Curtains and the Soft Architecture of the American Postwar Domestic Environment

This article investigates the role of “soft architecture” and interior effects—including window treatments, textiles, and electric lighting—in the physcial and social construction of the postwar domestic environment in the USA. In this period the American home became an increasingly visual and visible space, defined more by the view out and the view in than by traditional conditions of domestic enclosure. Popular how-to columns and home decoration articles offered homemakers a variety of mechanisms for sustaining the appearance and psychological comfort of the modern domestic setting. Examining a range of popular decorative strategies used to mediate residential picture windows and window walls, this study challenges the deep-seated cultural and disciplinary biases associated with both the design and study of domestic architecture and interiors. Drawing upon historical documents and contemporary theorizations of the interior, this paper argues for the agency of “soft architecture” in the domestication of modern residential architecture.

American lessons: Implementing fair use in Australia

This article discusses the recent Australian Law Reform Commission report proposing a fair use defense to copyright infringement in Australia. It examines the experience of fair use cases in the United States and draws three lessons from the jurisprudential history. First, it suggests that decisions in fair use can only really be understood within a theoretical framework, and that unless we import that framework into Australia any fair use defense will not work as expected. Secondly, the article argues that the area where fair use jurisprudence appears to be most helpful, in dealing with “transformative” works, is actually much more limited than outsiders to the US would expect. And finally, it suggests that any implementation of a factor related to market substitution should take account of the gaming of the system that has gone on in the US.

Amplified stories: Digital technology and representations of lived experiences

New media technologies and the narrative turn in qualitative research has expanded the methods through which we gather data about and share findings of groups who have traditionally been written about by others rather than telling their own stories to reveal the complexities of their experiences. This chapter explores two projects that use storytelling and technology in an effort to change public perceptions about disadvantaged a community or cohort that have specific circumstances but are a result of policies beyond their control.

Community and the Law: A Critical Reassessment of American Liberalism and Japanese Modernity

"This important book translates seven landmark essays by one of Japan’s most respected and influential legal thinkers. While Takao Tanase concedes that law might not matter as much in Japan as it does in the United States, in a provocative challenge to socio-legal researchers and comparative lawyers, he asks: why should it? The issue, he contends, is not whether law matters to society; it is how society matters to law."--Publisher website

The Great Gatsby and Ned Kelly: Telling national iconic stories through a transnational lens

This chapter will examine how transnational film making allows national and iconic stories to shift outside their imposed national boundaries, freeing them from “nation building” constraints and predetermined ideological motivations. Each interpretation creates one more dimension to the story’s complexity and hybridity assuring its continuance and relevance into the future. Each new film version, and in the case of iconic stories, each new transnational film version, breathes new energy and life into the stories and also stops monolithic ownership of them. What is also of interest in this chapter is the judgement cast upon each of the retelling and adaptations of these iconic stories. Every adaptation is weighed up and judged against a mythic ideal, and as such, each always falls short of imagined expectations. But in a paradoxical fashion, it is this failure to capture that provides the impetus for the story’s future retellings.

Clinical tips: Mental health and Christmas explained

Christmas is usually a time for celebration, being with family and friends, opening presents, stuffing yourself silly with food at Christmas lunch – then doing it all over again at dinner. However, this may not be the case for some people. Relationships with family may be strained, or there may have been the loss of a loved one or significant other...

A reanalysis of 409 European-Ancestry and African American schizophrenia pedigrees reveals significant linkage to 8p23.3 with evidence of locus heterogeneity

The detection and replication of schizophrenia risk loci can require substantial sample sizes, which has prompted various collaborative efforts for combining multiple samples. However, pooled samples may comprise sub-samples with substantial population genetic differences, including allele frequency differences. We investigated the impact of population differences via linkage reanalysis of Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia 1 (MGS1) affected sibling-pair data, comprising two samples of distinct ancestral origin: European (EA: 263 pedigrees) and African-American (AA: 146 pedigrees). To exploit the linkage information contained within these distinct continental samples, we performed separate analyses of the individual samples, allowing for within-sample locus heterogeneity, and the pooled sample, allowing for both within-sample and between-sample heterogeneity. Significance levels, corrected for the multiple tests, were determined empirically. For all suggestive peaks, stronger linkage evidence was obtained in either the EA or AA sample than the combined sample, regardless of how heterogeneity was modeled for the latter. Notably, we report genomewide significant linkage of schizophrenia to 8p23.3 and evidence for a second, independent susceptibility locus, reaching suggestive linkage, 29 cM away on 8p21.3. We also detected suggestive linkage on chromosomes 5p13.3 and 7q36.2. Many regions showed pronounced differences in the extent of linkage between the EA and AA samples. This reanalysis highlights the potential impact of population differences upon linkage evidence in pooled data and demonstrates a useful approach for the analysis of samples drawn from distinct continental groups.

