Look before you leap : the epistemic violence that sometimes hides behind the word "inclusion"

This paper demonstrates how Indigenous Studies is controlled in some Australian universities in ways that continue the marginalisation, denigration and exploitation of Indigenous peoples. Moreover, it shows how the engagement of white notions of “inclusion” can result in the maintenance of racism, systemic marginalisation, white race privilege and radicalised subjectivity. A case study will be utilised which draws from the experience of two Indigenous scholars who were invited to be part of a panel to review one Australian university’s plan and courses in Indigenous studies. The case study offers the opportunity to destabilise the relationships between oppression and privilege and the epistemology that maintains them. The paper argues for the need to examine exactly what is being offered when universities provide opportunities for “inclusion”.

Dissenters in dock at injustice of war

Review of 'The Trial of the Catonsville Nine', Brisbane Festival / Brisbane Powerhouse, published in The Australian, 28 September 200.

Early years teachers’ epistemic beliefs and beliefs about children’s moral learning

There is strong political and social interest in values education both internationally and across Australia. Investment in young children is recognised as important for the development of moral values for a cohesive society; however, little is known about early years teachers’ beliefs about moral values teaching and learning. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between Australian early years teachers’ epistemic beliefs and their beliefs about children’s moral learning. Three hundred and seventy-nine teachers completed a survey about their personal epistemic beliefs and their beliefs about children’s moral learning. Results indicated that teachers with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs viewed children as capable of taking responsibility for their own moral learning. Conversely, teachers who held more naive or simplistic personal epistemic beliefs agreed that children need to learn morals through learning the rules for behaviour. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for moral pedagogy in the classroom and teacher professional development. It is suggested that in conjunction with explicitly reflecting on epistemic beliefs, professional development may need to assist teachers to ascertain how their beliefs might relate to their moral pedagogies in order to make any adjustments.

An epistemic community as influencer and implementer in local government accounting in Australia

This paper adopts an epistemic community framework to explicate the dual role of epistemic communities as influencers of accounting policy within regulatory space and as implementers who effect change within the domain of accounting. The context is the adoption and implementation of fair value accounting within local government in New South Wales (NSW). The roles and functions of Australian local government are extensive, and include the development and maintenance of infrastructure, provision of recreational facilities, certain health and community services, buildings, cultural facilities, and in some cases, water and sewerage (Australian Local Government Association, 2009). The NSW state Department of Local Government (DLG) is responsible for legislation and policy development to ensure that local councils are able to deliver ‘quality services to their communities in a sustainable manner’ (DLG, 2008c). These local councils receive revenue from various sources including property rates, government grants and user-pays service provision. In July 2006 the DLG issued Circular 06-453 to councils (DLG, 2006c), mandating the staged adoption of fair value measurement of infrastructure assets. This directive followed the policy of NSW State Treasury (NSW Treasury, 2007),4 and an independent inquiry into the financial sustainability of local councils (LGSA, 2006). It was an attempt to resolve the inconsistency in public sector asset valuation in NSW Local Governments, and to provide greater usefulness and comparability of financial statements.5 The focus of this study is the mobilization of accounting change by the DLG within this wider political context. When a regulatory problem arises, those with political power seek advice from professionals with relevant skill and expertise (Potter, 2005). This paper explores the way in which professionals diffuse accounting ‘problems’ and the associated accounting solutions ‘across time and space’ (Potter, 2005, p. 277). The DLG’s fair value accounting policy emanated from a ‘regulatory space’ (Hancher and Moran, 1989)6 as a result of negotiations between many parties, including accounting and finance professionals. Operating within the local government sector, these professionals were identified by the DLG as being capable of providing helpful input. They were also responsible for the implementation of the new olicy within local councils. Accordingly they have been dentified as an pistemic community with the ability to ranslate regulatory power by changing he domain of ccounting (Potter, 2005, p. 278).7 The paper is organised as follows. The background to the LG’s decision to require the introduction of fair value accounting for infrastructure assets is explored. Following this, the method of the study is described, and the epistemic community framework outlined. In the next sections, evidence of the influencing and implementing roles of epistemic groups is provided. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the significance of these groups both within regulatory space in developing accounting regulation, and in embedding change within the domain of accounting.

