A bureaucratic cinema: the fraught relationship between government and film

The interventions by the government in the production and circulation of film in late 1960s transformed the Australian cinema industry into a bureaucratic cinema because of its established agencies and institutions for the benefit of filmmakers. Training options expanded by the commencement of the Australian Film and Television School and the Film, Radio and Television Board of the Australia Council, which ran compulsory orientation seminars and workshops on the use of new equipments, helped the aspiring filmmakers to access money from the council's Basic Production Fund.

Melbourne on film dossier: 'Ghost Rider'

Despite being set in an unnamed Texan city, Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson, 2007) was a landmark film for Melbourne. It was the first international production to be made at the Central City (now Docklands) Studios, much to the relief of the heavily-invested state government. And it demonstrated to the world (or more importantly, to producers resident in a small part of southern California), that the city was willing and available to be made over and made up to fit even (especially!) the most stupid filmmaking fantasies. Announcing the imminent arrival of the production in October 2004, the Herald Sun boldly predicted that '[c]ity lanes, Telstra Dome and the Yarra River will be the stars of the new action film'. In fact Melbourne is, as the filmmakers intended, (virtually) unidentifiable onscreen. For the Victorian State government, Ausfilm, Film Victoria and the Melbourne Film Office, this lack of specificity was something to be celebrated; a few months before Ghost Rider went in to production, the then State Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, declared that 'it's almost inconceivable that [Ghost Rider] won't put Melbourne on the map internationally'.

Cinematic hooks for Korean studies: using the 'Apache' framework for inspiring students about Korea in and through film

Developing awareness of and maintaining interest in Korea and Korean culture for non-language secondary and tertiary students continues to challenge educators in Australia. A lack of appropriate and accessible creative and cultural materials is a key factor contributing to this challenge. In light of changes made to 'fair use' guidelines for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States in July 2010, and in order to prepare for a time in the near future when Australian copyright regulations might follow suit, this article offers a framework for utilizing film and digital media contents in the classroom. Case studies of the short digital animation film 'Birthday Boy' (2004) and the feature film The Divine Weapon (2008) are presented in order to illustrate new educational approaches to popular Korean films---the cinematic component of the 'Korean Wave' ('Hanryu' or 'Hallyu' in Korean). It is hoped that this work-in-progress will enable teachers to inspire students with limited language skills to learn more about Korean popular culture, history, and tradition as well as media, politics, and genre studies in dynamic ways through the use of films as cultural texts in the classroom.

Tear film surface quality with rigid and soft contact lenses

Objectives: To measure tear film surface quality (TFSQ) using dynamic high-speed videokeratoscopy during short-term (8 hours) use of rigid and soft contact lenses. Methods: A group of fourteen subjects wore 3 different types of contact lenses on 3 different non-consecutive days (order randomized) in one eye only. Subjects were screened to exclude those with dry eye. The lenses included a PMMA hard, an RGP (Boston XO) and a soft silicone hydrogel lens. Three 30 second long high speed videokeratoscopy recordings were taken with contact lenses in-situ, in the morning and again after 8 hours of contact lens wear, both in normal and suppressed blinking conditions. Recordings were also made on a baseline day with no contact lens wear. Results: The presence of a contact lens in the eye had a significant effect on the mean TFSQ in both natural and suppressed blinking conditions (p=0.001 and p=0.01 respectively, repeated measures ANOVA). TFSQ was worse with all the lenses compared to no lens in the eye (in the afternoon during both normal and suppressed blinking conditions (all p<0.05). In natural blinking conditions, the mean TFSQ for the PMMA and RGP lenses was significantly worse than the baseline day (no lens) for both morning and afternoon measures (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study shows that both rigid and soft contact lenses adversely affect the TFSQ in both natural and suppressed blinking conditions. No significant differences were found between the lens types and materials. Keywords: Tear film surface quality, rigid contact lens, soft contact lens, dynamic high-speed videokeratoscopy

Sandwiched carbon nanotube film as strain sensor

Two types of carbon nanotube nanocomposite strain sensors were prepared by mixing carbon nanotubes with epoxy (nanocomposite sensor) and sandwiching a carbon nanotube film between two epoxy layers (sandwich sensor). The conductivity, response and sensitivity to static and dynamic mechanical strains in these sensors were investigated. The nanocomposite sensor with 2-3 wt.% carbon nanotube demonstrated high sensitivity to mechanical strain and environmental temperature, with gauge factors of 5-8. On the other hand, a linear relationship between conductivity and dynamic mechanical strain was observed in the sandwich sensor. The sandwich sensor was also not sensitive to temperature although its strain sensitivity (gauge factor of about 3) was lower as compared with the nanocomposite sensor. Both sensors have excellent response to static and dynamic strains, thereby having great potential for strain sensing applications.

From ethnocentrism to transculturalism : a film studies pedagogical journey

This study reviews the exploratory implementation of an ‘internationalising the curriculum’ policy in relation to a cultural studies unit within a Creative Industries Faculty at an Australian university. Charting certain pedagogical practices in the delivery of transnational film studies, this case study involves a critical, contextual examination of student feedback as well as current theories about transcultural curricula in general and film studies curricula in particular. The study shows that tertiary students can be provided with an extraordinarily rich range of differing, sometimes conflicting, but always engaging transcultural insights and understandings. It is further argued that transnational competencies may be developed and enabled through the innovative realisation of a type of ‘border crossing’ pedagogical model, largely by foregrounding transcultural ‘affective’ issues around social justice.