Clinical tips: The “12 days of Christmas” - surviving and preparing for Christmas as a retailer

“We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year” ... when the Christmas carols start playing in the pharmacy, it is a reminder the silly season has crept up on us. Christmas should be a time of celebration, fun and spending time with loved ones and families. However, if pharmacies are not prepared it can easily turn into the “nightmare before Christmas”. So to make sure everything runs smoothly like Santa’s schedule, we have compiled a few tips to help retailers survive and prepare for Christmas...

Aussie retailers should get their Christmas wish this year

Consumer Sentiment fell by 4.8% in December, but despite the drop other indicators still point toward a robust Christmas period for retailers. Retail trade recorded its strongest result for three consecutive months to October, with Queensland and Western Australia leading the way. A closer inspection of ABS Retail figures indicate six consecutive months of positive results and this suggests consumer confidence has finally returned to the market. But it may not be a rosy outlook for all retail sectors. Overall we are spending more, but not where we once traditionally did.

Sorry Joe, consumer spending will disappoint Santa this Christmas

Treasurer Joe Hockey called on shoppers this week to “not let Santa down” and asked them to spend up big at the stores this Christmas. Unfortunately, the latest retail and consumer confidence data indicate his calls are falling on deaf ears. Westpac’s Consumer Confidence Index shows pessimists outnumber optimists. This has been the case for the last nine months. The index was up 1.9% in November, but still well below its level a year ago.

Five tricks retailers will use to make you shop this Christmas

Australian shoppers are predicted to spend nearly A$47 billion this Christmas. But retailers have to work harder and harder to get shoppers to pull out their wallets. Here are five strategies retailers will be using to get us to part with our hard earned coin.

Antecedents of SME export intensity in a Latin American market

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging markets in Latin America are increasingly engaging in export-related activities. Nevertheless, limited research exists into the export behavior of such firms. This study proposes and tests a conceptual model that includes the main drivers and inhibitors of export intensity for SMEs from Chile. The model uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to develop the underlying multi-item constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model. Results show that manager’s export commitment as well as managerial and organizational resources and capabilities are drivers of export intensity. In addition, the results show that managerial perceptions of internal barriers, such as a manager’s lack of international experience and knowledge, act as significant barriers to developing exports. However, unlike previous findings from developed countries no evidence exists of external cost barriers having a significant impact on export intensity, which is possibly an indication of a competitive business environment in Chile.

Mixed reality stories: How creative writers integrate virtual and physical realities

Mixed reality stories (MRS) unfold simultaneously in the physical and the virtual world. Advancements in digital technologies, which are now able to capture more contextual information about our physical environments, are enabling novel ways of blending the two worlds. To explore the process of creating stories from this perspective, we conducted a study with creative writers, in which we asked them to write a MRS script for outdoor running. While we saw instances of intentional connections between physical and virtual worlds in their work, we also observed the use of ambiguity or even deliberate contradiction with available contextual information. In this paper we discuss how these approaches can be beneficial for MRS and propose directions for future work.

Fast forward to the end: Stories of the cassette magazine

Although they made up a significant share of the retail music market from the 60s to the 90s, and were often used as promotional and marketing tools, cassettes became re-configured in the 80s as an integral component of cassette magazines. Binding sound, music, talk, text, visual art and design, they were a truly innovative interdisciplinary form. This paper explores the history of these artefacts with particular emphasis on the Brisbane underground music scene of the late 70s and 80s, and discusses their significance in as a bridge between the music scene and art scenes of this period.