The white man's burden : patriarchal white epistemic violence and Aboriginal women's knowledges within the academy

In this article I reveal how texts produced by Aboriginal women scholars signify a racialised and gendered body that functions discursively, as an immediacy of racism in the form of white patriarchal epistemic violence (Lloyd 1991, 74). I demonstrate how this dominant racialised and gendered form of violence is an assertion of power that involves or arises from racialised knowledge by examining Dirk Moses' analysis of ‘Indigeneity’ via the Northern Territory Intervention (Spivak 1988).

Epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral learning in the early years of school : relationships and complexities

While investment in young children is recognised as important for the development of moral values for a cohesive society, little is known about early years teaching practices that promote learning of moral values. This paper reports on observations and interviews with 11 Australian teachers, focusing on their epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral education with children aged 5 to 8 years. The analysis revealed three main patterns of thinking about moral education: following others, reflecting on points of view, and informing reflection for action. These patterns suggest a relationship between epistemic beliefs and beliefs about teaching practices for moral learning which have implications for teacher professional development concerning experiences in moral education.

A theory of literacies for considering the role of adult and community education in postcolonial change

In this paper, I use a case study drawn from education in the Grenada revolution and afterwards to discuss lessons that postcolonial societies can learn from comparing two approaches to adult basic and popular education. I argue that some approaches to adult education provide subordinate literacies and catch-up schooling on the cheap, while others contribute to sociopolitical change by helping participants develop powerful literacies that challenge the structures of injustice, inefficiency, and dysfunctionality that are still entrenched in most societies. The paper puts forward the concept of epistemic, humanist and public ‘literacies’ as a tool for considering the role of adult education in national development.

Pre-service teachers’ epistemic perspectives about philosophy in the classroom : it is not a bunch of ‘hippie stuff’

Using epistemic perspectives as a theoretical framework, this study investigated Australian pre-service teachers’ perspectives about knowing, knowledge and children’s learning, as they engaged in a semester-long unit on philosophy in the classroom. During the field experience component of the unit, pre-service teachers were required to teach at least one philosophy lesson. Pre-service teachers completed the Personal Epistemological Beliefs Survey at the beginning and end of the unit. They were also interviewed in focus groups at the end of the semester to investigate their views about children’s learning. Paired sample t-tests were used to explore changes in epistemic beliefs over time. Significant differences were found for only some individual items on the survey. However, when interviewed, pre-service teachers indicated that field experiences helped them consider children as competent ‘thinkers’ who were capable of engaging in philosophy in the classroom. They reported predominantly student-centred perspectives of children’s learning, although a process of adjudication (exploring disagreements and evidence for responses) was lacking in these responses.

Losing sleep : examining the cascading effects of supervisors' experience of injustice on subordinates' psychological health

In this paper, we identify two types of injustice as antecedents of abusive supervision and ultimately of subordinate psychological distress and insomnia. We examine distributive justice (an individual's evaluation of their input to output ratio compared to relevant others) and interactional injustice (the quality of interpersonal treatment received when procedures are implemented). Using a sample of Filipinos in a variety of occupations, we identify two types of injustice experienced by supervisors as stressors that provoke them to display abusive supervision to their subordinates. We examine two consequences of abusive supervision - subordinate psychological distress and insomnia. In addition, we identify two moderators of these relationships, namely, supervisor distress and subordinate self-esteem. We collected survey data from multiple sources including subordinates, their supervisors, and their partners. Data were obtained from 175 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads over a 6-month period, with subordinates' partners providing ratings of insomnia. Results of structural equation modelling analyses provided support for an indirect effects model in which supervisors' experience of unfair treatment cascades down the organization, resulting in subordinate psychological distress and, ultimately in their insomnia. In addition, results partially supported the proposed moderated relationships in the cascading model. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Book Review : The Concept of Injustice (Eric Heinze, Routledge, 2013)

Given the level of debate and theorising in Western thought on the topic of justice, it is curious that the concept of injustice has not attracted the same attention. While many schools of thought have sought to address various injustices, most define injustice solely as the opposite of their vision of a just society – it seems they have not been interested in exploring injustice per se. With this as a starting point, Eric Heinze’s The Concept of Injustice addresses this oversight and, by taking injustice itself as an object of analysis, adds a new dimension to these discussions...