Porous Ca-Si-based nanospheres : a potential intra-canal disinfectant-carrier for infected canal treatment

The aim of this study is to develop a new intra-canal disinfectant-carrier for infected canal treatment. To achieve this purpose, a new porous Ca-Si (CS)-based nanosphere was synthesized and characterized. Results showed that the nanospheres can infiltrate into dentinal tubules and released the ampicillin over one week time in a sustained manner. The release of ampicillin from spheres has significantly antibacterial property. Extensive and well-organized in vitro mineralization and crystallization of apatite were induced on the surface of dentin slices covered by CS nanospheres. All these features indicate that the porous CS nanospheres may be developed into a new intra-canal disinfectant-carrier for infected canal treatment.

Biological responses of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to Sr-M-Si (M = Zn, Mg) silicate bioceramics

Strontium (Sr), Zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), and silicon (Si) are reported to be essential trace elements for the growth and mineralization of bone. We speculated that the combination of these bioactive elements in bioceramics may be effective to regulate the osteogenic property of boneforming cells. In this study, two Sr-containing silicate bioceramics, Sr2ZnSi2O7 (SZS) and Sr2MgSi2O7 (SMS), were prepared. The biological response of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to the two bioceramics (in the forms of powders and dense ceramic bulks) was systematically studied. In powder form, the effect of powder extracts on the viability and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of BMSCs was investigated. In ceramic disc form, both direct and indirect coculture of BMSCs with ceramic discs were used to investigate their biological response, including attachment, proliferation, ALP activity, and bone-related genes expression. Beta-tricalcium phosphate (b-TCP) and akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7, CMS) were used as control materials. The results showed that the Sr, Zn, and Si (or Sr, Mg, and Si)-containing ionic products from SZS and SMS powders enhanced ALP activity of BMSCs, compared to those from b-TCP. Both SZS and SMS ceramic discs supported the growth of BMSCs, and most importantly, significantly enhanced the ALP activity and bone-related genes expression of BMSCs as compared to b-TCP. The results suggest that the specific combination of bioactive ions (Sr, Zn, Si, e.g.) in bioceramics is a viable way to improve the biological performance of biomaterials, and the form of materials and surface properties were nonnegligible factors to influence cell response.

Film review : Citizen Murdoch?

It hasn’t been a good year for media barons. Actually, it’s not been a great century. In 2007 Baron Conrad Black was sent to jail in the US for embezzling his shareholders. Silvio Berlusconi’s grip on the Italian media hasn’t prevented a steady flow of allegations of sleaze and scandal since 2009, which have reduced him to a global laughing stock. And since July 2011, we have seen the dizzying fall of Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, from their positions of unquestioned (and unquestionable) authority at the helm of the world’s most powerful media empire.

Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to formic acid, formaldehyde, and methanol using dye-sensitized TiO2 film

A bifunctionalized TiO2 film containing a dye-sensitized zone and a catalysis zone is designed for visible-light photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to chemicals continuously. Charge separation can be accomplished with electron transferring to catalysis zone and positive charge transforming to anode. Highly efficient conversion of CO2 to formic acid, formaldehyde, and methanol is achieved through the transferring electrons on conduction bands (CB) of TiO2. Reduction of CO2 and O2 evolution take place in separated solutions on different catalysts. The separated solution carried out in this photo-reactor system can avoid CO2 reduction products being oxidized by anode. The yields of reduction products were enhanced remarkably by external electrical power. This study provides not only a new photocatalytic system but also a potential of renewable energy source via carbon dioxide.

Creativity is as important as literacy : making a film trailer responding to literature

The first part of the title is from Sir Ken Robinson (Robinson, 2009), the esteemed educator and champion of creativity in schools. Sometimes in the face of meeting the demands of time, timetabling, demanding administration tasks and teaching for high stakes testing accountability, we can find ourselves desperate for time to remember that English has always been one of the places in schools where creativity can flourish. English is a place for the play of the imagination. English teachers are the purveyors of narrative; the keepers and teachers of stories. The new Australian Curriculum: English, (Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2012) asks us to be using ICT technologies in creative ways to tell those stories. The curriculum asks students to access texts receptively and to then speak about, write and create texts productively. There are so many interesting things to do with texts beyond word processing of print based resources. Responding to literature through media is always an alternative option to writing or simply speaking about it. In this paper my QUT pre-service student Chrystal Armitage describes how she made a mini story via a film trailer in response to a short story, ‘Turned’ (Gilman, 1987) in the unit, Literature in Secondary Teaching.

Policy measures for creating an integrated and brand-focused innovation system for film industries in shadow nations : an application to Australia's national film industry

Shadow nations face particular problems in constructing competitive film industries. Shadow nations refer to nations whose relative competitiveness suffers from easy product substitutability by products initiated, produced and distributed by powerful actors, such as media conglomerates located in Hollywood. The dominant literature has so far neglected the developing policy recommendations for dealing explicitly with the challenges of shadow nations. This paper aims to develop and apply a normative model for the development of film industries in shadow nations. The model integrates insights from innovation system studies and place branding. The developed model is applied to the Australian film industry as Australia represents a typical shadow nation within the film industry.