifying characteristics are discernable in the following chapters viewed as a whole: firstly, a genuine concern for the world humans inhabit and the communities they form as bodies in space and time; secondly, an emphasis upon the experience of the human subject, exemplified perhaps by the number of chapters drawing on phenomenology; thirdly, an adventurous, explorative impulse associated with an underlying sense that being, since it is inseparable from the body’s temporality, is always becoming, and here the presence of poststructuralist influences is unmistakable, often explicit. Our challenge as editors has been to present the enormous variety of subjects and views in a way that would render the book coherent and at the same time encourage readers to make explorations themselves into realms they might usually consider beyond their field of interest. To that end we have divided the book into six sections around loosely defined themes, each offering different angles on how time and/or space unfold in and around bodies.

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets : effect of gas flow, active species, and snake-like bullet propagation

Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jets have recently attracted enormous interest owing to numerous applications in plasma biology, health care, medicine, and nanotechnology. A dedicated study of the interaction between the upstream and downstream plasma plumes revealed that the active species (electrons, ions, excited OH, metastable Ar, and nitrogen-related species) generated by the upstream plasma plume enhance the propagation of the downstream plasma plume. At gas flows exceeding 2 l/min, the downstream plasma plume is longer than the upstream plasma plume. Detailed plasma diagnostics and discharge species analysis suggest that this effect is due to the electrons and ions that are generated by the upstream plasma and flow into the downstream plume. This in turn leads to the relatively higher electron density in the downstream plasma. Moreover, high-speed photography reveals a highly unusual behavior of the plasma bullets, which propagate in snake-like motions, very differently from the previous reports. This behavior is related to the hydrodynamic instability of the gas flow, which results in non-uniform distributions of long-lifetime active species in the discharge tube and of surface charges on the inner surface of the tube.

Epistemological lens : birth, death and ecology of documentary practices

This paper considers the epistemological life cycle of the camera lens in documentary practices. The 19th century industrial economies that manufactured and commercialised the camera lens have engendered political and economic contingencies on documentary practices to sustain a hegemonic and singular interpretive epistemology. Colonial documentary practices are considered from the viewpoint of manipulative hegemonic practices - all of which use the interpretive epistemology of the camera lens to capitalise a viewpoint which is singular and possesses the power to sustain its own status and economic privilege. I suggest that decolonising documentary practices can be nurtured in what Boaventura de Sousa Santos proposes as an 'ecology of knowledges' (Andreotti, Ahenakew, & Cooper 2011) - a way of including the epistemologies of cultures beyond the 'abyssal' (Santos), outside the limits of epistemological dominance. If an 'epistemicide' (Santos) of indigenous knowledges in the dominant limits has occurred then in an ecology of knowledges the limits become limitless and what were once invisible knowledges, come into their own ontological and epistemological being: as free agents and on their own terms. In an ecology of knowledges, ignorance and blindness may still exist but are not privileged. The decolonisation of documentary practices inevitably destabilises prevailing historicities and initiates ways for equal privilege to exist between multiple epistemologies.

Arts education and iPads in the early years

This chapter takes as a working premise that digital culture is embedded in the every-day life experiences of most children living in post-industrial societies, both in home and, increasingly, in educational contexts. We outline how our research project investigated strategies for developing learning in the arts for young children by using the iPad as a creative device, rather than one on which they consume content in the form of games, on demand television and streaming video. We ask critical questions around creative ecologies and creative production; these grow from our observations on how young children and their families engaged with iPads through activities such as combining painting with digital photography. Analysis of work samples produced by children during the project enables interrogation of the ways in which young children can participate in arts practices and learning when digital media production is available. The chapter is structured around three themes of practice for iPad-based arts and creative education in preschool settings.

Photography & Fictions: Locating Dynamics of Practice

What happens to photographic truth when it is thwarted, subverted, stretched and even outwitted? The photography presented in this book provides a range of responses and practices- from the blatant to the exquisitely subtle- and all in the name of fiction. With full-colour images, Photography & Fiction: locating dynamics of practice illustrates and explains the latest issues and ingenious creativity involved in making pictures. The book is the consequence of a significant gathering of photographers, curators, and academics during the 5th Queensland Festival of Photography. Its themes include Fiction-as-Truth, deceptive photography, technology’s fictive potential, as well as the highly personal and inner worlds of human experience.