Understanding children’s epistemic beliefs in elementary education

Research shows that the beliefs individuals hold about knowledge and knowing (epistemic beliefs) influence learning approaches and outcomes. However, little is known about the nature of children’s epistemic beliefs and how best to measure these. In this pilot study, 11 Australian children (in Grade 4 or Grade 6) were asked to ‘draw, write and tell’ about their epistemic beliefs using drawings, written responses and interviews respectively. Drawings were analysed, with the majority of children depicting external, one-way sources of knowledge. The written statements and interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, showing that children predominantly described knowledge acquisition as processes of task-based learning. Interviews also enabled children to describe a wider range of views. These results indicate that the methodological combination of ‘draw, write and tell’ allowed for a deeper understanding of the children’s epistemic beliefs which holds implications for future research.

Catching up with consumer realities: the need for legislation prohibiting unfair terms in consumer contracts

In the policy debate about the need for legislation to prohibit the use of unfair terms in consumer contracts, substantive unfairness is often distinguished from procedural unfairness. Current consumer protection laws appear to offer the potential for relief on substantive unfairness grounds alone. However, a review of cases involving credit contracts shows this potential is rarely realised. This reluctance to provide relief for substantive injustice reflects a preoccupation with freedom and certainty of contract, the notions underpinning classical contract theories. As a class, consumers are vulnerable in the marketplace, and they do need protection from substantively unfair terms. A new framework for regulating consumer contracts is needed, one that relies less on classical contract theories and takes the reality of consumer contracting and consumer behavior as its starting point. Unfair contract terms legislation will be a step on the path towards this new framework.

Environmental rights, justice and climate change

The human rights implications of climate change are increasingly gaining attention, with wider international acknowledgement that climate change poses a real threat to human rights. This paper considers the impact of climate change on human rights, looking particularly at the experiences of Torres Strait Islanders in northern Australia. It argues that human rights law offers a guiding set of principles which can help in developing appropriate strategies to combat climate change. In particular, the normative principles embodied in environmental rights can be useful in setting priorities and evaluating policies in response to climate change. The paper also argues that a human rights perspective can help address the underlying injustice of climate change: that it is the people who have contributed least to the problem who will bear the heaviest burden of its effects.

Augmenting web service discovery by cognitive semantics and abduction

We argue that web service discovery technology should help the user navigate a complex problem space by providing suggestions for services which they may not be able to formulate themselves as (s)he lacks the epistemic resources to do so. Free text documents in service environments provide an untapped source of information for augmenting the epistemic state of the user and hence their ability to search effectively for services. A quantitative approach to semantic knowledge representation is adopted in the form of semantic space models computed from these free text documents. Knowledge of the user’s agenda is promoted by associational inferences computed from the semantic space. The inferences are suggestive and aim to promote human abductive reasoning to guide the user from fuzzy search goals into a better understanding of the problem space surrounding the given agenda. Experimental results are discussed based on a complex and realistic planning activity.

Advice-implicative interrogatives : building 'client-centered" support in a children's helpline

Interactional research on advice giving has described advice as normative and asymmetric. In this paper we examine how these dimensions of advice are softened by counselors on a helpline for children and young people through the use of questions. Through what we term ‘‘adviceimplicative interrogatives,’’ counselors ask clients about the relevance or applicability of a possible future course of action. The allusion to this possible action by the counselor identifies it as normatively relevant, and displays the counselor’s epistemic authority in relation to dealing with a client’s problems. However, the interrogative format mitigates the normative and asymmetric dimensions typical of advice sequences by orienting to the client’s epistemic authority in relation to their own lives, and delivering advice in a way that is contingent upon the client’s accounts of their experiences, capacities, and understandings. The demonstration of the use of questions in advice sequences offers an interactional specification of the ‘‘client-centered’’ support that is characteristic of prevailing counseling practice. More specifically, it shows how the values of empowerment and child-centered practice, which underpin services such as Kids Helpline, are embodied in specific interactional devices. Detailed descriptions of this interactional practice offer fresh insights into the use of interrogatives in counseling contexts, and provide practitioners with new ways of thinking about, and discussing, their current practices.