Representing places never visited: Landscape and the diasporic imagination

While landscape photography’s complicity with the colonial possession of new territory has been substantially discussed and well understood, this paper considers the role of the European landscape as the focus of diasporic desire. The interdisciplinary project, S2Q/Good Blood began as a social history map of Scandinavian and Nordic migration to Queensland in the nineteenth century, incorporating archival material from local collections with visual field trip data gathered in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. In 2011, some of this material found its way into the installation work, 'my mother is water, my father is wood'. What emerged from this experiment was an imaginary landscape, melding its loci through original photography and video footage in tandem with stock imagery and historical material. This juxtaposition reinforced the represented landscape as a narrative landscape and evidence of the performativity of belonging. This practitioner reflection utilizes Lynette Russell’s research into landscape archaeology to consider the significance of relationships with landscapes that are “not always empirically demonstrable.”

Four stories about copyright law and appropriation art

This article considers copyright law and the art of appropriation in an Australian context. It tells four stories about Australian artists - Imants Tillers, Gordon Bennett, Juan Davila and Tracey Moffatt. The stories examine the postmodern critique of copyright law, indigenous copyright and self-determination, the introduction of moral rights, and copyright, photography and film. The article concludes that the work of such contemporary artists has practical implications for the reform of copyright law.

Book Reviews: "Fashion Media: Past and Present"

The book Fashion Media: Past and Present is a timely insight into the historical relationship between fashion and media. Edited by Djurdja Bartlett (Senior Research Fellow at the London College of Fashion), Shaun Cole (Course Leader for the MA in the History and Culture of Fashion and MA Fashion Curation at the London College of Fashion) and Agnès Rocamora (Reader in Social and Cultural Studies at the London College of Fashion), Fashion Media offers a wide historical perspective on how painting, photography, film, television and the Internet have intersected with fashion. The book also provides a useful understanding of social and cultural key issues related to this synergy...

Remember or Revive: Alice Payne and the Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society

In this creative practice work, designer Alice Payne examines the history of twentieth century Queensland fashion icon Paula Stafford, and interprets her story into an illustrated narrative and textile print. Paula Stafford was a swimwear designer operating in the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia 1940s to 1980s, and is credited with bringing the bikini to Australia. This project was commissioned by The Fashion Archives as part of their series Remember or Revive, in which the curators partnered designers with museums to reinterpret historical costume for a contemporary fashion audience. To develop the project, Payne visited The Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society to view Paula Stafford’s swimwear, resortwear, photographs, newspaper articles, fabric swatches and other artefacts relating to Stafford’s practice. Through examining Stafford’s work and history, Payne developed a series of designs based on the story and the experience of viewing and handling the garments. Research statement Fashion history is often experienced via static museum displays of garments and photographs from the period, and this research examines other means through which the archive and the fashion museum collection may be reinterpreted and made fresh. It does this in two ways: first, the work interprets a story from fashion history for a contemporary audience. Second, the project illuminates the fashion design process by demonstrating how garments from the past may be reinterpreted to inspire contemporary textile prints. The Paula Stafford collection at The Gold Coast and Hinterland Historical Society has a number of garments and photographs on display, however these only show a partial picture of the richness of Stafford’s work and legacy. Undertaking a practice-led methodology, in the course of developing the work, Payne examined the archive in order to interpret Stafford’s contribution to Queensland fashion through photography, narrative, and illustration. The work contributes to research into historical fashion curation and interpretation. The work appeared in Issue 11, March 2014 of the The Fashion Archives, an online publication by fashion curators Nadia Buick and Madeline King. The Fashion Archives has received funding from Arts Queensland, State Library Queensland and Creative Partnerships Australia and has published over 200 articles and projects related to Queensland Style. The Fashion Archives is the first project to examine in depth Queensland fashion history. As Paula Stafford is one of Queensland’s most iconic designers, this project is significant in being the first to examine her legacy through creative practice. The Fashion Archives was established in 2013 and involvement is by invitation from the curators.

J.W.Lindt’s Colonial man and Aborigine image from the GRAFTON ALBUM : “On chemistry and optics all does not depend, art must with these in triple union blend”

J.W.Lindt’s Colonial man and Aborigine image from the GRAFTON ALBUM: “On chemistry and optics all does not depend, art must with these in triple union blend” (text from J.W. Lindt’s photographic backing card) In this paper, I follow an argument that Lindt held a position in his particular colonial environment where he was simultaneously both an insider and an outsider and that such a position may be considered prerequisite in stimulating exchange. A study of the transition of J.W. Lindt in Grafton, N.S.W. in the 1860s from a traveller to a migrant and subsequently to a professional photographer, as well as Lindt’s photographic career, which evolved through strategic action and technical approaches to photography, bears witness to his cultural relativity. One untitled photograph from this period of work constructs a unique commentary of Australian colonial life that illustrates a non-hegemonic position, particularly as it was included in one of the first albums of photographs of Aborigines that Lindt gifted to an illustrious person (in this case the Mayor of Grafton). As in his other studio constructions, props and backdrops were arranged and sitters were positioned with care, but this photograph is the only one in the album that includes a non-Aborigine in a relationship to an Aborigine. An analysis of the props, technical details of the album and the image suggests a reconciliatory aspect that thwarts the predominant attitudes towards Aborigines in the area at that time.

Innovative telemedicine and mobile phone technology in the management of diabetic foot ulcers

Background Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a leading cause of diabetes-related hospitalisation and can be costly to manage without access to appropriate expert care. Within Queensland and indeed across many parts of Australia, there is an inequality in accessing specialist services for individuals with DFU. Recent National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) diabetic foot guidelines recommend remote expert consultation with digital imaging should be made available to people with DFU to improve their clinical outcomes. Telemedicine appears to show promise in improving access to diabetic foot specialist services; however diabetic foot telemedicine models to date have relied upon videoconferencing, store and forward technology and/or customised appliances to obtain digital imagery which all require either expensive infrastructure or a timed reply to the request for advice. Whilst mobile phone advice services have been used with success in general diabetes management and telehealth services have improved diabetic foot outcomes, the rapid emergence in the use of mobile phones has established a need to review the role that various forms of telemedicine play in the management of DFU. The aim of this paper is to review traditional telemedicine modalities that have been used in the management of DFU and to compare that to new and innovative technology that are emerging. Process Studies investigating the management of DFU using various forms of telemedicine interventions will be included in this review. They include the use of videoconferencing technology, hand held digital still photography purpose built imaging devices and mobile phone imagery. Electronic databases (Pubmed, Medline and CINAHL) will be searched using broad MeSH terms and keywords that cover the intended area of interest. Findings It is anticipated that the results of this narrative review will provide delegates of the 2015 Australasian Podiatry Conference an insight into the types of emerging innovative diagnostic telemedicine technologies in the management of DFU against the backdrop of traditional and evidence based modalities. It is anticipated that the findings will drive further research in the area of mobile phone imagery and innovation in the management of DFU.

Effect of gaze position and blur on stepping accuracy in older adults.

Purpose: To examine the effects of gaze position and optical blur, similar to that used in multifocal corrections, on stepping accuracy for a precision stepping task among older adults. Methods: Nineteen healthy older adults (mean age, 71.6 +/- 8.8 years) with normal vision performed a series of precision stepping tasks onto a fixed target. The stepping tasks were performed using a repeated-measures design for three gaze positions (fixating on the stepping target as well as 30 and 60 cm farther forward of the stepping target) and two visual conditions (best-corrected vision and with +2.50DS blur). Participants' gaze position was tracked using a head-mounted eye tracker. Absolute, anteroposterior, and mediolateral foot placement errors and within-subject foot placement variability were calculated from the locations of foot and floor-mounted retroreflective markers captured by flash photography of the final foot position. Results: Participants made significantly larger absolute and anteroposterior foot placement errors and exhibited greater foot placement variability when their gaze was directed farther forward of the stepping target. Blur led to significantly increased absolute and anteroposterior foot placement errors and increased foot placement variability. Furthermore, blur differentially increased the absolute and anteroposterior foot placement errors and variability when gaze was directed 60 cm farther forward of the stepping target. Conclusions: Increasing gaze position farther ahead from stepping locations and the presence of blur negatively impact the stepping accuracy of older adults. These findings indicate that blur, similar to that used in multifocal corrections, has the potential to increase the risk of trips and falls among older populations when negotiating challenging environments where precision stepping is required, particularly as gaze is directed farther ahead from stepping locations when walking.